[One Day Ten Thousand Steps] Naju City, the Secret to Raising Walking Practice Rate from 20% to 70%

Naju City Health Center Increases Practice Rate with '1305 Healthy Walking Challenge'

Naju City in Jeollanam-do has seen a significant increase in walking practice rates, rising from the previous 20% range to the 70% range, after promoting a walking challenge for citizens' health management.

As of 2023, Naju’s walking practice rate was 27.7%, which was much lower than Jeollanam-do’s walking practice rate of 44.5%. Accordingly, the Naju City Public Health Center conducted the '1305 Healthy Walking Challenge' four times over 10 months from February to November of the same year, targeting 1,500 Naju citizens, focusing on raising the walking practice rate. The name signifies walking (1) 30 minutes (30) five days (5) a week.

As a result, the first round saw the walking practice rate increase from 24% to 46.3%, the second from 38% to 55.1%, and the third from 44.3% to 58.2%, showing a steady rise with each round. Participants in the fourth round already had a walking practice rate of 48.7% before the challenge, which increased to 72.5% after participation.

The Naju City Public Health Center plans to continue the challenge this year as well. The number of participants will be increased to 2,000, and the challenge will be conducted non-face-to-face through the 'WalkOn' smartphone app. The first round is currently underway, and recruitment for the second round will take place from the 22nd to the 24th. Notably, this challenge also offers prizes, attracting attention. Participants who run the walking app to measure their steps and achieve a cumulative 200,000 steps over four weeks, then get confirmation from the health center staff, will receive a 10,000 KRW Naju Love Gift Certificate. The Naju City Public Health Center plans to continuously encourage healthy walking by providing walking-friendly routes and health information, as well as awarding prizes to participants who achieve the challenge goals.

A representative from the Health Promotion Division of the Naju City Public Health Center said, "Our goal is to increase the walking practice rate by 2% through pre- and post-comparison," adding, "We aim to help improve quality of life through lifestyle habit improvements and prevent obesity and chronic diseases."