WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio – During the holiday season, Air Force Materiel Command will promote its Freeze the Gain Challenge. Civilian Health Promotion Services will conduct the challenge and will be offering educational briefings to the workforce on how to reduce their risk of developing metabolic syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is not a disease in itself. Instead, it is a cluster of risk factors: a large waistline, a low HDL cholesterol level, high blood pressure, high fasting blood sugar, and a high triglyceride level. In general, having three or more of these risk factors means a person has metabolic syndrome. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, approximately 34% of American adults are affected by this health condition. The keys to prevent or delay the onset of metabolic syndrome include healthy lifestyle behaviors that focus on weight management, physical activity and proper nutrition.

Freeze the Gain is a weight maintenance program that encourages participants to maintain – not gain – weight during the nine-week challenge period, which runs Nov. 6, 2017, through Jan 9, 2018.

The Freeze the Gain Challenge has four parts:

1. Enroll online at AFMCwellness.com between Oct. 9 and Nov. 3.

2. Complete an official FTG weigh-in by CHPS between Oct. 25 and Nov. 3.

3. Attend the CHPS class “Preventing Metabolic Syndrome” between Nov. 6 and Jan. 9.

4. Complete the official CHPS weigh-out between Jan. 10 and Jan. 19, 2018.

Participants who complete the FTG challenge without gaining more than two pounds of their initial weight will receive a FREE copy of the 2017 Calorie King Calorie Fat & Carbohydrate Counter Book. For more information, contact your local CHPS team or visit AFMC wellness website.