What is the Challenge

The Public Health Steps Up Challenge is one more step – or rather, many thousand steps to a healthier Michigan.

Recently, the office of the Surgeon General, along with key partners, launched the "Michigan Steps Up" Campaign. The overall goal of this campaign is to create a social movement across the state emphasizing the adoption of healthy lifestyles to ultimately address our poor health status.

On September 6, 2004, the Office of the Surgeon General will launch the third "Michigan Steps Up" walking challenge. We can't think of any better group than public health professionals to engage in this challenge. While we are all working hard to address policy and environmental factors that contribute to unhealthy lifestyles, personal choices and commitment ultimately make the difference in our individual health and the well being of our communities.

The Challenge starts on September 6, 2004 and lasts for 16 weeks, ending on December 26, 2004. Challenge participants will use a pedometer or step counter to track their steps everyday. Using this website, participants can enter their steps each week, obtain feedback and monitor their personal step progress throughout the challenge.

If you are a local health department employee or employed by the Michigan Department of Community Health (MDCH), the Michigan Public Health Institute (MPHI), or the Michigan Association of Local Public Health (MALPH), please register to participate. Registration is easy; it takes only a couple of minutes. Let's show the rest of Michigan how to get more active in the context of our busy lives by finding ways to walk more.

For fun, we've thrown in a bit of friendly competition between all teams (our 45 local health departments, MDCH, MPHI and MALPH). Progress will be routinely reported on the home page of this website.

The Challenge is coordinated by the Michigan Department of Community Health with assistance from local public health officers Mary Kushion of the Central Michigan Health Department and Kimberly Singh of the Mid-Michigan District Health Department. The Michigan Association of Health Plans generously donated pedometers.

Why the Challenge

Michigan is one of the fattest states in the nation-- more than 60% of Michigan adults are seriously overweight or obese. Increasing physical activity is one of the best ways to combat excess weight (and healthy eating helps too). It’s not just about looking better -- an estimated that nationally more than $70 billion is spent annually in the health related costs of treating diseases linked to obesity and excess weight (e.g., diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease). In Michigan, physical inactivity in over 4 million Michigan adults cost almost 8.9 billion dollars in 2002.

The good news is that physical activity is associated with reduced risk of heart disease, stroke, breast cancer, colon cancer, and osteoporosis as well as maintaining a healthy weight.

Challenge participants will serve as a model for the rest of Michigan—demonstrating that it’s possible to be more active in the context of our busy lives by finding ways to walk more. Participants also receive all the personal benefits of being more physically active.

As we become more physically active, we serve as "leaders by example" of our communities, just as our state legislators and faith leaders have already done. Who better to serve as a role model for healthy lifestyles than our public health employees?

Challenge Dates and Schedule

The Public Health Steps Up Challenge begins on September 6, 2004 and ends 16 weeks later on December 26, 2004. A more detailed schedule, including deadlines for reporting your steps, can be found on the Challenge Schedule page.

The last day to report steps is January 9, 2005. The winning team will be announced shortly thereafter.

Who is Eligible to Participate

Staff at Michigan's 45 local health departments and employees of the Michigan Department of Community Health, the Michigan Public Health Institute and the Michigan Association of Local Public Health are invited to participate.

NOTE: If you have any health concerns or have been instructed by your physician not to walk, you should consult your physician before participating in the Public Health Steps Up Challenge to determine the best exercise for you.

How to Get Started

1. Register online for the Challenge. It takes about a minute to register. Click here to register. The Michigan Association of Health Plans has generously donated pedometers that will be distributed to participating agencies while supplies last. Please see the How to Get a Pedometer section of this website if you need a pedometer. (If you already have a pedometer, please continue to use it.)
   
   
2. Put on your pedometer and start moving. You may want to refer to the "How to Use Your Pedometer" section below.
   
   
3. Record your steps each day.. And come back to this website weekly to record your steps for the previous week. For your convenience, we've provided two types of tools to help you record your steps:
   • A four-week portable, pocket-size diary - just print it and fold it into quarters like greeting card. Click here to view, download, and/or print.
   • An excel spreadsheet for the entire challenge (automatically calculates your steps). Click here to download this tool.
   
   

How to Report Steps

At the end of each Challenge week, log in at this website using your email address and your password. You’ll be directed to your personal step recording page. Record your steps for the previous week in the space indicated. Double check to make sure you have entered your steps correctly; you cannot change your steps after you click the submit button. Click the submit button to save (it will be clearly marked).

It is important that you report your steps in a timely fashion. You will have one week to record your steps for the previous week. For example, for the week ending September 12, you can record your steps online between September 13 and September 19. Due to the holiday season, we've allowed extra time for step recording for Weeks 15 and 16. Once the deadline is past, you will no longer be able to record your steps. See the Challenge Schedule page for step recording deadlines.

Because your step reporting occurs online, you can access the site from any location where you have an internet connection.

You’ll notice that each time you record your steps, you get instant feedback about your total steps, average steps and your week with the most steps. This information appears at the top of your personalized step recording page.

How to Use the Pedometer

Each type of pedometer or step counter has its own instructions for operation. If you are using one of the pedometers issued for this challenge, follow these instructions:

• Press the "Clear" button on top to set your steps to zero
• Attach the clip to your waistband, not to your pocket.
• Check your counter from time to time during the day to make sure it has not reset itself of miscounted steps.

Determining the Challenge Winner

The challenge winner will be selected based on an algorithm that includes the following factors:

• The average number of steps taken per week per health department or organization. The higher the average (per capita), the higher the score for the health department/organization.
• The consistency of participation from week to week. The higher the weekly percent participation, the higher the score.
• Improvement over the course of the event.

Questions

If you have questions that aren’t answered here, please review the Frequently Asked Questions page.

If you still have questions, please contact us.