Striving for Gr8 Health in Indiana

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - During 2013, here on WISHTV.com and during our programming on WISH-TV and MyNDY-TV, you'll see and hear us use the phrase Gr8 Health quite a lot.

The idea is to work together to find ways to snap Indiana out of its health funk.

Said simply, Indiana is a deeply unfit state, and it has been for a long time. Collectively, we eat too much, smoke too much, and don't move around nearly enough.

According to the United Health Foundation :

• 30.8 percent of us in Indiana are obese. That's double the number two decades ago.
• More than a quarter of us (25.6 percent) smoke.
• And 10.2 percent of us have diabetes.

The grim conclusion: Indiana is 41st in the Union in overall health.

WISH-TV has committed to dedicating time and resources to the problem. Jeff White, WISH-TV/MyNDY General Manager, says the project comes out of the nearly-constant stream of news stories about our collective health woes.

"We got together as a station and said, 'Is there something we can do to make Indiana a healthier state?' Which is why we created Gr8 Health," White said.

So what is Gr8 Health?  It’s still developing, but we hope to turn the idea into a community effort — drawing on the fears, frustrations, successes and celebrations all of us have experienced.

On television, you'll see Gr8 Health stories every Tuesday on Daybreak and throughout the week on our 5, 6, 10, and 11 o'clock newscasts. 

Here on WISHTV.com, we hope you'll sign up and be a part of a clearinghouse for ideas, inspiration and everything else that can help our state become healthier.

"...It works a lot better when you do it with somebody else," explains Jeff White.  "And in this case, we're going to get everybody together — to share their experiences, share their pain, but better yet share their achievements."