State Agency Wellness Conference
October 14, 2014



GetFitTexas! (GFT!) is a free online physical
activity tracking tool and is the official tracking tool
for the annual state agency challenge.
GFT! provides you with a method to record and
track your physical activity, which helps you stay
motivated, accountable and committed to your
exercise routine.
GFT! encourages people to meet the current
physical activity recommendations of 30 minutes a
day, 5 days a week.

2013 GetFitTexas State Agency Physical Activity
Challenge took place from January 14 to March 23.
◦ Total of 20,909 state employees participated

2014 GetFitTexas State Agency Physical Activity
Challenge took place from January 13 to March 22.
◦ Total of 16,579 state employees participated

2015 GetFitTexas State Agency Physical Activity
Challenge coming soon!
◦ Lets make 2015 a record breaker!
What’s New?
It’s accessible!

The navigation for GetFitTexas! is now at the top
of the page instead of both on the top and left
hand side.

Teams can be affiliated to employers. This allows
employers the ability to create teams for regions
that only the employees can see.
Chelsea Couch, GetFitTexas!
P: 512.438.3631
E: Chelsea.Couch@dads.state.tx.us
Age Like a
Champion
State Agency Wellness Conference
October 14, 2014
Austin, TX
The Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services
(DADS) oversees the provision of long-term services for:
• Adults and children with medical or physical disabilities,
• Older adults (60+) and caregivers, and
• Adults and children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
DADS also:
• Regulates nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, and
• Provides other services and opportunities for community
involvement.
The Changing Face of Texas
From 2011 to 2040, the population age
65 and over is projected to increase
from
2.6 to 7.5 million.
A growth rate of 188%!
The Changing Face of Texas
Baby Boomers:
• Currently between the ages of 50-68
• Represent 26% of the US population, and
20.2% of the Texas population
• Every 8 seconds one of 78 million boomers
turns 60
Challenges of an Aging Population
• The U.S. spends more on health care than
any other industrialized nation in the
world
• In 2012, U.S. health care spending
increased 3.7 percent to $2.8 trillion =
$8,915 per person.
• In 2010, personal health care spending for
people 65 and older was $18,424.
• By 2022, national health spending is
expected to comprise 20 percent of the
gross domestic product
The Cost of Obesity/Overweight in
Texas Adults
In 2009
– 67 percent of adult Texans were
overweight or obese
– 29.5 percent obese
By 2030 the Texas adult obesity rate will reach
37 percent.
The obesity costs (health care, absenteeism,
presenteeism, disability) to Texas businesses
– 2009 - $9 billion
– 2030 - $32.5 billion
Challenges of an Aging Population
• Cardiovascular diseases are among the
10 most frequent causes of
hospitalization of people 45 years and
older in Texas
• More than 1.3 million Texans have
diagnosed diabetes and an estimated
343,000 additional Texans with
undiagnosed diabetes
The High Cost of Inactivity
Preventable illness makes up
approximately 80% of the
burden of illness and 90% of all
healthcare costs.
Benefits of Exercise
People who participate in physical
activity on a regular basis lower
their risk of developing a chronic
disease by 30–50%.
Texercise, a statewide
health promotions
program, educates and
involves individuals and
communities in physical
activities and proper
nutrition.
Age Like a Champion, a training program that
promotes healthy habits through four training
components:
1. Train Like a Champion
2. Eat Like a Champion
3. Think Like a Champion
4. Live Like a Champion
Age Like a Champion Resources for Host Sites:
 How-to guide
 Planning calendar
 Texercise resources and incentives
TRAIN Like a Champion
Offers programs to educate participants on the importance of physical
activity and to motivate them to engage in regular physical activity.
Benefits of Exercise:
 Promotes healthy muscles, bones,
and joints
 Increases stamina
 Reduces the cost of medical care
 Improves sense of well-being
 Enhances social life
 Improves mental health related
symptoms
Programs and Resources:
 Texercise Classic and Select*
 Matter of Balance
 Walk Across Texas
 GetFitTexas!
 Texercise DVD
 Lunch and Learn guest speakers
EAT Like a Champion
Provides programs and resources for healthy eating to educate
participants on the importance of a healthy diet.
Benefits of Eating Healthy:
 Reduces risk of chronic diseases
 Promotes energy
 Improves sense of well-being
Programs and Resources:
 Texercise nutrition resources
 Dinner Tonight
 Do Well Be Well
 Famers Markets/Farm-to-Work
 Lunch and Learn guest speakers
THINK Like a Champion
Focuses on memory retention and stress reduction through programs
and resources that exercise the mind and alleviate stress.
Benefits of Brain Health:
 Improves sense of well-being
 Enhances social life
 Improves mental health related
symptoms
