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Kaua‘i's Great Weigh Out is a lifesaver
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| Bev Brody, the high-energy coordinator for Kauai's Great Weigh Out (center with white T-shirt), checks in one of the 20 teams signed up for this year's program. At right is Clyde Vito, one of the program coordinators. |
By Paul C. Curtis - The Garden Island
Organizers of Kauai's Great Weigh Out know they have an effective way to reach people and encourage them through peer pressure, group activities and friendly competition to begin or rekindle a lifelong love of exercise and healthy eating.
They probably didn't think they would find themselves in the role of lifesavers.
Accepting federal grant funds from the Offices of Minority Health came with strings attached, meaning all participants had to get medical clearances from doctors, and blood work including tests to determine cholesterol levels, before participating.
A lot of the participants, including Collin Frazier of Wilcox Elementary School, were "a bit bummed out" to have to visit doctors before participating, until he found out through the screening process that his bad cholesterol (LDL) and overall cholesterol levels were at extremely high and dangerous levels.
The revelation has given him a new lease on life. "I have a little girl, Makenna PuaLei, who is 15 months old, and (I) hope to be around to see her grow up," he said.
In a note to Bev Brody, one of Kauai's Great Weigh Out coordinators, Frazier said, "(I) just wanted to say thanks, because without your program I probably would have never had this checked (at least not for another 10 to 20 years)."
"I joined the Weigh Out program for team building at Wilcox El, and to lose weight. I never had a cholesterol test, and to be honest was a bit bummed out when I found out we had to have a doctor's visit prior to being accepted in the program, as I am so busy.
"At the visit I was told my bad cholesterol is 223 and total is over 300," Frazier said. "The doctor at your clinic in Kapa‘a (Ho‘ola Lahui Hawai‘i) said if I were his patient, he would put me on meds (medications), and I would likely be on them the rest of my life, because cholesterol this high would very likely not be able to be controlled with diet and exercise alone.
"He advised that cholesterol this high left untreated can be very dangerous," Frazier said. And Frazier had no idea his cholesterol was that high.
"High cholesterol is the silent killer," because there are no real symptoms, those not overweight may suffer from it and not even know it, and it can come from family bloodlines, lack of exercise, poor diet choices, or a combination of those, said Brody.
While Frazier's is an extreme case, Brody did say that many people in Kauai's Great Weigh Out (KGWO) joined for the wrong reason — vanity. "Many joined for cosmetic reasons — to look great and lose weight," she said.
"Weight loss is a goal, not an outcome, from eating healthy and exercising regularly," she stressed. But there is hope. "Kaua‘i people really do care about their health, although they may not know they do."
Other outcomes from participation in programs like KGWO include lower risks of diabetes and heart disease, a lower bodymass index (not the same as percentage of body fat), lower cholesterol levels, and other benefits, she said.
Through the medical-screening process, others found their cholesterol levels dangerously high, and other people were found to have diabetes, all who didn't know it, and wouldn't have known it had it not been for the testing requirement, she said.
Program organizers thought that requiring the medical screenings might be a barrier to participation.
To overcome that hurdle, Brody worked with leaders of Ho‘ola Lahui Hawai‘i to offer clinics at the Ho‘ola medical centers in Waimea and Kapa‘a, for those without medical insurance or primary-care doctors.
It didn't seem to be a barrier, as there are 200 Kauaians who are on KGWO teams, another 200 Me Too! participants (not on teams but still participating), 60 Kids Too! participants, and 50 Seniors Too! participants.
Some 80 percent of the participants said they were surprised at the medical-test results, she said.
Getting people to get in the habit of exercising regularly, and eating between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day, works better in numbers, Brody continued. Being accountable to a team, and having incentives and infrastructure for fun, all helps, she said. "People find ways, somehow," to participate and exercise without adding stress, she noted.
There are 20 teams in the team competition, whose members earn Fitbucks for exercising regularly, eating healthy, and taking part in organized KGWO events. So far, the Us Nutz team of Kuhio Medical Center is the Fitbucks leader, with Break Away, from Wilcox Memorial Hospital's medical records department, a close second.
Kualii Big Losers & Friends, made up of members of the Kualii family and friends, is in third, and Cut Da Gut, Kauai Medical Clinic receptionists, is fourth. Two teams from Kapa‘a Elementary School, Kapa‘a QTs and One and a Half, have entered into an intraschool rivalry, as have the competing Wilcox Elementary squads, Weigh Down With Wilcox and Wilikoki Meltaways. A team of Ni‘ihau natives, Momona (big) Busters, is also in the fray.
While team members reap the rewards of regular exercise and healthy eating, those habits can't help but rub off on family members, Brody said. And family members also are seen regularly at KGWO activities, supporting family members who are KGWO team members, and learning healthy eating and exercise habits at the events, she added.
The KGWO program has expanded this year to include nearly all of calendar 2005, with a second phase running from May 1 to August 6, and a third phase from August 7 to December 3. Folks not already enrolled may sign up for the second and third phases just before or after the start of each phase, she said.
A family-fun day at Lydgate Park on December 3 will include a fun walk and run, and be the forum for distribution of prizes for all three phases.
This week is the fourth week of the first phase.
Sponsors include Ho‘ola Lahui Hawai‘i, County of Kaua‘i Offices of Community Assistance Agency on Elderly Affairs and Agency on Recreation, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation Kaua‘i region, University of Hawai‘i Cooperative Extension Service, state Department of Health Kaua‘i district health office, IOvision, Sharon de la Pena, Sunday Murch, Terri Halliday and Helene Kamen.
