"The Weight Loss Contest"

Why do people eat right and stay physically active? They feel better in the short term and will probably live longer and not face the burdens of frequent hospital visits, dependency on prescription drugs, and seeing their family members suffer.

This is one message we are trying to convey in order to get people to make better lifestyle choices. Samoans love to compete with one another. To capture that competitive spirit we have added a weight loss contest to the program. The participants who are obese or overweight that are able to lose 4 kilograms (8.82 lbs) in 8 weeks will win a small prize. Each village has been provided with a scale that is open to the public to use.

It is important to note that the last thing we want to suggest is that the reason for living healthy is to win a prize and we have made that clear throughout the seminars. The “real” prize is what is mentioned in the first paragraph. Unfortunately, that is difficult to measure and follow up in such a short time.

The prize is an “ie lavalava” that will include a slogan to promote healthy living. This is picture of an “ie lavalava” and how you wear it.

To implement this competition each participant is given a small note card. The front of the card illustrates their position on the BMI (Body Mass Index) chart that is adjusted specifically for Samoans. The back of the card gives them space to track their weight over the next 8 weeks as well as their targeted weight. After weighing the participants, we use the Body Mass Index BMI chart to explain the relationship between their height and weight. The four categories defined by BMI are skinny, normal, overweight, and obese.