During the week of Feb. 25, a Weigh and Win kiosk was featured in the lobby of the Library and Research Center of the Colorado State University-Pueblo campus.
Weigh and Win is a free program funded by Kaiser Permanente and is available for Colorado residents over the age of 18. Weigh and Win promotes healthy eating and active living, Vicki Becker, an accountant for CSU-Pueblo’s Payroll, explained.
Some of the services provided by Weigh and Win includes daily personal coaching, online interactive support, progress tracking, cash rewards, prizes and team competitions according to Weigh and Win pamphlets.
Participants are given personalized daily coaching through email or text messages based on their preference. Emails provide daily meal plans, weekly grocery lists, active living tips and exercise plans, according to the Weigh and Win website.
Participants can also utilize online interactive features such as health journals, health guides, and access to certified trainers, according to the Weigh and Win pamphlets.
Participants can track their progression by weighing in at Weigh and Win kiosks every three months, but participants are encouraged to weigh in as often as they desire. The weigh-ins includes taking a photograph in the privacy of the barriers of the kiosks.
Weigh and Win kiosks are located at the YMCA and the American Furniture Warehouse in Pueblo. Anyone interested in joining can sign up using the kiosks or can go online to www.WeighandWin.com.
Cash rewards are received based on how much weight is lost each quarter and if the healthy weight level is maintained.
If a participant’s weight improvement was 5 percent the cash reward would be $15, 10 percent equals $30, 15 percent equal $45, 20 percent equal $75, 25 percent equal $105 and 30 percent equal $150.
If participants are struggling with improving their weight, their efforts will not go in vain. Participants will be given chances to win prizes just for partaking in the Weigh and Win program.
The program also allows groups of 4-10 people to compete with other teams across Colorado. The teams compete to have the most cumulative weight improvement. The winning teams will receive prizes and a donation given to the charity of their choice, according to the Weigh and Win website.
According to the Weigh and Win website there have been 32,897 people who have enrolled in the program and 72,944 pounds lost.
Although Becker did not have the statistics of how many CSU-Pueblo students, staff and faculty signed up using the kiosk located on campus, she assumed the kiosk was a success based on the reactions from those on campus.
“I do know that people were calling and telling me that they weighed in and they asked some questions,” Becker said. “So I know there are some people that signed up, I just don’t know how many right now.”
Becker confirmed that she was one of the staff who signed up for the Weigh and Win program using the kiosk, and thought it would be good to join the program since she helped set up the kiosk located on campus during last week.
“I feel that you, inside, have to make the decision that (you) want to become healthy and try to work towards it,” Becker said.
