A CNN special on Sunday night focusing on health will air a feature on “Lighten Up Iowa.” Sponsored by the Iowa Games, “Lighten Up Iowa” promotes fitness by tracking the weight loss and activities of people who join teams. It will be part of the show “Fit Nation” which will air at six, Iowa time this Sunday night.
Iowa Games executive director Jim Halihan says it’s a report they’ve been working on for several months and visited several areas of the country.
Halihan says “Lighten Up Iowa” has helped focus on the problem of obesity. He says former Governor Bob Ray first suggested the idea in November of 2000, and Halihan says there wasn’t anyone talking about obesity at that time. Halihan says the talk slowly got underway across the country and now everyone is talking about the problem.
Halihan believes the program has grown so fast because of the team aspect. He says the success comes from people working together and not wanting to let the team down. Halihan says the team also supports each other, and he says it’s not much different from sports teams where teammembers pull each other along.