Chamber fitness program urges healthy competition

Missourians are more likely to race to the refrigerator than to run a race, a preference that landed the state at No. 10 on the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's 2001 list of most obese states.

It's a statistic often cited in trying to get Missourians off the couch and into the gym.

Cape Girardeau Chamber of Commerce's Shape Up Cape program began last year. Organizers are registering teams from member businesses again for another four-month fitness drive, and coordinator Annette Hunt said she's hoping for last summer's participation: 34 teams made up of 329 individuals.

Several teams have signed up for a second year, and there are new teams, too, but Hunt said some may be procrastinating until Friday's deadline.

Good for business

She says businesses shouldn't miss out.

"If you have healthy people who work for you, you're not going to have as many sick days and not as many people getting hurt," she said. "You'll have better health, better moods, and people will work harder for you."

Peder Leth, co-owner of the air filter replacement business FSI Heartland, said Shape Up Cape helped get him working out again after months of sporadic exercise.

His two-man team won second place in the small business category last year.

"When you start getting the points, it becomes an objective," he said. "It helps you get over the hurdle of doing it on your own. I'm on a pretty good routine right now, and that was started by Shape Up Cape last year."

Renae Gibbs of Wells Fargo Financial said the team concept appealed to her co-workers and her.

"We want better fitness and just to do something together besides work," she said. Gibbs and six other employees quickly signed up.

The event kicks off from 9 a.m. to noon on May 17 at the Osage Centre, where teams will pick up kits and shirts.

hhall@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 121