Fitness boils down to will versus desire

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Tammie Moore
  • 4th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. --  A report published by the Center for Disease Control highlighted the fact that more than one-third of U.S. adults were obese between 2005-2006. It also concluded 33.3 percent of men and 35.3 percent of women interviewed were obese.

This statistic is not one to which Airmen are immune. A person is considered obese if they are more than 20 percent over their ideal weight.

"The average Airman who stays in the military for 20 years will gain 40 pounds," said Arletta Thompson, Health and Wellness Center exercise physiologist.

The HAWC staff's primary mission is to help members of the Seymour Johnson community make healthy lifestyle changes.

"We've engineered ourselves out of physical activity," Ms. Thompson said. People no longer have to walk places, they can drive; they no longer have to go down the hall to talk to someone, they can call or e-mail. As a result, waistlines are slowly expanding an inch at a time throughout the years.

Creeping waistlines are a trend the HAWC staff and unit fitness program managers are working to reverse. The HAWC offers a variety of healthy living classes ranging from "Nutrition 101" to "Dining with Diabetes" which are open to retirees, family members and Department of Defense civilians. In addition, the Body Composition Improvement Program and the Healthy Living Program are also open to the entire Seymour Johnson community.

The BCIP helps people shed unwanted pounds through a focus on lifestyle changes, Ms. Thompson said. The program addresses nutrition and exercise.

The HLP is an intervention program consiting of behavior modification, fitness and nutrition education. Airmen who receive a score of 74.99 percent or less on their physical training test are automatically enrolled in HLP.

"The number of Airmen self-referring into these programs has increased," Ms. Thompson said. "This is a good thing because these people are more receptive to the program."

The HAWC staff encourages anyone interested in improving their health to use food and exercise logs. Sites such as www.Fitday.com allow users to make their page public and has e-mail options, so HAWC dietitians and FPMs can review progress and offer tips.

"The Air Force mandates people who can't pass a PT test keep an exercise log," Ms. Thompson said. "The log is the part (of the program) people like the least but it helps the most. The best chance of success is keeping logs, especially for those people who want additional help, if we don't have that to see, we are dead in the water."

Tech. Sgt. Daniel Ruffino, 4th Equipment Maintenance Squadron FPM, is responsible for tracking the fitness of approximately 600 Airmen in his unit. As someone who turned an unhealthy lifestyle around, Sergeant Ruffino is an advocate of maintaining calorie and exercise logs.

"I use them, it is hard to tell someone to do something you don't do yourself," he said. "A lot of people don't realize what they are eating. They are surprised by how unhealthy some of the things they do are."

Sergeant Ruffino realizes dropping pounds is not something that happens over night, but takes time.

"When people tell me they don't have time to work out, I ask them how much time they put in on the couch watching TV," he said. The bottom line is people have to make time for PT. The physical fitness program impacts someone's career so much now. People dedicate time to study for their promotion but continue to cram for their PT test.

Healthy lifestyle changes require time and energy; however, it does not have to be costly. The HAWC and fitness center classes are free. The dining facility offers healthy meal choices.

In addition, the base library has the largest collection of fitness and wellness resources in the Air Force, including books, workout DVDs, VHS tapes, CDs and cassette tapes, Ms. Thompson said.

Pedometers are also a low cost weight loss tool.

People can buy pedometers for less than $5, Ms. Thompson said. "Pedometers make people more aware of their fitness. The average American walks 5,000 steps a day, the average flightline Airmen walks 7,000 steps a day. If your goal is to lose weight, you probably need to walk up to 10,000-12,000 steps a day."

Overall, the Air Force is trying to change the culture so people pay more attention to their fitness levels year round.

"You are a professional athlete; the Air Force is paying you to (workout)," Ms. Thompson said. "Make it a priority because the bottom line is that fitness is a readiness issue."

For more information about HAWC programs and classes, call 722-0407.