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Saturday, June 20, 2009

A Fitter West Virginia

Happy West Virginia Day! Like many, I love West Virginia. So it's tragic, to me, that West Virginia is the most overweight state in the nation. (The depressing stats are at the bottom if you need a reminder.)


Hey - I want you all to feel good, look good and live good, long lives! In support of A Better West Virginia, and in honor of West Virginia day, let's create a fitter Mountain State. It may appear a daunting challenge, but we can do it if we work smart and work together!


Obesity is a complex, multi-factor health epidemic, requiring a comprehensive solution. Right? I'm not so sure. I contend that we don't have to make this so complicated.

According to theories put forth in Malcolm Gladwell's best-seller, The Tipping Point, change begins with a spark of action or a transformative idea (often from a maven) and spreads through communities via connectors and salesmen. The change builds momentum, gaining acceptance and attracting support, until it tips (i.e., becomes prevalent, becomes the new normal). He uses such examples as Paul Revere's midnight ride, the clean-up of crime and vandalism in New York City and the return of Hush Puppy shoes. Gladwell postulates that a group of perhaps as few as 150 people aligned around a cause, and constituted with a blend of salesmen, connectors and mavens, can affect bold transformations. He cites example after of example of tipping-point victories.

How might we apply "Tipping Point" techniques to make a fitter West Virginia?

What if ... 150 (or more) of the most connected, Web savvy West Virginians began talking about fitness? [If you are reading this article, there's a good chance you might be just such a person, by the way.] Consider the potential impact of weird, new ideas like these:

  • Tweeting your workouts on Twitter (Just had a great run along the boulevard!)

  • Utilizing your Facebook status update to note your fitness activities (Heading to the gym!)

  • Used fitness topics as a conversation starter (Hey, have you been to the new zip line course in the New River Gorge?)

  • Support fitness-minded leaders - search and follow Twitter leaders who are into fitness and health; subscribe to blogs and RSS feeds from bloggers who write about exercise, nutrition and wellness. (Check out this great new yoga blog I found.)

  • Make it a personal priority--if not already--and begin advocating for fitness as a healthy lifestyle. Talking about it. Encouraging others. Inviting others to engage. (Hey, do you play tennis. Wanna play sometime this week?)
None of this requires new systems or much extra work or time, really not even any money. I'm not urging you to join a gym or even to exercise more frequently. What I am urging you to do is to commit to elevate the conversation about fitness and to main it consistently. When you work out - put it out there across your network. Keep the conversation going. Support others. Simple and easy!


Imagine the power of 150+ visible, opinion leaders focusing on fitness! Others will take notice. It's leadership by example. It's advocacy. One by one, across social networks (both real and virtual) people will begin to think: Maybe I need to get going with this fitness thing. Behavior modeling will begin and change will occur. Powerful!


I believe that once West Virginia addresses its education and obesity challenges, everything else is easily tackled and overcome. To me, these are the two "biggies" (no pun intended). I will rely on others for educational ideas and reforms; there's already some good stuff underway.


When I turned 40 three years ago, I was 40 pounds overweight. My waist was 40 inches. My cholesterol was 240, and my blood pressure was 140-something (the top number). Not a healthy picture. Since that time, I've made some huge changes in my lifestyle with exercise, fitness and supplementation. Today, those efforts have paid off, and I will be around for many more years to enjoy my wonderful family, friends and beloved Mountain State.

While that's a happy story, it's not what's most relevant to this example. During the course of my fitness transformation, I casually, almost haphazardly began communicating about my workouts and fitness lifestyle on Facebook and Twitter--not in a zealous way, just conversational and without agenda. I did this mostly to hold myself accountable and to focus on my fitness.

This is the big surprising insight: over the past two years, I have heard from more than 30 or more people that they have been inspired and motivated by my fitness blurbs and quips. That's wonderful! Such feedback has helped me to stay focused and committed. It's an upward spiral. It's synergy. A community of enriched relationships is so powerful!

Are you ready to make this tip? I hope you'll join me!

I look forward to your comments and suggestions here or on Facebook and Twitter.

___________________________________________________________________

Here are some background stats on obesity, culled from the report "Obesity: Facts, Figures, Guidelines" - WV DHHR, 2002.

