Healthiest State Walk Brings Attention To Initiative
Enjoying the fall weather, participants walked for 30 minutes around the Oskaloosa square on Wednesday as part of the Healthiest State Initiative.
Oskaloosa, Iowa – Now in it’s 6th year, the healthiest state initiative continues to work towards the ultimate goal of making Iowa, the healthiest state in the nation.
The October 5th walk happened at several places around Oskaloosa, including the Mahaska Health Partnership campus, as well as the Oskaloosa Square.
When the initiative was first put into place, Iowa ranked 19th in 2010. In 2016, I had climbed to 14th in the nation.
When launched, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad stated, “This Healthiest State Initiative will assist Iowans in learning about and applying proven methods to live longer, happier, and healthier lives. We control more than 70 percent of the factors that influence our health. It is within our power to make a positive difference in our lives.”
The goal set by Branstad to have Iowa in the number one spot hasn’t come to passing, but the state has shown improvement according to the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.
Why is it important to the state to be involved with health care initiatives? In 2010, Branstad said that by addressing comprehensive lifestyle changes, the State needs to redirect as much as $16 billion [1] over the next five years to grow the state economy [versus being consumed by health care ($11 billion) and lost productivity ($5 billion)]. “The success of this initiative is critical to the economic viability of the State and translates to a healthier Iowa and better quality of life for all its residents.”
