Lenoir Memorial Hospital - Healthy Community Challenge Series

What is it?

The Healthy Community Challenge is a series of programs on four consecutive Monday nights in January that focuses on changing specific lifestyle behaviors related to nutrition or exercise. The motivational and educational sessions are taught by registered dietitians or fitness instructors. During each session, participants are challenged to make a specific lifestyle change for life, which elicits cheers and congratulations from the group and motivational e-mails between sessions. Participants track their health behaviors with an individual tracking tool. On the last night of the program, there are drawings for prizes and applause for everyone who has participated.

Who is it for?

All community members.

Why do they do it?

The goal is to foster community energy for a focus on healthier behaviors and provide a web-based tool to support it. Almost 78 percent of North Carolina adults do not participate in any vigorous activity. About 37 percent of adults in the state are overweight, with eastern North Carolina adults having significantly higher rates of obesity than the rest of the state. Given the above-average rates for hypertension, diabetes and heart disease in the area, the hospital initiated efforts to educate and motivate adults to adopt healthier lifestyle behaviors.

Impact

More than 200 community residents have participated in each series since the program’s inception two years ago. A community-wide weight loss program called Lighten Up Lenoir, named for Lenoir County North Carolina where obesity results in an almost 11 percent type 2 diabetes rate, has been implemented following successes with a January Community Challenge Series held for several years. The hospital-led program has incorporated dozens of community organizational partners who will spend 2012 rallying the community to form four-person teams in a fun competition for greatest percentage team weight loss. Three 16-week sessions are offered in 2012, and the local newspaper is running reader voting contests for the best and funniest team name. Almost a thousand residents have joined the first session; after only nine weeks they have lost 3,400 pounds. Prizes are movie tickets to the local theater.

Contact: Constance Hengel
Director, Community Programming and Development
Telephone: 252-522-7028
E-mail: chengel@lenoir.org