Colorado on the Move

Through a partnership with the University of Colorado Health Sciences, the Colorado Physical Activity and Nutrition Program is implementing two community interventions in Peetz, Colorado, which has a large rural population, and in the Denver Metro Black Churches, which allows program coordinators to work in an already established urban and African American setting to reach high-risk populations. These interventions focus on a physical activity component to encourage participants to walk 2,000 steps a day more than they walked before the program. Pedometers are offered to assist participants in their efforts. Additional worksites and community sites throughout the state are also participating. The intervention will introduce a nutrition component as well, most likely promoting a 5 A Day campaign. The program has been named Colorado on the MoveTM, and researchers at the University of Colorado plan to expand this effort beyond the currently funded program as additional money becomes available. In addition, four task forces were formed to guide the expansion of this program by assessing the burden of obesity and the impact of the other task force efforts (worksite, school, and community) to promote Colorado on the MoveTM and other initiatives.

The goal of this program is to increase participants' physical activity.

Physical activity helps to control weight; contributes to healthy bones, muscles, and joints; reduces falls among the elderly; helps to relieve the pain of arthritis; reduces symptoms of anxiety and depression; and is associated with fewer hospitalizations, physician visits, and medications. The Colorado on the Move program serves as a model for other states that are trying to encourage increased physical activity.