September 15, 2015
K-State family moving and getting active in accordance with surgeon general's call to action
Submitted by Human Capital Services - Benefits
Vivek Murthy, the U.S. surgeon general, announced a call to action for walking on Wednesday, Sept. 9. Murthy has prescribed the U.S. population to be more active by finding ways to walk and the communities in which we live to create a better environment for safe exercising outside.
This prescription is based on the research that one out of every two U.S. adults is living with a chronic disease, such as heart disease, cancer or diabetes. However, by increasing people's physical activity levels, this also will significantly reduce their risk of chronic diseases and related risk factors.
Murthy also indicates that walking and other outdoor activities have an added benefit. These activities are usually inexpensive to participate in, as they don't require special skills or additional equipment.
All three K-State campuses have walking paths and grassy areas to exercise outside. The Manhattan and Salina campuses have updated recreational facilitates with memberships at a reduced rate for K-State employees. Your own home community may have areas to exercise outside.
This call to action was very timely as the K-State community has just embarked on a monthlong movement challenge. If you missed the start of the challenge or forgot to track your movement on Sunday and Monday, it's not too late, just start tracking now.
There are several ways to track activity toward steps. Human Capital Services has pedometers donated by HyVee and TIAA-CREF available at no charge, discounts on activity trackers have been procured at several local businesses — Best Buy and Gizmoe's and online at Garmin.com — and an activity converter website to convert different activities — such as swimming, biking, gardening, etc. — to steps.
No sign up is necessary. Just start tracking your movement and log in to the eReport that will be posted on the HCS website and the Live Your Best, #PurpleIsProgress website. The eReport will be live the Sunday following each week and will remain active through noon Tuesday. For the first week, Sept. 13–19, the eReport will be open on Sunday, Sept. 20, to noon Tuesday, Sept. 22.
Please join your fellow K-Staters and take part in the challenge! To learn more, visit the Live Your Best, #PurpleIsProgress website. Contact benefits@k-state.edu with questions.