What is “health”?
Why is this important?
What should Iowans expect from the Initiative?
How can I get involved?
What is the Start Somewhere Walk?
What is the Blue Zones Project™?
What is the Gallup-Healthways partnership?
What is the Well-Being Index?
How are the state ranks determined?
Why Iowa? Why now?
What is “health”?
It’s not just physical health, though that’s part of it. The World Health Organization tells us that health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or illness. The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index® is the first-ever daily assessment of U.S. residents’ health and well-being and is the official measurement tool of the Healthiest State Initiative.
Why is this important?
Becoming healthier has enormous implications for Iowans and the fiscal health of the state. For example, making comprehensive lifestyle changes could allow Iowa to redirect as much as $16 billion over the next five years to other purposes such as growing the state’s economy. It’s a huge opportunity – and responsibility – for Iowans.
What should Iowans expect from the Initiative?
In the coming weeks, months and years, you’re going to see a number of programs aimed at helping Iowans change our lives for the better. More than that, you’re going to experience them.
Expect a major transformation in Iowa over the next five years, from traditional lifestyle changes (making better food and exercise decisions) to more emotionally based adjustments (taking more time to decompress and de-stress).
You, your family, friends and community will have countless opportunities to get involved in making Iowa a healthier place to live – and the healthiest state in the nation.
How can I get involved?
If you haven’t already, the first thing you can do is take the pledge to support the Healthiest State Initiative. But that’s just the beginning. You can also:
- Support your hometown’s effort to be one of the Blue Zones communities at www.bluezonesproject.com. While you’re there, complete a Blue Zones Personal Pledge to define specific steps you can take to improve your personal health.
- Form a walk group. Talk to friends, neighbors or co-workers. Agree on when, where and your pace. Enjoy the camaraderie and shared health benefits.
- Find us on Facebook for up-to-date information and opportunities for involvement.
Every movement starts somewhere – this one starts with you.
What is the Start Somewhere Walk?
The Start Somewhere Walk was the symbolic kick-off to the Healthiest State Initiative. More than 291,000 Iowans voted with their feet in favor of Initiative by participating in Start Somewhere Walks held across Iowa on Friday, October 7, 2011. Walk organizers had set a goal of 250,000 Start Somewhere Walk participants to best a walk world record previously claimed by Canada, which had 231,635 walk participants in 2007. Iowans beat that total even though the state has less than one-tenth of the population of Canada.
See pictures of walks from around the state on our Facebook page.
What is the Blue Zones Project™?
One of the centerpieces of the Healthiest State Initiative is the Blue Zones Project™, a collaboration of Wellmark® Blue Cross® and Blue Shield® and Healthways. Blue Zones are geographically defined areas around the world such as Sardinia, Italy; Okinawa, Japan; and Loma Linda, California, where people reach age 100 at rates 10 times greater than in the United States. We’d like to transform some Iowa cities and towns into Blue Zones Communities, where people “Live Longer, Better.”
What is the Gallup-Healthways partnership?
In 2008, Gallup, a world-renowned statistical research company and Healthways, a respected well-being company, agreed to a 25-year partnership to merge decades of clinical research and development expertise, health leadership, and behavioral economics research to track and understand the key factors that drive well-being. The Gallup-Healthways collaboration draws on a team of individuals with diverse backgrounds and high-level achievements including authors of best-selling books on employee engagement and organizational psychology; a Nobel Prize winner in economic sciences whose research pioneered behavioral economics; leaders specializing in health support interventions; and the inventor of an economic model that establishes a direct correlation between human nature in the workplace, employee engagement and business outcomes.
What is the Well-Being Index?
The Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index® is the product of interviews conducted by Gallup-Healthways, a partnership formed by Gallup, a statistical research company, and Healthways, a well-being company. The answers to those interview questions are used to create the Well-Being Index, providing an in-depth, real-time view of Americans’ well-being.
How are the state ranks determined?
Gallup and Healthways interview more than 350,000 U.S. adults throughout the year, asking 56 questions that touch six sub-indexes: Life Evaluation, Physical Health, Emotional Health, Healthy Behavior, Work Environment and Basic Access. The resulting Well-Being Index, which averages those six sub-indexes to determine state ranks, is the official measurement tool of the Healthiest State Initiative.
For a complete overview of how the Well-Being Index works, please see their methodology.
Why Iowa? Why now?
As Iowans, we’re known for our friendliness and civic engagement. That’s part of the reason we’re trusted to start the process of picking this nation’s president. We take this responsibility seriously because we care about our country, each other and our communities. Now, it’s time to take even better care of ourselves. Together, let’s tackle yet another important challenge. Together, let’s become the healthiest state in the nation.
The best part about getting involved in the Healthiest State Initiative? You’ll be part of a unique, groundbreaking community movement that has never been attempted on a statewide basis. We can help change Iowa and show the rest of the nation the road to wellness.