YMCA of Greater Indianapolis and Health by Design Aim to Improve Indy Area’s Score on ACSM American Fitness Index™.
INDIANAPOLIS – A group of Indianapolis’ most prominent health, fitness and wellness organizations – including the YMCA – today urged city residents to lead healthier, more active lifestyles.
In a ranking released last week by the American College of Sports Medicine’s American Fitness Index (AFI) program, Indianapolis was just the 36th-fittest of America’s 50 most populous metropolitan areas. The AFI report is produced in part by funding from the WellPoint Foundation, which participated in today’s call to action.
The YMCA of Greater Indianapolis, the City of Lawrence and the Indianapolis-based Alliance for Health Promotion’s Health By Design initiative shared details of their efforts to improve community health and fitness. ACSM contends that the solution to improving physical activity levels and decreasing obesity rates lies at the local level.
Lance Chrisman of the WellPoint Foundation noted that the AFI program is designed to help communities identify opportunities to improve the health of their residents and expand community assets to better support active, healthy lifestyles. Based on figures related to healthy lifestyles and physical activity, the Indianapolis metro area scored 39.3 out of 100 in the AFI data report, compared to the 74.4 scored by top-ranked Washington, D.C.
“We want Indianapolis to improve its score year after year,” Chrisman said. “Although Indianapolis will hopefully move up in rank next year, true success will be represented by improving against our current health and fitness levels for a better score, with incremental improvements year after year. We need local organization and individuals to help make that happen, which is why the WellPoint Foundation is pleased to support this effort.”
In 2007, the YMCA selected the City of Lawrence to be one of 17 communities for it’s Pioneering Healthier Communities (PHC) initiative, with a goal of bringing together leaders to focus on local policy and environmental change that promotes better health and community fitness. PHC is part of Activate America®, the YMCA’s response to the alarming trends in the nation’s health.
“At the YMCA of Greater Indianapolis, we are redefining ourselves to better support Indianapolis-area residents of all ages who are struggling to achieve and maintain well-being of spirit, mind and body,” said Eric Ellsworth, president and CEO for YMCA of Greater Indianapolis.
Lawrence Mayor Paul Ricketts said much is being done in Lawrence to improve health.
“The City of Lawrence has set its sights on Washington DC’s #1 ACSM ranking, said Mayor Ricketts. “Our recent designation as a “Pioneering Healthy Community” has motivated us to initiate a close examination of our City and its citizens. The City’s infrastructure is substantially in place to reach and exceed Washington DC’s standard with 3.5 times the park acreage per 1,000 population, three times the sports fields, twice the tennis courts, 14 times the golf courses, and 50% more recreational facilities. Our goal is now to fill in a few gaps in our infrastructure, to get more of our citizens, and employees, to use these great facilities.” “We really do feel we are the “healthiest City in America,” added Ricketts.
Other communities participating in the PHC initiative across the United States have had success in influencing walkability and pedestrian safety, access to fresh fruits and vegetables, and improving physical education requirements in schools. The AFI program is also designed to have impact at a local level, giving individuals, advocates and communities resources and tools to improve health and, in turn, their ranking on the fitness index.
“The data presented in the ACSM American Fitness Index highlight the important role of community-based policies, programs, and funding decisions in improving the health of Central Indiana residents,” said Kim Irwin, executive director of the Alliance for Health Promotion. “The design of our neighborhoods and transportation systems directly impact our ability to build physical activity into our daily lives.”
But, Irwin said, programs like PHC, AFI and her own don’t have to start from scratch with the their efforts.
“The good news is that there is a tremendous effort already underway – not just among the 200 Health by Design partners, but in countless other neighborhoods, worksites, public offices and organizations across Greater Indy. Together, we will continue to identify existing community initiatives and assets and to find new ways of working together so that our AFI score and ranking will improve in the years to come.”
The AFI data report reflects a composite of preventive health behaviors, levels of chronic disease conditions, health care access, as well as community resources and policies that support physical activity.
For a complete list of Indianapolis’ strengths and challenges plus a breakdown of the components that helped make up its score, please visit the AFI Web page and download the Indianapolis report at www.americanfitnessindex.org/report.htm.
