A healthy living program that that channels the challenge of competition and Canada's favourite sport is targeting northern B.C. men.
The two six-week intervention programs, dubbed power play and playoff, target men in the workplace.
The first challenge, which kicked off in fall 2014, got men to walk the Great Northern Circle Route. Next up, points are awarded for healthy eating choices and activity outside work hours.
All that hard work is recognized in healthy points which will translate into "goals" and "ice time" as the men - employees of Excel Trucking, Lomak Bulk Carriers Ltd, the City of Terrace, and Ridley Coal Terminal - compete in the playoff "hockey" challenge.
In this case, the rink is their everyday environment, and the company with the most healthy points nets the win after six weeks.
One Prince George man is already noticing the difference.
"Physically I feel great, my energy has shot right up and I have more energy to do more," said said Lorenzo Webb, an employee of Lomak Bulk Carriers, in a release. "I look fit and my steps have gone up from about 14,000 before the Step Up challenge to 20,000 after."
And it's added camaraderie and community to the workplace, said Steve Dewalt, a shop manager from Lomak Bulk Carriers.
"Now with the power play program everyone shares more about their weekend, their activities. It has helped build the team," said Dewalt in the release.
The project, funded by Canadian Cancer Society grant, is a partnership between the BC and Yukon Division of the Canadian Cancer Society, the BC Cancer Agency, Northern Health, and researchers from Athabasca University and the University of British Columbia.
"The goal is to engage men where they're at right now and encourage them to take steps to improve their health today and for the long term," said Holly Christian, Northern Health's regional lead for men's health.
