Scale Back Alabama Doubles In Size , USA

Main Category: Obesity / Weight Loss / Fitness
Article Date: 02 Apr 2008 - 4:00 PDT

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With most weight loss campaigns, you want smaller numbers. With Scale Back Alabama, the goal was to increase in size... and it did. The statewide weight-loss competition for adults grew from 20,000 people last year to more than 40,000 people. A total of 11,056 people completed the 10-week contest losing more than 200,000 pounds.

Sponsors of the contest gathered to celebrate the campaign's success and to draw the names of the winning teams. All teams of four that lost at least 10 pounds per team member were put into a drawing, with the winning team receiving $1,000 for each team member. Individuals who lost at least 10 pounds, even though their team members did not, were entered in a drawing for one of 20 achievement prizes of $250 each.

The winning team was "Three Girls and A Guy" of Hazel Green Elementary School in Madison County. This team was drawn from a group of 810 teams whose members all lost at least 10 pounds.

Twenty names were drawn from those individuals who lost at least 10 pounds, regardless of their team's weight loss. They are as follows:

Ashley Gaither, The PA Gang, Talladega County
Beth Miller, Skinny Minnies, Madison County
Brian Johnson, Bloated Bankers, county not listed
Chrystal Larkins, G Money, county not listed
Darlene Wilson, Fit and Fabulous, Jefferson County
Duddy Shear, Hate to Diet, Cullman County
Faye Neely, Fresh Start, county not listed
James Watts, Flabulous, county not listed
Janice Peek, Team 4, Cherokee County
Jo Seay, Hospitality Hotties, Madison County
Karen Clem, AHS 3, Limestone County
Kristie Mardis, Booty Busters, Jefferson County
Marie Hudson, Mis-Managed, Lee County
Mary Wright, Wrights Winners, Baldwin County
Matt Vickery, Team Punishment, Mobile County
Stephanie Joly, Cash Rulz#1, Colbert County
Steven Clemmons, Wave Watchers, Madison County
Tammy Fuller, The Number Crunchers, Montgomery County
Terry Cooper, Terry's Angels, Marshall County
Ursula Wilson, Fantastic Four, Barbour County

"We were amazed by the response the first year, but even more surprised this year when we doubled in size," said Donald Jones, chairman of the Scale Back Alabama Task Force and CEO of Marion Regional Medical Center in Hamilton. "We learned a lot from the first Scale Back Alabama and have tried to enhance the contest to reinforce what has always been our primary goal … encouraging healthy lifestyles."

Dr. Donald Williamson, Alabama's State Health Officer, echoed Jones' comments about lifestyle changes, stating that Alabama's obesity problem is a huge threat to the health of Alabama's citizens. "We must get Alabamians to think about eating healthier and exercising in order to decrease our high rates of diabetes, high blood pressure, stroke and other diseases proven to have a direct correlation to obesity."

The Alabama Hospital Association and the Alabama Department of Public Health were the initiators of the competition and were joined this year by the following co-sponsors: Barber's Dairies, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Alabama, and the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries.

For additional information, including resources for healthy lifestyles, go to http://www.scalebackalabama.com.

Alabama Department of Public Health