Stepping up to better health

A 10-week fitness program designed to make seniors more active has already reached its capacity. With weeks to go before the "Step Up to Better Health" program actually begins, 100 people over age 50 have already signed up to participate. The walking program is sponsored by AARP of Missouri, Southeast Missouri Area Agency on Aging, Saint Francis Medical Center and the University of Missouri Extension.

The program begins Sept. 10 with a kick-off event at the Osage Community Centre. Participants will receive a free box lunch and get tips on how to start their exercise program.

Educational programs on choosing the right shoes, diabetic foot care and the importance of stretching also will be part of the 10-week fitness effort.

Even though she didn't sign up for the program, Bernice Quade, 79, of Cape Girardeau thinks it's a good idea. She and her husband, Norman, 84, walk about 2 1/2 miles six days each week at the Westfield Shoppingtown West Park.

"It's just something we do for ourselves to keep our limbs limbered up," she said.

There weren't any doctor's orders or admonitions to pursue more exercise. "Our doctors never did tell us. We tell them that we walk, and they say that's good," Quade said.

The Quades have been walking for 15 years, and their daily exercise lets them reap health benefits. People who walk briskly for three hours a week reduce their risk for heart attack. And people who walk regularly burn off enough calories to drop nearly two pounds per year -- the annual average weight gain for adults.

Knowing statistics about how important walking is to overall health, and getting step counters to track their results will be great motivational tools for the fitness walk class participants, said Ruth Dockins of the SEMO Area Agency on Aging.

"People just jumped at this," she said. And most participants came by word of mouth.

Everyone who enrolls also receives a book to keep a record of their steps and then will send in reports to track their level of activity, Dockins said.

The Agency on Aging hasn't focused as much on exercise as it has on nutritional needs for seniors in the past, but this program changes that, she said.

"You can see how important it's become," Dockins said.

ljohnston@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 126