A recent study conducted by the University of Wisconsin (UW) Population Health Institute said Butler County residents have plenty of room to improve their overall health in comparison to other Ohioans.
Among the 88 counties in Ohio, the study ranked Butler County 50th in "health outcomes," a measure of both mortality and morbidity rates. The study also ranked Butler County 48th in the "health factors" category, which measures behavior, environmental, clinical care, social and economic factors.
Butler County residents also ranked 80th out of 88 in the "health behaviors" sub-category, which measures smoking, obesity and binge drinking, among other factors.
According to Doug Curry, director of the Miami University Recreational Sports Center (RSC), the results of the study are not surprising.
"I don't know exactly what the survey consisted of, but I guess the results aren't surprising in that very few people regularly exercise, so that doesn't surprise me," Curry said. "Now the impact we can have on it is, while our number one priority is Miami students, we do allow community members to use the (RSC) facility and we offer community programs."
According to Linda Martin, spokeswoman for the Great Miami Valley YMCA, a new program called Activate Butler County aims to combat the results of the study and improve overall community health.
"The idea behind the program is really to address the nation's growing health crisis," Martin said. "What the YMCA did as a whole is implement an Activate America program across the country, and they're trying to find better ways to support these communities who are struggling to achieve healthier lifestyles, to address the obesity epidemic, to address the disease prevention epidemic, and that's how it really got started."
Martin said the results could not have been released at a better time.
"We are rated one of the most unhealthy counties of the 88 counties in Ohio, and that came out at an excellent time because our kickoff event had already been slated for that time period," Martin said.
According to Martin, while the Activate America program has been around for a few years, implementing the program in Butler County has been a lengthy process.
"In our particular area it's been about an 18-month-long process to get Activate Butler County to the kickoff event and make it come to reality," Martin said.
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Martin said it all started from a visit to a YMCA in Greenville, S.C. 18 months ago.
"Since they began the Activate America program four years ago they have lost thousands and thousands of pounds as a community," Martin said. "In fact, they now have their parks and recreation department involved and they've built biking and walking trails and all of that, so it's really a much bigger picture than just finding healthier ways to live, it's going outside of that and making the whole community healthier."
Although the program is young, Activate Butler County has already been an overwhelming hit among members of the community.
Martin said a Web site was launched Feb. 20.
"It's been a huge success," Martin said. "We have more than 550 people signed up for the program already in just a week, and we had our first weigh-in on Friday (Feb. 26)."
Martin ultimately believes programs like Activate Butler County will be hugely successful in promoting a healthier community.
"I think it's all about accountability, and if people want to have somebody that can check up on them, that's what this program is designed to do," Martin said. "If they don't come and weigh in they're going to get an e-mail about it, and if they do come weigh in they're getting rewarded with their name entered into weekly prize drawings."
Miami sophomore Andy Miller, a member of the weightlifting club, believes taking part in a fitness program like Activate Butler County would be a great way to stay in shape and raise overall health in the community.
"Activate Butler County and any other program like it are a great way to keep the community healthy," Miller said. "Obviously the first step to getting healthy is becoming active."
For students and community members alike, Martin recommends everyone get involved with the program.
"I encourage everyone to go on the Web site and register," Martin said. "It's free to the entire community and even if you're not a member of the Y, if you work out at the Rec Center you can still log your results and keep track of your progress."
According to Curry, utilizing the RSC is a great way for Miami students and the surrounding community to take advantage of the Activate Butler County program.
"The YMCA is a great organization; I worked for the Y for 11 years, and if they have a formalized program it's probably a great program," Curry said. "We definitely want to be a resource for the area, and that's part of the reason the recreational center was built was to serve the Miami student primarily but also to be a big resource for the surrounding community."
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