Wednesday marked the half-way point of the Live Healthy Bermuda 100 Day Challenge and to date the more than 2,000 participants have collectively lost more than 5,100 pounds and have completed more than 23,000 hours of activity which is equivalent to walking more than 90,000 miles.

The unique concept, which has been made possible through the partnership of the Bermuda Diabetes Association, Aspen Re, Lindo's Group of Companies and the Government, challenges teams of participants to lose the most amount of weight or accumulate the most hours of exercise.

"It's remarkable how far Bermuda has come with the programme," said Terry Faulkenberry of Aspen Re. "The concept is infectious and in the first 50 days we've seen a lot of excitement and enthusiasm."

Mr. Faulkenberry added that the programme emphasises that being healthy is not only about weight loss, but that it is more of a holistic approach that includes physical activity, eating an appropriate diet and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Sarah Burrows (pictured), the programme director for the Bermuda Diabetes Association, believes that Live Healthy Bermuda is making a telling difference to those who are currently affected by diabetes and hopefully helping to prevent the proliferation of the disease.

"The importance of this programme is significant," she said. "There are currently an estimated 9,000 people with diabetes in Bermuda, that's approximately 15 percent of our entire population. That's staggering. If we can prevent just one more person from developing diabetes with this programme, we're making great progress."

A colleague of Ms. Burrows, Mary DeSilva, who developed Type II diabetes six years ago, has also seen the benefits of the 100 Day Challenge. In 50 days she has lowered her blood pressure and cholesterol and has decreased her usage of insulin from 40 units to 34 units, which means her pancreas is working more efficiently without as much medication.

To celebrate the half-way mark, Ms Burrows has been at the Lindo's Family Food store in Warwick offering 50-day weigh-ins and the Lindo's to Lindo's 10k fun walk and run will be held on Sunday. Mr. Faulkenberry is hoping it will re-energise the community.

"It's common to see some wane in enthusiasm at the half-way point but now is the time to dig in and persevere," he said. "Between now and the end of the 100 Day Challenge is when these healthy lifestyle habits that are being practised can start to become permanent. We hope the Lindo's to Lindo's walk will help to continue the momentum that the participants have generated up until this point."

Ms Burrows agreed: "Has everyone noticed the amount of people walking and exercising outside during the lunch hour, after work and on weekends? That's this programme in action. It's just great to see."

Georgina Simpson, who is part of one of three Live Healthy Bermuda teams at Tuckers Point, has not only seen the physical benefits of the programme but believes that it has had a positive affect on the workplace.

"It's been a great bonding experience for us," she said. "We go on training walks together, we talk about healthy food choices, we encourage each other and have developed relationships through out all levels of the company around the common goal of improving our lifestyles. We have learned a lot from each other and plan on continuing after the Challenge is over."

After crunching the numbers, if everyone participating in the Challenge lost an additional 2.5 pounds over the remaining 50 days, the programme could report a loss of 10,000 pounds. It will only take a slight increase in average activity for the next 50 days to reach the equivalent of walking 200,000 miles.

Mr. Faulkenberry and Ms Burrows think it can be done.

"This goal is absolutely attainable ¿ we can do it," they said. "With the right mind set and encouragement from our friends and family, Bermuda can be a Live Healthy model to the world."

For those interested in walking the Lindo's to Lindo's fun walk and run, the race starts at 8.45 a.m. at the Lindo's Family Foods Store in Warwick. Entry forms are still available at Sports Seller, Lindo's (both Warwick and Devonshire) or on race day before 8.30 a.m.. Race number pick-up is on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Jack King Building in the Botanical Gardens. More information can be found on www.maac.bm.