Step into Fitness plan urges daily walking

With IU Campus Recreational Sports’ summer program, faculty and staff can keep track of their step count as they walk their way to a healthy lifestyle.

Registration is open for the annual Step into Fitness walking incentive program.

The nine-week program, beginning May 30 and ending July 9, encourages IUB faculty and staff to increase their daily step-count by providing participants with a free pedometer, food tracker and weekly e-mails with inspiration and tips.

The program will kick off from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. May 25 in the foyer of the IU Auditorium with free food from Bloomington Bagel Company, chair massages, blood pressure screenings and other health information services.

There are no maximum or minimum step counts, according to the Step into Fitness website. However, it lists guidelines for participants to gauge their exercise. Six thousand steps a day is good, 8,000 is better and 10,000 is excellent, according to
the website.

When the self-guided program started in 2005, it was only four weeks long. Participants increased their step counts during the program, but decreased their step counts afterward, said Megan Amadeo, the coordinator of the Step into Fitness worksite wellness program.

The program needed to be longer to make a lasting change, she said. Last year was the first time the program was extended to nine weeks.

Amadeo said the program was started in response to a Recreational Sports survey that showed walking was the preferred exercise of faculty and staff.

“People should participate because walking is something almost everyone can do; you don’t need a gym or special equipment,” she said. “The health benefits of walking are great because walkers have less incidence of cancer, heart disease, stroke, diabetes and other chronic diseases.”

Walkers will also receive a food tracker that Amadeo said will allow participants to see what food and nutrients are lacking in a diet.

“Hopefully participants will start to eat more fruits and vegetables instead of refined grains as snacks,” she said.

The food tracker could lead to some weight loss, she said, but the goal of the tracker is to encourage participants to eat five servings of fruit and vegetables a day.

Participants may be asked to take part in research for the School of Health, Physical Education and Recreation in order to make the program more effective. Findings about the worksite wellness program will be presented at the American College of Sports Medicine’s spring meeting.

Jeanne Johnston, assistant professor in the Kinesiology Department, has been studying the program since 2009 for its worksite wellness efforts.

“The worksite is a great place to deliver a program that promotes health and wellness through healthy choices such as proper diet and activity,” she said. “I believe a continuum of activity exists, and for some, we need to focus on just increasing movement before we focus on how much and what intensity.”

IUB faculty and staff can register until June 3 at http://www.iurecsports.org/step_into_fitness.