The first GET FiT Lubbock competition, which will kick off Sept. 15, will be conducted to make Lubbock residents aware of obesity's dangers and promote healthy lifestyles.
Under the umbrella of the Healthy Lubbock initiative, the GET FiT program uses a point-based system to reward teams of Lubbock residents who attend health-based lectures, exercise and lose weight.
"This is the first ever community-wide (health event) for Lubbock," said Annette Nichols Boles, unit assistant director of education for the Texas Tech Health Sciences Center Garrison Institute on Aging, which sponsors the program. "Other groups have their own activities, but GET FiT is more community-based." Each team of six to 10 people elects a team leader during registration. Team members track their individual exercise and activity times, then report to the team leader weekly. Members also track their weight loss, which they report to the team leader once every four weeks. The team with the highest point average at the end of the 12-week competition wins.
"This is a great way to promote healthy living in our community," said Shelby Shaw, communications director for the Lubbock Chamber of Commerce, one of the program's sponsors. "It helps not only our members, but the community as a whole."
In contrast to programs that mainly focus on weight loss, the GET FiT program stresses healthy behaviors that will lead to a healthier lifestyle, Nichols Boles said.
"We promote exercise because exercise delays the onset on Alzheimer's and so many other diseases like Diabetes," she said. "We promote all activities. We try to find ways to make the community aware of ways to stay active, and we educate them."
Donors have given prizes that will be awarded to the top three teams and the top three individual point earners - per gender and age group - when the competition ends Dec. 8. Prizes include a one-year membership to Bodyworks, a sponsor of the program, Premier Sportsplex passes and tickets to Tech athletic events.
"It's all about promoting awareness and continuing to educate the public," Shaw said. "(The program will) have seminars and informational sessions about topics like eating healthy and exercising."
The GET FiT seminars will teach Lubbock residents how to provide their families with healthy lifestyles.
"They're going to feel better about themselves," Nichols Boles said. "They'll be healthier, and they'll set a good example for their children."
If GET FiT is a success this year, Nichols Boles said the program will continue for years to come.
"That's one of the missions of Healthy Lubbock," she said. "We're already getting lots of positive feedback from the community."
One of the most beneficial aspect of the program is the team structure, Nichols Boles said.
"You're not alone," she said. "You'll have a team encouraging you. They'll help and motivate you. It makes such a difference when you have a goal - as a group - to stay active and promote your own welfare."
As a program of the Healthy Lubbock initiative, Nichols Boles said, GET FiT shares Healthy Lubbock's overall goal.
"The point of Healthy Lubbock is to make Lubbock and the surrounding communities a healthier place," she said. "To do that, we need to educate people about physical activity and better nutrition."
Information about the program and registration can be found on the GET FiT Web site, www.healthylubbock.org/getfit.asp.
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