Going for a walk might be the most accessible form of beneficial physical activity, which is why The Partnership for a Healthier Carroll County is launching its new Walk Carroll program on April 5, according to Bethany Myers, a community health improvement area specialist with the Partnership.
"This is a program designed to inspire people, anyone who lives, works or shares a place in Carroll County, to just be more active ... to participate in more moderate physical activity," Myers said. "We have our kick-off event [April 5] and then we will be holding events throughout the county throughout the summer."
The idea for the Walk Carroll program came out of the Community Health Needs Assessment, a conducted by the Partnership for a Healthier Carroll County in 2012. The results, such as the finding that 68.9 percent of Carroll residents are overweight or obese, led the Partnership to look for a program that would be easy for anyone to start and would help decrease some of the negative health risk factors prevalent in the population, according to Barbara Rodgers, director of health planning and community improvement for the Carroll County Health Department.
"Based on the data collected in the household survey, which was part of the Community Health Needs Assessment, Carroll County residents need to exercise more, eat better, lose weight and stop smoking for better health," Rodgers said. "Walking is one of the easiest ways to start exercising."
Walking is also something of a magic bullet, positively affecting many health issues at once, according to Victoria Barry, also a community health improvement area specialist at the Partnership for a Healthier Carroll County.
"We have a lot of different indicators we're looking to change," she said. "We're hoping this walking program will have an impact on the number of Carroll residents that are obese, but also the number with diabetes and pre-diabetes and also heart disease. These are all in the top six of our highest priority items."
The kick off event will be held at the Carroll County Farm Museum from 9 a.m. until noon and will be centered on a series of group walks designed for participants of all ages and ability levels.
We'll be leading three short distance walks and we'll have longer walks as well. They can join us for a short walk or a longer walk, or both, if they like," Myers said. "The longest distance is about a mile and a half, on and around the Farm Museum and the Ag Center. The short walks will be about one third of a mile. We really want to encourage people of all activity levels to join us."
There will also be free yoga instruction, activities for children to do with parents and giveaways, such as a free T-shirts and pedometers, according to Myers. The event is free and no advanced registration is required, though participants will be asked to register when they arrive.
"They'll give us their name and email, fill out a quick baseline survey, get their T-shirt and pedometer, and will give them a timeline of when all the walks and activities will be happening throughout morning," Myers said. "We will also have lots of information tables on health topics and community resources. When people visit the different tables, they can earn raffle tickets and we will be giving away some cool prizes every hour and at the end of the event."
Although the exact dates are not yet set, Myers said the plan is to hold similar group walk-centered events in various locations throughout the county and throughout the year, with current discussions mentioning possible events located in Taneytown and at Bear Branch Nature Center in Westminster. Updates on future events will be sent out by email to those who register at the kick off event and also posted on the program's Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/walkcarroll.
Walk Carroll is designed to be more than just a series of morning events however, according to Barry.
"We're encouraging people to create their own goals and do their own walking between the events," Barry said. "There is a program they can use to see how far they are walking and ... we will also be giving out paper logs to those that don't wish to participate online."
A University of Maryland Extension website, extension.umd.edu/walkmd, will allow users to log the miles they walk throughout the year, and Barry said users will even be able to convert alternate activities, such as shoveling snow or bike riding, into the equivalent of miles walked.
At present, the website can log up to 500 miles per participant and Myers said the plan is to come up with some sort of prize or certificate for those who reach that maximum by the end of 2014.
Although program is just getting started, Myers said the hope is that it will continue for years to come, with new prizes and challenges for those who record their miles and physical activity across the calendar.
"There is no specific duration of this," she said. "Really, being active is a lifestyle change, not just a program."
