Success StoryGet Fit Hickman County



Get Fit Hickman County

Author: Melissa Goodman

Planning Unit: Hickman County CES

Major Program: Making Healthy Lifestyle Choices (general)

Plan of Work: Increase health literacy & activity and encourage nutritious food choices.

Outcome: Initial Outcome

Low levels of physical activity, unhealthy nutrition, and poor mental health are all determinants of several chronic diseases. These behaviors are now considered major public health concerns and require effective behavior change interventions. Building physical activity into the day does not require special equipment or a certain location. However, the World Health Organization (Jane et al., 2018) has recognized the importance of social resources as a valuable agent for behavior change in health promotion. Social resources are explained at the community level as the support provided by friends, family, peers through information, resources such as materials, and reassurance.

 Social support has been shown to improve health and well-being, whereas social isolation has been shown to have a negative impact on health outcomes. Get Fit Hickman County is a community support group using the Facebook social media platform. The group frequently host challenges and posts research-based information to group members. From March 1, 2020, to June 1, 2020, Get Fit Hickman County had 52 posts, 311 comments, and 756 reactions, the increased engagement was substantial for the time period compared to normal group use. 

As an innovative strategy to improve and increase movement with Hickman County residents, the Family and Consumer Sciences Extension Agent implemented a 31 Minutes of Movement Challenge for 31 Days of May. Through this program, participants focus on improving health behaviors by making lifestyle choices to increase physical activity.  14 adults participated in this challenge. As a result of this program, 100 %  percent became aware of the befits of regular physical activity, 92 percent reported having gained the knowledge and skills to be physical activity, as a result, 65 percent reported an increase in physical activity levels over the 31 days.   Concerning overall health status, 65% of participants noticed an improvement in one or more health indicators (cholesterol, blood pressure, body mass index, blood glucose).  At the completion of the program, participants shared how much the encouragement helped them get moving during a time when staying inside was easier.  One participant stated, “I just really enjoyed the camaraderie of the group. Making healthy choices is hard, even just making sure to move each day. I knew I was not alone.”






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