The fifth annual 10 Pound Throwdown is now under way, launching with more than 5,700 registered participants seeking to eclipse last year’s community weight loss total.
Last year, participants lost more than 11,000 pounds, with an average weight loss of more than four pounds per participant and an average of 2 percent of their body weight shed.
Targeting stubbornly high obesity rates, the 10 Pound Throwdown is a free, online 10-week challenge for adults across the region served by WellSpan who are interested in incorporating healthy habits such as healthy eating and physical activity into their routines.
The challenge is designed to help individual participants and teams of families, friends or co-workers lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.
Notably, more than 90 local employers were represented among the participants signed up to start the fifth-annual challenge, and many have been promoting the 10 Pound Throwdown to their workforces, said Stephanie Voight, chair of the 10 Pound Throwdown Committee and supervisor of community health development and evaluation for WellSpan.
Overall, more than 350 teams were signed up to participate shortly before of the start of this year’s challenge, which launched on Monday, March 13. The challenge continues through May 22.
“Influencing the high rate of obesity in our region is very challenging, and requires a commitment from the community – including local employers, as well as community and faith-based organizations, and families and friends,” Voight said.
“Our hope is that spreading the word about the 10 Pound Throwdown throughout the community will encourage change at many levels, and we are thrilled by the continual growth we see,” she added.
Last year, a three-person team known as “The 3 Losers” from Knouse Foods lost 14.1 percent of their combined weight – the most among teams in the challenge. Herculite Products participants lost 6.7 percent of their combined weight to take the top prize for employers.
Registration remains open through the end of the challenge, which runs until May 22. New participants can join at any time and engage in the online activities.
Weekly and grand prizes are available for those who participate for seven or more weeks of the challenge. The team and employer with the largest percent weight loss also receive a prize.
For more information on the challenge and to join, visit www.10poundthrowdown.com. Anyone can join who has set up a MyWellSpan account online at www.mywellspan.org.