Lighten Up pushes easy steps for weight loss
轻松减肥

Tuesday, June 1, 2004 Posted: 1510 GMT (2310 HKT)

MILWAUKEE, Wisconsin (AP) -- There are no complicated diets, pricey workout equipment or strict personal trainers.
 威斯康星州，密尔沃基----没有复杂的食谱，没有昂贵的仪器或严格的私人教练。

Participants of Lighten Up programs in 16 states from Maine to Hawaii are learning to make healthy choices by making small lifestyle changes: drinking one more glass of water each day; eating fruits and vegetables; taking the stairs instead of the elevator.
从缅因州到夏威夷的16个州，轻松减肥计划参加者正通过对生活方式的微小改变，形成健康的生活方式：每天多喝一杯水，多吃水果和蔬菜，爬楼梯而不乘电梯。

It's making a difference in Wisconsin, a state where almost 58 percent of residents were overweight or obese in 2002, and cheese, beer and sausage are practically their own food groups.
这已给威斯康星州带来了变化。2002年，该州58%的居民超重或为肥胖症；奶酪、啤酒及香肠是他们的日常主食。

"It's not such a threatening thing anymore," Sandi Tritz said of dieting and exercising since joining Lighten Up Wisconsin. "They weren't so outlandish, like I had to run a marathon."More than 20,500 people nationwide are involved in some form of Lighten Up, said Nicole

Mueller, director of health initiatives for Wisconsin Sports Development Corp., a nonprofit sports management organization that runs the state's version.

In Iowa, nearly 12,000 members lost about 23.5 tons of weight last year, or roughly four pounds per person, said Kim Nanke of Iowa Games, a nonprofit group that created the first Lighten Up program in 2002.

In Wisconsin, more than 1,700 people shed an average of 4.9 pounds midway through the five-month program.

Four to five pounds may not seem like much, but health experts say even the smallest improvements count because they can boost participants' confidence to exercise more or improve their diets.

"Starting and losing five pounds of weight is better than not starting and gaining five pounds," said Mary Kay Sones, a health specialist with the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.