ALABAMA In Motion

Baldwin County AIMS for Better Health
By SUSAN F. WINGARD from BALDWIN COUNTY for ETP21A on 2006-08-14

The rates of diabetes, asthma and obesity are high in Alabama, contributing to premature death, illness and lost workdays and productivity. Alabama in Motion (AIM) is an eight-week fitness program offered by the Alabama Cooperative Extension System to encourage individuals to exercise for the health of it. There are two divisions, individual and team. Each team has eight members. The participants log their miles daily for eight weeks. Participants may report their mileage online at www.aces.edu/dept/family/aim or to the county extension office.
Baldwin County had 66 people participating in this year's program conducted by Susan Wingard, County Extension Coordinator. The first event of the program was a Kick-off Walk at the Loxley Municipal Park. Individuals and teams logged their miles walked beginning March 5 through April 29.

kickoff picture

AIM Walk at Loxley

An AIM Celebration was held at the Gulf Coast Regional Research and Extension Center in Fairhope to celebrate the successes of this year’s program. A total of 10,747 miles were walked during the program. The guest speaker for the AIM Celebration was Susan Siegel, MSRD from Thomas Hospital, and the topic was Nutrition and Your Health. Local sponsors provided awards for the program. Each participant received a certificate.

Group AIM picture

AIM Celebration in Fairhope

The participants stated the benefits of being a part of this program included: a general increase in well being, more energy, better health, it helped to lower blood pressure and less stress. Participants were also asked what they liked most about AIM and here are a few of their comments:
-The spirit of teamwork and fun with exercising
-Spending time to stay healthy
-Exercising with family
-Reaching a goal
-Reminder of the importance of exercising
-Organized method of tracking exactly how much activity was done
-Promoted a better and healthier lifestyle

Baldwin County plans to make AIM an annual event since now is the best time to aim for better health!

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