The Coalition for a Healthy Todd County identified obesity as one of its two main priorities to focus on for 4 years.  Two partners in the coalition, the Todd County Extension Office and the Todd County Health Department, joined together to offer a 16-week weight-loss class called “Fit Together” to address the issue.  The class encouraged goal setting, team competition, physical activity, while providing nutrition education and taste testing, and has now been offered 3 times.  

The Health Department took baseline and final bloodwork screening to determine changes in participants’ health during the program.   Eight people completed the last series of classes, with a total weight loss of 72.4 pounds, an average of 9.05 pounds per person.  The bloodwork showed that (totals): systolic blood pressure dropped 100 points; diastolic blood pressure fell 20 points; total cholesterol decreased 118 points; triglycerides went down 60 points; HDL (good cholesterol) decreased 3 points; LDL (bad cholesterol) dropped 128 points; fasting blood glucose decreased 12 points; BMI went down 11.5; and waist sizes shrunk 7.84 inches.  

At the end of the 16 weeks, participants shared how the class had helped them.  One person had better control of their 2 type diabetes; one person had more self-confidence; another had lost enough weight to have a needed surgery; and another felt better about herself after having lost the weight she had recently gained.

Six months after the classes ended, one participant reported to the Extension Office that when going for her yearly check-up at the doctor's office, she was 27.5 pounds lighter than the previous year. She attributed that to attending the FIT Together classes.

Another participant said she was able to maintain her weight loss within 5 pounds after two times participating in the class.

A fourth FIT Together class was held in the Spring of 2019 with seven people completing the class.  Participants lost 50.8 pounds, saw significant decreases in blood glucose levels, cholesterol, and triglycerides.