Press Releases: National
December 27, 2004
New Kaiser Permanente online program gets consumers up and moving for health
Pedometer adds incentive to take 10,000 steps daily, lose weight and keep fit
OAKLAND, Calif. – In keeping with its mandate of promoting health and wellness through prevention, Kaiser Permanente today announced that the 10,000 Steps® walking/fitness program is now available to members and non-members alike. By clicking on the Web site at kp.org/totalhealth, participants can sign up for this effective, easy-to-use way to increase their physical activity by increasing their daily steps.
Offered in association with HealthPartners, a Minneapolis managed care organization, the 10,000 Steps® program is one of an array of onsite and online strategies from Kaiser Permanente, designed to put prevention and wellness on par with diagnosis, treatment and cure. Kaiser Permanente recently rolled out its companion Healthy Lifestyle Program, a series of online programs that address weight management and fitness, smoking cessation, stress reduction and nutrition.
For a nominal fee, participants in the 10,000 Steps® program can sign up for eight months of access to the Web site and purchase a high-end pedometer at the same time. Pedometers add the motivational pizzazz, providing a tangible means to measure performance so participants can see immediately why it’s important to use the stairs instead of the elevator or park at the far end of the lot, not near the door. Everything participants need to assess their current status and monitor their daily successes can be accessed on the Web site in a secure manner. In addition, if losing interest is a concern, they can sign-up for daily e-mail tips and encouragement.
“We’re anticipating great results from 10,000 Steps®,” said William Caplan, MD, director of clinical development for Kaiser Permanente’s Care Management Institute (KP-CMI). “We’re confident that by walking further, and more frequently, participants will do positive things for their weight, their bodies and their overall health. We’re giving them the motivational and measurement tools – all they have to do is provide the energy and determination. Since our emphasis is on helping our members make wiser, more sustainable lifestyle choices, we’re excited when we can offer a simple tool that might inspire consumers to get up, get moving, and get healthy. 10,000 Steps® does just that.”
Earlier this month, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced that the 10,000 Steps® program of HealthPartners was one of eleven winners of the second annual Innovation in Prevention Awards. The awards are presented each year by Secretary Thompson to highlight businesses and organizations that are leading efforts to promote healthy lifestyles. The awards are part of the HealthierUS initiative and Secretary Thompson’s emphasis on preventing chronic disease and improving Americans’ lives.
General studies lay groundwork
10,000 Steps® is predicated on research showing that most people don’t achieve the level of activity necessary to maintain health, let alone improve it. Sedentary adults, for instance, take between 2,000 and 4,000 steps per day, with moderately active individuals raising the bar to between 5,000 and 7,000. Active men and women, however, regularly walk 10,000 steps daily, burning up the 150 kcal (or more) recommended for improving health. Lack of exercise can increase the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and stroke and obesity kills more Americans every year than AIDS, cancer, and accidents combined.
Taking into account stride length and an individual’s weight, 2,000 steps is roughly a mile and burns about 100 calories. Burning an extra 100 calories a day can help prevent a 1-2 pound weight gain over the course of a year. Household chores can be converted to steps; mopping floors translates to 51 steps per minute, dancing to 93 steps a minute, and so on.
When developing 10,000 Steps®, HealthPartners based its innovative program on findings like these, and on focus group results revealing how improved health and increased energy can prompt a target audience of 35-to-50-year-olds to be more physically active. This same audience identified walking as a convenient, cheap and relatively easy way to accomplish their goals. They also saw the pedometer as an intriguing means to mark progress. According to a HealthPartners study published in the August 2000 Journal of the American Dietetic Association, study participants agreed that the pedometer was helpful in raising their physical activity by motivating them to accumulate and track their steps.
About Kaiser Permanente
Kaiser Permanente is committed to helping shape the future of health care. We are recognized as one of America’s leading health care providers and not-for-profit health plans. Founded in 1945, our mission is to provide high-quality, affordable health care services and to improve the health of our members and the communities we serve. We currently serve 8.6 million members in nine states and the District of Columbia. Care for members and patients is focused on their total health and guided by their personal physicians, specialists and team of caregivers. Our expert and caring medical teams are empowered and supported by industry-leading technology advances and tools for health promotion, disease prevention, state-of-the art care delivery and world-class chronic disease management. Kaiser Permanente is dedicated to care innovations, clinical research, health education and the support of community health. For more information, go to: www.kp.org/newscenter.
