Challenge Walk Off in Alexandria, Virginia is part of a national drive to fight obesity

The morning weigh in at Charles Houston Recreation Center

Saturday in Alexandria, Virginia was a pleasant and sunny day, a good one for a healthy walk. I heard about the 50 million pound challenge last week and decided to check out this national effort. I was instantly impressed by Dr. Ian Smith, an African American physician,   addressing the problem of obesity in the 50 Million Pound Challenge.  

Today’s “Challenge Walk Off” was organized by the City of Alexandria. Mayor William D. Euille and Congressman Jim Moran participated in a weigh in to see who had lost more weight. Euille, the first African American Mayor of Alexandria has lost significant weight due to exercise, according to event coordinators. For the Challenge Walk Off, participants came in to the Charles Houston Recreation Center filled out registration forms then walked downtown to a festival that included fitness kiosks.  The walkers were given a pedometer to monitor their mileage and a DVD with a special message from Dr. Ian regarding fitness and dieting.

“I provide a calendar that tells people about the free fitness activities, farmer’s markets, and bike and walk trails,” Aileen Orlino says with a bright smile. She is a Master's grad student at George Washington School of Public Health and Health Services. Orlino’s internship is with Alexandria Health Department which includes the Partnership for a Healthier Alexandria. “My challenge is to get this program off the ground,” Aileen says. That includes organizing and mobilizing partners like State Farm Insurance and Whole Foods Market.   Aileen walks through the recreation lobby which is crowded with kids and a table full of handouts about fitness events. Some of the students are wearing t-shirts and Aileen identifies them as volunteers from President Obama's “United We Serve” community service drive.  

Orlino describes how walkers will receive stamps from vendors during the 1 mile walk to the festival in Old Town Alexandria. The stamps will count as entries for the $100 visa card raffle. The trick is walkers have to double back to the Charles Houston Center to participate in the raffle. Today there is also an IPOD up for grabs. Again, the idea is to listen to your tunes while exercising!

On the website and DVD, Dr. Smith’s unknowing visitors meet the ultimate communicator. Smith breaks it down and has a unique ability to connect the negative aspects of inactivity with health concerns. “We can’t sit by another second as we or our loved ones get the bad news that we’ve been diagnosed with high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease, high cholesterol or cancer,” Dr. Smith laments. This is not some simple sales pitch, Smith delivers a real approach to weight management that is better than any fitness expert you might meet at your local gym. The key is he is not selling you anything, just your well-being. “There is no one in a better position to take control of your health destiny than YOU!” Smith says in the pamphlet that accompanies his DVD.

Like any venture, there must be partnerships and Smith has not missed getting local and national sponsors. In this event State Farm is a major sponsor, but the City of Alexandria, Virginia has also done a majority of organizing. The fact that the City of Alexandria is well funded is clearly evident in the Charles Houston Recreation Center. Everything is new and the various meeting rooms provide ample opportunities for numerous activities and of course fitness.

Jannie Wray, a Program Manager for the Chinquapin Recreation Center in Alexandria, is organizing circuit training today for participants to warm up before the main walk.  “We are trying to make sure we get the whole city of Alexandria involved not only the residences but the employees as well,” Wray notes. She is very knowledgeable about the Houston Center and gives me a tour of the vast facility. “We have a very large gymnasium, game room, dance studio, senior center, computer room, boxing center, fitness center, pre-school, and mental health unit,” Wray points out during our walk.

The center helps with kids and keeps them out of trouble. “What I can say is this is a best kept secret, you have a safe environment where kids can come and explore a lot of different activities within the recreation center. It is a value based program and we offer programs, well rounded programs for kids to be able to interact and explore different opportunities,” Wray says. I can readily see the value of these kids having a place to go in the community instead of being out on the street. There is supervision as well.  

The Challenge Walk off Alexandria event also draws other entrepreneurs who are in the health fitness arena. MECKids.com is one of those organizations that is here and actively recruiting students interested in losing weight. MECKIDS, founded by Fran Bishop, is an interactive online health and wellness program dedicated to helping “tweens” (kids 10-18) motivated to stay fit and eat right. Bishop, a fit African American woman is speaking to a black teen and her Mother. She is encouraging the overweight 13-year-old to register online to make sure the there is information necessary to generate an individual work out regiment. This weight issue is challenging because it involves self-esteem, embarrassment and anxiety. These sensitive elements often create a barrier between the problem and a solution.

Bishop, like Dr. Smith, is articulate and speaks well on “her feet” to address concerns and encourage teens at the same time. This is an important element for those who have the courage to show up with their kids or even themselves. Fran Bishop’s parent company, Aerobodies, includes healthcare practitioners, lifestyle coaches, personal trainers and nutritional consultants. “Our focus is to work with high schools to bring the nutrition and physical education in schools in terms of curriculum and a program approach,” Bishop says.

“The students see it as a social network sort of like Facebook/My Space they can blog each other talk about health fitness issues that are concerning them. For teachers and educators there is the whole programming database on the back end of it so they can input information on what they are doing activity wise and what they are eating and teachers can create profiles,” Bishop adds. What’s interesting about the MECKIDS program is when students provide information the computer program sends them suggestions on how they can improve their diets and exercise.

Fran Bishop is also interested in partnering with First Lady Michelle Obama to fight obesity. “We plan to have a thought leadership meeting next spring with superintendents from schools and Michelle Obama could open the address,” Bishop notes.  “She is a Mom and used to cook every day before she became First Lady so she certainly knows what it’s all about. She likes to look after her weight and would be a good role model for our kids.”

It was a year ago that I wrote a piece about this pressing issue of obesity.  I met someone at a Baltimore gym who had a daughter who was 205 pounds at age 12. The alarms went off in my head. This was no surprise as the gym was right across the street from Baltimore central booking and also the Catholic Charities center that serves food for the homeless. Both locations are indiscriminately filled with African Americans. These negative social realities within the black community directly impact the health concerns and issues Dr. Smith has identified and addressed in the 50 Million Pound Challenge.

As the crowds disperse, I sit down in the recreation center’s computer lab, flush with shiny flat screen computers. It would be great to see a facility like this in Baltimore. Certainly having the funding that the City of Alexandria has creates infrastructure to effectively address issues like obesity, along with partnerships like Dr. Smith and the 50 million pound challenge. Across the country on Saturday, the Walk Off Challenge included 16 cities. The event also had the support of 16 mayors who organizing teams in their cities. From what I saw at the Charles Houston event, this effort to fight obesity is working and more importantly creates important social partnerships that effectively address fitness and diet concerns. This is a real and significant step in the effort to battle obesity in America.