"Taking you to the level of health and fitness you deserve" is the theme of this year's KGWO.
Paul C. Curtis, associate editor, may be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@pulitzer.net.
They probably didn't think they would find themselves in the role of lifesavers.
Accepting federal grant funds from the Offices of Minority Health came with strings attached, meaning all participants had to get medical clearances from doctors, and blood work including tests to determine cholesterol levels, before participating.
A lot of the participants, including Collin Frazier of Wilcox Elementary School, were "a bit bummed out" to have to visit doctors before participating, until he found out through the screening process that his bad cholesterol (LDL) and overall cholesterol levels were at extremely high and dangerous levels.
The revelation has given him a new lease on life. "I have a little girl, Makenna PuaLei, who is 15 months old, and (I) hope to be around to see her grow up," he said.
In a note to Bev Brody, one of Kauai's Great Weigh Out coordinators, Frazier said, "(I) just wanted to say thanks, because without your program I probably would have never had this checked (at least not for another 10 to 20 years)."
"I joined the Weigh Out program for team building at Wilcox El, and to lose weight. I never had a cholesterol test, and to be honest was a bit bummed out when I found out we had to have a doctor's visit prior to being accepted in the program, as I am so busy.
"At the visit I was told my bad cholesterol is 223 and total is over 300," Frazier said. "The doctor at your clinic in Kapa‘a (Ho‘ola Lahui Hawai‘i) said if I were his patient, he would put me on meds (medications), and I would likely be on them the rest of my life, because cholesterol this high would very likely not be able to be controlled with diet and exercise alone.
"He advised that cholesterol this high left untreated can be very dangerous," Frazier said. And Frazier had no idea his cholesterol was that high.
"High cholesterol is the silent killer," because there are no real symptoms, those not overweight may suffer from it and not even know it, and it can come from family bloodlines, lack of exercise, poor diet choices, or a combination of those, said Brody.
While Frazier's is an extreme case, Brody did say that many people in Kauai's Great Weigh Out (KGWO) joined for the wrong reason — vanity. "Many joined for cosmetic reasons — to look great and lose weight," she said.
"Weight loss is a goal, not an outcome, from eating healthy and exercising regularly," she stressed. But there is hope. "Kaua‘i people really do care about their health, although they may not know they do."
Other outcomes from participation in programs like KGWO include lower risks of diabetes and heart disease, a lower bodymass index (not the same as percentage of body fat), lower cholesterol levels, and other benefits, she said.
Through the medical-screening process, others found their cholesterol levels dangerously high, and other people were found to have diabetes, all who didn't know it, and wouldn't have known it had it not been for the testing requirement, she said.
Program organizers thought that requiring the medical screenings might be a barrier to participation.
To overcome that hurdle, Brody worked with leaders of Ho‘ola Lahui Hawai‘i to offer clinics at the Ho‘ola medical centers in Waimea and Kapa‘a, for those without medical insurance or primary-care doctors.
It didn't seem to be a barrier, as there are 200 Kauaians who are on KGWO teams, another 200 Me Too! participants (not on teams but still participating), 60 Kids Too! participants, and 50 Seniors Too! participants.
Some 80 percent of the participants said they were surprised at the medical-test results, she said.
Getting people to get in the habit of exercising regularly, and eating between five and nine servings of fruits and vegetables a day, works better in numbers, Brody continued. Being accountable to a team, and having incentives and infrastructure for fun, all helps, she said. "People find ways, somehow," to participate and exercise without adding stress, she noted.
There are 20 teams in the team competition, whose members earn Fitbucks for exercising regularly, eating healthy, and taking part in organized KGWO events. So far, the Us Nutz team of Kuhio Medical Center is the Fitbucks leader, with Break Away, from Wilcox Memorial Hospital's medical records department, a close second.
Kualii Big Losers & Friends, made up of members of the Kualii family and friends, is in third, and Cut Da Gut, Kauai Medical Clinic receptionists, is fourth. Two teams from Kapa‘a Elementary School, Kapa‘a QTs and One and a Half, have entered into an intraschool rivalry, as have the competing Wilcox Elementary squads, Weigh Down With Wilcox and Wilikoki Meltaways. A team of Ni‘ihau natives, Momona (big) Busters, is also in the fray.
While team members reap the rewards of regular exercise and healthy eating, those habits can't help but rub off on family members, Brody said. And family members also are seen regularly at KGWO activities, supporting family members who are KGWO team members, and learning healthy eating and exercise habits at the events, she added.
The KGWO program has expanded this year to include nearly all of calendar 2005, with a second phase running from May 1 to August 6, and a third phase from August 7 to December 3. Folks not already enrolled may sign up for the second and third phases just before or after the start of each phase, she said.
A family-fun day at Lydgate Park on December 3 will include a fun walk and run, and be the forum for distribution of prizes for all three phases.
This week is the fourth week of the first phase.
Sponsors include Ho‘ola Lahui Hawai‘i, County of Kaua‘i Offices of Community Assistance Agency on Elderly Affairs and Agency on Recreation, Hawaii Health Systems Corporation Kaua‘i region, University of Hawai‘i Cooperative Extension Service, state Department of Health Kaua‘i district health office, IOvision, Sharon de la Pena, Sunday Murch, Terri Halliday and Helene Kamen.
"Taking you to the level of health and fitness you deserve" is the theme of this year's KGWO.
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