When Live Healthy America agreed to export their product to Bermuda they had only 30 days to adapt the 100 Day Challenge to our shores.

That effort has paid obvious dividends for this community with 2000 plus people combining to log more than 40,000 hours of activity and lose more than 6500 pounds. But is has also proven to be a new expansion for the healthy lifestyle programme that began in Iowa and is now heading across the globe.

Troy Vincent, the director of Live Healthy America was in Bermuda for the culmination of our 100 Day Challenge and he spoke to The Royal Gazette about the programme and bringing it to our island.

"This programme started as 'Lighten Up Iowa' seven years ago when a group of companies put it together for the Iowa Sports Foundation," explains Mr. Vincent. "That model was extended by several corporations that had entities outside of Iowa and because we couldn't exactly send out T-shirts with Live Healthy Iowa on them Live Healthy America was formed."

Thanks to the efforts of, amongst others, Terry Faulkenberry, Bermuda is the first place outside of the U.S. to participate in the 100 Day Challenge and Mr. Vincent says he has been inspired by the process:

"It has been an absolutely humbling and mesmerising experience. To start a pilot programme and learn the system, we expected 200 to 300 people and we got 2000. That doesn't happen without the collaboration of businesses, government, organisations like Sarah's (Sarah Burrows of the Bermuda Diabetes Association) and companies like Lindo's coming together for the common cause."

So effective and impressive has the effort in Bermuda been that Mr. Vincent says he now uses Live Healthy Bermuda as a model to inspire other communities.

"What Bermuda has done, in a short amount of time is an inspiring story," he explains. "We've always said if we can do it in Iowa..., but now we say if we can do it in Bermuda then why not Puerto Rico, Oklahoma City, Dallas, etc.

"It has been a wonderful piece for us to market to those communities that don't think they can do it."

Mr. Vincent's own inspiration toward healthy living has come through personal experience, with his mother experiencing significant health benefits from being involved in the programme. As a board member for the Iowa Sports Foundation he has also seen the benefits for the whole community and knew he wanted to help spread the word.

"My board said 'Can we build this out?' Now I'm in 100 percent. I've seen what it's done for my family, my town, my state and now I want to outreach it as far as I can."

There is no doubt that health issues are of concern not only in Bermuda and America but around the world. Mr. Vincent says this recognition is one reason for the effectiveness of the Live Healthy programme:

"I think across the board people see that rising health care costs are an epidemic. It is time for us to reinvent healthcare and to focus on the preventative side. This is what this programme is about — we are planting the seed of people becoming more personally responsible for their health, being able to team up with your friends and your family and having people hold you accountable and motivate you."

He refers to the need for a 'culture of wellness' where all aspects of a community are aware of and supporting people toward healthy lifestyles.

"We need a culture where the workplace gets behind it because they understand 'a healthy employee is a happy employee," explains Mr. Vincent. "And we need governments supporting it too because a healthy community is a vibrant community and it (Live Healthy) brings people together.

"Our state promotes the fact that we want to be the healthiest state in America."

Mr. Vincent is also cognizant of the fact that the real challenge starts when the 100 days is over. Maintaining a healthy lifestyle is a long-term commitment.

"After the 100 days it becomes a personal challenge to keep going," he says. "Anyone who signed up can continue to use the website throughout the year and we'll keep putting up-to-date information out there. We've also got some new things coming down the pipeline that I think Bermudians are gonna like."

And next year? If you've done the 100 Day Challenge once do you need to do it again?

"Absolutely!" says Mr. Vincent. "You're going to learn even more about your health, your nutrition and the changes that you can still make. The first 100 Day Challenge is just the foundation."

Live Healthy America is a non-profit program that is funded by the Iowa Sports Foundation and the Richard O. Jacobson Foundation. Since its inception nearly 75,000 Iowans have lost over 305,000 pounds and have logged over 14 million converted miles of activity. Today, 18 states offer Lighten Up programs based on the Iowa model.