Over 6,000 Pounds Lost in Healthy Savannah's LEAN Challenge

Dec. 3, 2013 - PRLog -- SAVANNAH - To celebrate over 6,000 pounds being lost in a 10-week Healthy Savannah LEAN community-wide fitness and weight loss challenge, a final team challenge will be held on Saturday, December 7, at 11:00 am, at the Forsyth Park bandshell. An awards ceremony will be held at 12:30 pm, and the public is invited to attend.

Many team participants will be competing in the Enmark Bridge Run earlier on Saturday morning, with an opportunity to visit the Forsyth Farmers Market before prizes are awarded to top teams and players.

A total of 1484 residents 18 years and older created 274 teams and collectively lost over 6,000 pounds to positively impact their health. Awards will be presented to individuals and teams, not only for their weight loss, but for their enthusiasm and spirit.

LEAN is an initiative of Healthy Savannah, which it stands for Leadership, Exercise, Activity and Nutrition. It's a social movement towards a healthy Savannah. The free 10- week community wide fitness and weight loss challenge focused on healthy lifestyle changes by using the FREE IT platform provided to Healthy Savannah at no cost for 2013 - 2014  by CERNER www.cernerhealthwins.com

Teams were formed from the community, public, private, big and small organizations.  Four to six members were on each team, and many participated in free Nutrition Education events, workouts and other physical activity events sponsored by local organizations.

Over 60 sponsors participated, including the YMCA of Coastal GA, City of Savannah, Savannah Area Chamber of Commerce, Visit Savannah, Forsyth Farmers Market, Memorial Health, JW Salon & Spa, Bikram Yoga, Crossfit Hyperformance, Our Life Health, Coastal Health District, WellFed Magazine, and many more.

Currently, Chatham County has a 29% Obesity Rate, and it is estimated that physical inactivity is costing our community $1518 per person per year. This equates to over $325 Million annually: $88M in Medical Costs; nearly $1million in Workers Comp and $235 M in Lost Productivity - this is in Chatham County.  Should the 1484 players that joined this challenge remain physically active, it could save our community over $2,000,000 annually.

Healthy Savannah is a coalition of businesses, nonprofits, healthcare agencies, governments, schools and neighborhoods and is an initiative of former City of Savannah Mayor Otis Johnson formed in 2007. It is a public/private collaboration of over 100 community organizations.

Look for another Healthy Savannah LEAN Challenge in 2014. Visit www.healthysavannah.org or www.savannahlean.com or contact Paula Kreissler via info@savannahlean.com for more information.