Obese West Virginians are more likely than their healthy weight counterparts to have suffered a heart attack, been diagnosed with hypertension, diabetes, and/or asthma, or been limited in their activities because of back pain.

The economic costs of obesity are tremendous. The National Institutes of Health have estimated the total cost of overweight and obesity to the U.S. economy in 1995 dollars at $99.2 billion, including 39.3 million workdays lost annually to obesity-related causes.

The obesity prevalence in West Virginia has been consistently higher than that in the United States as a whole. In 1990, the West Virginia rate of adult obesity was 15.0%,
compared with a U.S. rate of 11.6%. By 2000, the state rate was 23.2%, compared
with 20.1% nationally. The obesity rate has increased in virtually all of West
Virginia’s 55 counties over the past decade.

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13 Comments:

Blogger The EDG said...

I love the suggestion that we can all do something for ourselves and for each other by "elevating the conversation" in our daily lives! It has to start somewhere, and often the most successful things start with the smallest changes.

Count me in! Thanks, Skip.

11:24 AM

 
Anonymous LKayMurray@yahoo.com said...

Thank you Skip. You've inspired me again.....Linda Kay

11:40 AM

 
Blogger Unknown said...

You're nothing if not inspiring, Skip. :) And yes, your public sharing of workouts and progress does help motivate. I will take up your challenge.

8:25 PM

 
Blogger Unknown said...

Skip-
I'm not influencial, but I'm in. In fact, I have unknowingly subscribed to your solution.

I am far from reaching my goal, however via nutrition and p90x I am happy to say I am 20 pounds lighter.

I had started sharing my experiences early on, http://snip.li/02b0a6, and via facebook. I will start again.

Great post Skip, thanks for the challenge.

10:35 PM

 
Blogger Skip Lineberg said...

EDG-

Thanks for joining this important conversation with your enthusiastic comment. I admire your leadership, your voice and your intellect! I'll be eagerly looking for your health & fitness tweets!

Skip

7:44 AM

 
Blogger Skip Lineberg said...

Dear LKay-

Thanks so much for your comment. I know that you have and will continue to inspire many! Hope to see you often around the marketing genius online community.

Skip

7:46 AM

 
Blogger Skip Lineberg said...

Jeff-

Thank you for your comment. With you on board, we're sure to succeed!

Skip

7:46 AM

 
Blogger Patrick Godbey said...

Sidewalks. If you build them, people will walk on them. Smaller towns in WV especially.

10:52 AM

 
Blogger Skip Lineberg said...

MatterhornPat--

In the words of Tony Horton, "Bring it!"

Thanks for your comment. And congrats on shedding 20 unwanted pounds. I'm so glad that you've accepted the #fitwv challenge, and I look forward to seeing your fitness updates on Twitter and Facebook!

Skip

12:13 PM

 
Blogger Skip Lineberg said...

Patrick,

Thank you for your suggestion about sidewalks. Until those sidewalks get built, I hope that you will lend your voice to the WV fitness conversation online. Be a vocal advocate for fitness. Post your activities/workouts on your social media networks. Encourage and praise others.

And consider using fitness topics as conversation starters. In your case, you could lead with: "Hey, wouldn't it be great if we had sidewalks here in town? How often do you take walks?"

Many thanks!
Skip

12:17 PM

 
Anonymous Rob Russo said...

Incredible idea, Skip. Wish I had thought of it first.

I would love to see WV move far away from bottom of that list and will try and do my part to help.

Your Tony Horton quote made me smile as I've lost over 40 pounds with Beachbody videos including P90X and Turbo Jam and love everything about them.

9:24 PM

 
Blogger Karan said...

I haven't been by the blog in a while and have missed it! I love this idea and have tried to get on board via Twitter (no longer a Twitter quitter, thank you very little) and FB.

The challenge to shape our own future here in WV, to effect BIG change, is exciting!

1:08 PM

 
Blogger Skip Lineberg said...

Karan-

Thanks for your comment! I'm thrilled that you are willing to elevate the level and visibility of the fitness conversation in our beloved Mountain State. I be looking for your Tweets and FB posts!

Skip

3:05 PM

 

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