Notah Begay III Foundation Employees Set Positive Example During Native American Heritage Month

    ALBUQUERQUE, NM, December 17, 2015 /24-7PressRelease/ -- The Notah Begay III Foundation conducted a 30 day health awareness campaign for employees throughout November: Native American Heritage Month. NB3F, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only national Native American nonprofit organization solely dedicated to reversing Native American childhood obesity and type-2 diabetes. NB3F partnered with Denver-based digital health company incentaHEALTH to heighten awareness around the importance of implementing fitness and nutrition into a daily lifestyle and setting a good example for family members, specifically children. According to the National Indian Health Board, 31.2 percent of four-year-old American Indian children are currently obese, higher than any other racial or ethnic group.

"The incentaHEALTH challenge was a great way to see our team at NB3F encourage, motivate and inspire each other to achieve our goals," said Cyanne Lujan, NB3F Marketing Manager. "It was also a fun way to compete with each other, but in the end we all won. As a Native American woman and mother, it is important to me to lead a healthy and active lifestyle so I am able to be a positive role model for my children and community."

NB3F employees were asked to eliminate the intake of all sugary drinks within their diet and track total steps taken per day (all participants received a Fitbit Charge). The goal was at least 10,000 steps per participant, per day.

THE RESULTS (November 1-30, 2015):
- 100 percent employee participation
- Average daily step count of 10,475 per employee
- Total challenge step count of 4,977,155
- Average weight loss of 5.16 pounds per employee
- Successful elimination of all sugary drinks

NB3F employees incorporated the use of incentaHEALTH's specially designed HEALTHspot kiosk, a patented scale used to take a full-length photograph, weight measurement and Body Mass Index (BMI) measurement of the participant. The 'Challenge-A-Friend' feature, an online social accountability tool, was used to track participant progress and create friendly, incentivized competitions among friends, family and coworkers.

"At the end of the day, we are all responsible for our health, nutrition and fitness. Society hasn't held us accountable, which damages the stability of our economies, health care systems and emotional well-being," said Foundation founder Notah Begay III. "The goal of NB3F's employee health challenge was to illustrate that improved collective health begins with personal accountability."

The partnership between NB3F and incentaHEALTH was born through a preceding friendship between Begay and incentaHEALTH CEO Jack Rule. The two previously played as professional golfers, though a generation apart, on the PGA Tour, in which Begay is the only full-blood Native American to have competed.

"By utilizing incentaHEALTH's digital health custom platform, we were able to deliver an engaging employee wellness initiative with measurable outcomes, highlighting common challenges found within the Native American community," said incentaHEALTH CEO Jack Rule. "This partnership set the stage for NB3F employees to implement healthier behaviors within their daily routine, but beyond that, set an example for their children and other family members."

For more information on how to bring the incentaHEALTH employee wellness program to your workplace, email Todd McGuire at [email protected] or visit www.incentaHEALTH.com.

About incentaHEALTH:
incentaHEALTH is a digital health company with headquarters in Denver, Colorado. As a leader in measurable wellness programs, incentaHEALTH's system is designed to help organizations and communities reduce health care costs. The program utilizes gamification by offering incentives to individuals for improving their health. incentaHEALTH helps people manage their weight through the use of interactive email and text message coaching, weigh-ins on private kiosks in corporate and community locations, and cash rewards for sustained weight loss success. The patented HEALTHspot kiosk takes full-length digital photos and keeps a secure, cloud-based record of each participant's weight, blood pressure and body mass index (BMI). Participants also have access to health coaches who provide live support whenever it's needed. Organizations throughout the U.S., U.K., Puerto Rico and Singapore have implemented this health care solution for their employees and have reported significant success. incentaHEALTH's community wellness platform, called Weigh and Win, is offered to all Colorado residents 18 and over. This unique approach to civic health has nearly 70,000 participants and over 220,000 pounds have been lost statewide. Follow incentaHEALTH on Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.

About the Notah Begay III Foundation:
NB3F, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, is the only national Native American nonprofit organization solely dedicated to reversing Native American childhood obesity and type-2 diabetes. NB3F is setting a national standard for investing in evidence-based, community-driven and culturally relevant programs that prevent childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes, ensuring healthy futures for Native American children and their communities. Since its launch in 2005, NB3F has grown its reputation and track record in Indian Country in the areas of grant making, research, evaluation, direct programming and policy advocacy. NB3F invests in and works closely with grass-roots, Native-led organizations across the country that are exploring promising new practices, expanding proven methods, conducting community-based research, and evaluating impact. The two signature programs of NB3 Foundation are 1.) Native Strong: Healthy Kids, Healthy Futures, and 2.) NativeFit. www.nb3foundation.org

# # #