If losing weight was one of your seemingly insurmountable New Year's resolutions, perhaps it's time to Scale Back Alabama. That's the name of a statewide campaign designed for those who could stand to lose a pound or two.

The program encourages Alabamians to get healthier by losing weight and exercising. It is a joint project of the Alabama Hospital Association (AHA) and the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH), with underwriting from Barber's Dairies, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Alabama and the Alabama Department of Agriculture and Industries.

The second annual good-natured competition officially kicked off Monday with Alabamians in 47 counties taking part. The deadline to enter and weigh in is Friday, Jan. 11.

Will Whatley, an AHA spokesman, said participating residents lost a combined 78,000 pounds in 2007.

“We had around 20,000 people participate last year, and we felt it was a program that should keep going,” he said. “We've had a lot of people tell us it was a fun competition between co-workers.”

This year, any team of four people in which each member loses at least 10 pounds will be placed in a drawing for the grand prize of $1,000 per team member. Even if some team members don't complete the contest, individual members who lose at least 10 pounds will be eligible for one of 20 individual prizes of $250 each.

Whatley said, “People took it upon themselves to lose weight, which is an encouraging thing.” He noted the Trust for America's Health ranked Alabama the second heaviest state in the nation in 2006. Last year, we slipped into third place.

According to Dr. Donald Williamson, state health officer, ADPH considers Scale Back Alabama to be an extremely important tool in making Alabamians aware of the problems with obesity.

“While we have moved from being the second most obese state in the nation to the third most obese, we still have a long way to go in getting our people healthy,” Williamson stated in a press release. “Obesity is linked with so many health problems such as diabetes, hypertension and cancer that we have to get serious as a state about our overweight population. Scale Back Alabama is an attempt to promote a healthy lifestyle of better eating habits combined with exercise.”

Whatley said, “Hopefully people are starting to realize the benefits of being healthy and in shape.”

The official weigh-in sites in Baldwin County are the Baldwin County Health Department, 23280 Gilbert Dr. in Robertsdale; North Baldwin Infirmary Wellness Center, 2115 Hand Ave. in Bay Minette; South Baldwin Regional Medical Center Rehab Services, 1701 N. McKenzie St. in Foley; Thomas Hospital Wellness Center, 212 Hospital Drive Suite A in Fairhope; and Curves of Daphne, 28567 County Road 13 Suite A in Daphne.

Whatley said the campaign will wrap up with final weigh-ins March 8-14. A celebration of success will take place April 1.

“A lot of people are looking to make the lifestyle changes necessary to lose weight and keep it off,” he said. “We hope people will build on this on a journey to better health.”

More information on the contest guidelines and weigh-in site locations and times can be found at www.scalebackalabama.com.