 Improves quality of sleep
Programs and Resources:
 Master of Memory
 Meditation
 Sudoku
 Lunch and Learn guest speakers
LIVE Like a Champion
Includes information and resources on preventative health such as flu shots,
health screenings, tobacco cessation and other preventative health behaviors.
Benefits of Prevention Efforts:
 Reduces risk of illness
 Increases early detection of
illness
 Reduces medical care cost
 Increases awareness of
importance of healthy lifestyle
behaviors
Programs and Resources:
 Texercise Resources
 DSHS Building Healthy Texans
Program
 Tobacco Cessation programs
 Lunch and Learn guest speakers
Age Like a Champion for Everyone
Tools and resources to help people make healthy lifestyle changes.
Educational resources to help create understanding
of the importance of a healthy lifestyle behaviors.
Motivational resources to encourage participation
and adoption of healthy habits.
Recognition resources to formally recognize
participants efforts.
The DADS vision is that older Texans and persons with disabilities will be supported by a
comprehensive, cost-effective service delivery system that promotes and enhances
individual well-being, dignity, and choice.
DADS accomplishes its vision by providing a variety of programs and resources to help
Texans age well and live well.
Age Like a Champion Programs and Resources:
 Texercise Classic – a 12-week program in which group participants meet weekly
and exercise together.
 Texercise Select – an evidence-informed program in which group participants
meet twice a week for 10-weeks and learn about healthy lifestyle behaviors while
exercising.
 GetFitTexas! – a free, online physical activity tracker.
 Age Well Live Well – resources to educate Texans on health and wellness,
volunteerism and information awareness.
 Volunteer…You’ll be Amazed! – resources to help Texans find out how and
where to volunteer.
Texas AgriLIFE Extension Service helps improve the lives of people, businesses and
communities across Texas through high-quality, community-based education.
AgriLIFE programs ensure Texans are better prepared to eat well, stay healthy, manage
money, and raise their children to be successful adults.
Age Like a Champion Programs and Resources:
 Dinner Tonight – weekly video demonstrations of healthy meals, includes recipes.
 Master of Memory – a six-lesson series that helps people evaluate and improve their
memory function.
 Walk Across Texas – a fitness program to help participants adopt the habit of regular,
moderate intensity exercise.
 Medication Management – a program that helps people comply with instructions for
taking medications, as well as how to safely sort and store their medications.
 Do Well, Be Well with Diabetes – a series of classes that teach participants how to
manage diabetes.
 Master Wellness Volunteers – a 40-hour training course with certification. Certified
Master Wellness Volunteers give back a minimum of 40 hours in volunteer outreach and
training.
Texas’ 28 area agencies on aging help Texans 60 and older, their family members
and/or other caregivers receive the information and assistance they need to locate and
access community services to help them live with dignity and choice in their homes and
communities for as long as possible. The Texas area agencies on aging offer an array of
health and volunteer opportunities in their communities.
Age Like a Champion Programs and Resources:
 Matter of Balance – Eight, two-hour sessions designed to help people 60 and
older reduce their fear of falling through group discussion, problem solving strategies
and increasing their physical activity levels.
 Lunch and Learn guest speaker – representatives from the area agencies on
aging make great guest speakers and can provide sessions on caregiver supports,
medication screening, care coordination and health/wellness supports available.
The Aging & Disability Resource Centers (ADRCs) provide
information as well as help with state and federal benefits for individuals
who have questions about aging and disability services in Texas. The
ADRCs also help educate residents on local programs and services.
Age Like a Champion Programs and Resources:
• Lunch and Learn guest speaker – representatives from the ADRCs
make great guest speakers on
• Disability and long-term care services and living arrangements,
• Health and behavioral health,
• Adult protective services,
• Employment and training for people with disabilities,
• Home maintenance,
• Nutrition, and
• Personal care and attendant services.
What resources does your worksite
offer?
Take Age Like a Champion Challenge
1.
Contact Texercise to get the Age Like a Champion how-to
guide.
2.
Decide the duration and the start/end dates for your training
program.
3.
Identify the programs you will offer for the four key areas.
4.
Create awareness of your training program and start recruiting
participants.
Contact Us
Texas Department of Aging and Disability Services
Texercise Program
Phone: 512.438.3631
Email: Texercise@dads.state.tx.us
Web: www.Texercise.com