Fit to live in

Two Triangle communities earn a special designation for promoting well-being

Ten years ago, a speed bump in front of your house was a sign the neighbor kids saw your street as a drag strip. Today, a speed bump symbolizes a community that cares about its residents' health.

Speed bumps, traffic circles, sidewalks, workplaces with showers, school lunches with non-fried options -- these are among a variety of traits health experts look for when determining whether a town takes the health of residents seriously. And such are the traits that helped two Triangle communities -- Chapel Hill and Durham -- become two of eight communities to earn the state's first-ever Fit Community designation. Forty-one North Carolina communities applied; in addition to Chapel Hill and Durham, Apex was the only other Triangle community to apply.

Briefly, the Fit Community program is a joint effort by the N.C. Health and Wellness Trust Fund and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina. Criteria for what constitutes a Fit Community were derived by Active Living By Design, a Chapel Hill nonprofit that advises 25 communities nationwide -- from Seattle to Columbia, Mo. -- on ways to be healthier.

Each Fit Community aspirant had to fill out a questionnaire with more than 160 questions (not to mention a special essay section).

To determine a Fit Community, Active Living wanted to know more than just what sort of physical fitness facilities the communities had on the ground. Sure, having parks within a quarter-mile of half the population helped. So did a high ratio of sidewalks to roads.

But places to get moving were not the only thing.

"Exercise was not necessarily the top value," says Active Living's Mark Dessauer.

The communities also had to prove a long-term commitment to the health and well-being of their residents.

Are healthy amenities actively promoted? Do the cities adequately finance health and nutrition programs? Do the towns' largest employers make an effort to create a healthy environment?

The reward for being named a Fit Community may not seem like much: a plaque to hang in the mayor's office, highway signs, and eligibility to apply for a modest pool of Fit Community grants.

Plus, of course, bragging rights.

Those bragging rights, though, could yield economic dividends.

"For a retiree looking to move or a business looking to relocate, being labeled a Fit Community could give you a leg up," says Lt. Gov. Beverly Perdue, who is chairwoman of the Health and Wellness Trust Fund.

Perdue also capitalizes on the Fit Community she lives in, Chapel Hill, by running or walking an hour every morning.