If you are in the process of making healthy changes, share your endeavors with those around you! Whether your organization is your family, church, community group or workplace, healthy habits can be shared and encouraged among friends, family members, neighbors and co-workers. Group involvement enhances participants' success by creating camaraderie for the pursuit of common goals. Incorporate wellness activities to stimulate a change in the organization's culture. Not all suggestions are feasible for every organization, but they are worth trying.

1.     Form a walking group. Incorporate walk breaks into lunch hours at a worksite or organize a post-dinner family walk.

2.     Initiate a weight-loss challenge. The challenge can create healthy competition for a healthy cause. If participants pay an entry fee, the money collected may be used as prize money for the top "losers," the people who lose the most weight.

3.     Coordinate a healthy recipe potluck. Many work sites have meetings that include food, and many churches hold covered-dish socials. Try adding a rule to encourage more nutritious food selections. Establish entry criteria such as the inclusion of two vegetables or fewer than 20g of fat to ensure entries meet healthful standards.