FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Rosemary Blackmon, (800) 489-2542 or (334) 272-8781
Teresa Fair, (334) 206-5226
Today 157 Alabamians stepped on a truck scale and broke the Guinness World Record for the most people on one scale, a record set in 2010 by a British company that succeeded in weighing 130 people at one time. The Alabama group weighed in at a collective 30,400 pounds and helped kick off the 10th year of the state’s largest weight loss and exercise program, Scale Back Alabama.
“Having this many people come out at the crack of dawn in cold weather was amazing,” said Rosemary Blackmon, Executive Vice President and COO of the Alabama Hospital Association. “But even more amazing is the fact that Scale Back Alabama has lasted 10 years and has resulted in a statewide weight loss of more than 1.2 million pounds.”
The record-breaking event was held at Sabel Steel in Montgomery and was carefully documented by witnesses and videographers. Even though the Scale Back Alabama world record attempt was pre-approved by Guinness, the official certification of the record breaking will come following submission and review of the event documentation.
“It’s very difficult to quantify the tremendous benefits of Scale Back Alabama,” said Tom Miller, M.D., acting State Health Officer. “The evidence shows that obesity has serious health consequences, and unfortunately, Alabama ranks near the top in terms of adult obesity.
However, it’s also been proven that programs like Scale Back Alabama that offer incentives, education and the accountability of a team member go a long way in encouraging healthy lifestyles.”
Registration for the free, 10-week program officially begins on Monday, Jan. 11 at www.scalebackalabama.com. Individuals 18 years of age and older may participate by completing an online registration and then going to an official weigh-in site during the week of Jan. 25 – 31 to weigh in. The sites will be posted online beginning Jan. 22.
Scale Back Alabama is a public awareness program sponsored by the Alabama Hospital Association, the Alabama Department of Public Health and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama.
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