Cass County Public Health is teaming up with Live Healthy Iowa to improve the health of the county’s residents and improve its overall ranking in the newly released Active Index. Since 1988, the obesity rate in Iowa has increased from 14 percent to 32 percent. Iowa’s less than desirable national rankings for obesity and inactivity have contributed to the overall health of the state’s residents, which led to development of the Active Index. Currently, out of the 99 counties in Iowa, Cass County ranks 76th in the Active Index, with a participation rate of 3.01%. Live Healthy Iowa’s Active Index provides a measurement of where each county ranks across Iowa. Rankings in the Active Index are based on county members’ participation in select Live Healthy Iowa and Iowa Sports Foundation challenges and events, including the 10 Week Wellness Challenge, Live Healthy Iowa 5K, The Next Step Challenge, Kid’s Fall Fitness Day/Healthiest State Walk, Summer Iowa Games and Winter Iowa Games.

Beth Olsen, Director of Public Health for Cass County, says “Like other counties in Iowa, we know that the obesity rate and overall health statistics of Cass County are something that we need to address. Thirty-five percent of our adults are obese and 26% are physically inactive, both surpassing the average in Iowa. Forging a closer partnership with Live Healthy Iowa by working to achieve a better Active Index ranking will provide us with a roadmap for improvement and help us to engage our residents – of all ages and activity levels – to participate in healthy and active opportunities to improve their health.”

If you would like to be part of the discussion, join Cass County Public Health for a meeting on Friday, January 12th, from 1:00-until 2:30pm, at the Cass County Memorial Hospital Conference Room #2. County members will meet with Dr. Amy Michelle Willcockson, director of Live Healthy Iowa and Chuck Long, CEO and executive director of the Iowa Sports Foundation and former NFL and University of Iowa football star to discuss Cass County’s health rankings and develop a plan for improvement.

There is no charge for counties to be part of the Active Index; there are only minimal participation fees in the annual challenges. If you plan to attend the event on Friday, January 12 from 1:00-2:30pm at the Cass County Memorial Hospital Conference Room #2, please RSVP to Beth Olsen at (712) 243-7552 or at olsea@casshealth.org.