The Kansas Governor’s Council on Fitness has appointed Physical Activity Champions throughout the state to promote physical activity as part of the Get Active Kansas! campaign. Physical Activity Champions will be advocating for local residents to be more active by promoting physical activity and its benefits to their communities. 

“A Physical Activity Champion is someone who believes in the importance of physical activity at both the individual and community level, and actively supports individuals in achieving physical activity goals,” Kansas Governor Sam Brownback said. “I want to applaud these Champions who have volunteered to help their communities get active and healthy.”

The Governor’s Council on Fitness is also launching the Get Active Kansas! campaign to help Kansans realize the benefits of physical activity and to take action to increase physical activity among all Kansans. Many communities are planning to kick off local initiatives with introductory events on Saturday, October 19.

“Be on the lookout for fun and supportive physical activity events in your community,” Governor’s Council on Fitness Chair Virginia Elliott said. “Each Physical Activity Champion will be working to create events to meet the needs and interests of their community. I expect that diversity among the Champions will be a key strength of the initiative.”

In addition to the network of Physical Activity Champions, this campaign includes the Get Active Kansas website www.getactivekansas.org and the online physical activity tracker Move Across Kansas www.moveacrosskansas.ks.gov. Move Across Kansas features a map with routes across the state for virtual travels. Participants enter their daily exercise time to move along a different route each month. Each participant can receive credit for up to 60 minutes of exercise each day with a goal of completing at least 600 minutes each month (30 minutes a day, 5 days a week). 

The Kansas Governor’s Council on Fitness has been charged with promoting a statewide response to prevent chronic disease and injury among Kansans. Established in 2006 to address physical inactivity, poor nutrition and tobacco use, the Council promotes regular, lifelong physical activity and healthy eating practices that have been shown to contribute to healthy weight, prevent and/or improve most chronic diseases and increase longevity. For more information about the Council visit www.kansasfitness.org.