PORT ANGELES — It’s like a betting pool, with high stakes and sweet rewards.
We’re living in one of Washington state’s fattest, most diabetic and hypertensive places, reports Mary Hogan, executive director of Volunteers in Medicine of the Olympics, aka VIMO.
She and development manager Scott Brandon asked themselves: What can this clinic do — as a community member — to promote more health and happiness in 2016?
They came up with the VIMO Weight Loss Challenge, a 60-day activity culminating in cash and prizes for the winners, to start next Sunday, Jan. 10.
Men and women across Clallam County are encouraged to visit VIMO, 819 Georgiana St., to weigh in and pay a $100 fee — which benefits the nonprofit health clinic — between next Sunday and Friday, Jan. 15.
The clinic will be open for weigh-ins from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. all six days.
Sliding-scale fees
Sliding-scale fees are available to low-income participants, added Brandon, so the cost can be as little as $20.
More information is available by phoning the clinic at 360-457-4431 and visiting www.vimoclinic.org or the VIMO Weight Loss Challenge page on Facebook.
Entrants will receive a welcome packet with motivational tips, information and discounts and other incentives from local businesses — and “we will not broadcast your weight,” Hogan quipped.
“Just showing up is a big piece,” added VIMO board member Bonnie Bulach, who like Hogan is joining the VIMO team in hopes of shedding a few pounds.
The challenge will run until March 10, when there will be winners in the male, female and team categories.
Those who lose the largest percentage of body weight each will take home 10 percent of the fees collected in his or her category, plus other prizes, including Sassy Kat Salon makeovers and studio sessions at Ernst Fine Art Photography.
But there’s this other bonus: feeling good.
“When I lose weight, my hip pain goes away; my back pain goes away,” said Hogan, though she added that she’s been less active lately.
Since she is studying online for her degree in health management from Colorado State University, homework tends to replace exercise.
Even if the Weight Loss Challenge is happening during the dark winter months, it will not be a slog, Brandon added.
Exercise discounts
He’s working with local businesses on offering discounts on exercise- and health-related services and gear, and has Olympic National Park among his partners in this endeavor. Guided snowshoeing, ranger-led walks and Marymere Falls hikes are among the possibilities for challenge participants.
Activity groups will be available to participants of all fitness levels, Brandon said, since camaraderie and positivity are key here.
“We’re looking forward to getting lots of people signed up,” he said, noting that just two months from now, the “weigh-outs” will be done at VIMO on March 10, 11 and 12.
Brandon has a history with this challenge thing. Back in 2012, when Therapeutic Associates of Port Angeles ran a weight loss contest as a fundraiser for VIMO, his wife, Teresa Brandon, was among the champions. She lost 12.1 percent of her body weight and won $500.
The message of this contest, Hogan said, is twofold: You are not alone, and you can lose weight.
“When those pounds start to come off, it gets exciting,” she said, adding that healthful eating, exercise and weight loss can cure both Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure.
VIMO, as a community health clinic, seeks to further its mission of improving the well-being of local residents.
Obesity
And Clallam County is suffering from some high percentages when it comes to obesity.
The county’s Community Health Assessment, published in 2012, reported 27 percent of adults here — more than one in four — are overweight, compared with 24 percent in Jefferson County and 26 percent statewide.
Nine percent of Clallam adults have been told they’re diabetic, while 5 percent of Jefferson County residents have received that diagnosis. The state average for diabetes is 7 percent.
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Features Editor Diane Urbani de la Paz can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 5062, or at diane.urbani@peninsuladailynews.com.