By Katie Keiger
Poultry Times staff
kkeiger@poultrytimes.com
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government is filling in the gaps for Americans when it comes to excuses as to not keeping up with fitness goals and maintaining health. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), USDA, and the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN) has partnered up to bring American’s an assessable and convenient way to lose weight.
The USDA’s free online tool, SuperTracker, now has PCFSN’s Presidential Champions program which will provide more assistance with staying active and being physical. Both online tools provide ways for participants to enter and see their daily intake, and keep track of how much activity they are doing.
The Presidential Champions program placed emphasis on a point system and rewarding participants for completing goals. The focus is on physical activity and people are encouraged to keep track of their activity in three categories; what work out was completed, the duration and the intensity level of the activity. The points received are based on factors which improve metabolism of individuals based off a formula. Once 1,000,000 points are achieved, the member will be known as a platinum member. The National Foundation on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition offers award and recognition items for reaching different levels.
The Supertracker has plenty of information about types of food and such as the categories and how much a portion size is and how many calories it has. The online tool engages people with group challenges as well as individual goals decided by the participant. Much like the Presidential Champions program, SuperTracker has a fitness tracker where the participants entered the activity and the duration of their exercise. However, SuperTracker did not have a point system and incentive program in place before the agencies merged.
The USDA said that through the merger, SuperTracker, Presidential Champions participants are now able to sync their Fitbit accounts for even easier goal tracking.
USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion Executive Director Angie Tagtow, said that the combination of the programs will provide participants with extra motivation to stay on track with their goals.
“The partnership between these two agencies is truly a win for all involved. We know that the Presidential Champions program has dedicated participants who will benefit from the incredible suite of tools available in the SuperTracker application.” Tagtow said.
More information can be obtained at https://supertracker.usda.gov.
