BENTON HARBOR — The Physical Education/Wellness Department of Lake Michigan College will be sponsoring a 10-week “Dump Your Plump” wellness contest starting Feb 9.
Dump Your Plump is a nationally recognized health and wellness program that promotes a healthy lifestyle through exercise and proper eating habits in a team-competition format.
The key to the program’s success is the support system that develops within the team and friendly competition between teams.
Informational meetings will be. Jan. 17 at the Benton Harbor campus of Lake Michigan College; Jan. 19 at the Niles LMC campus; and Jan. 25 at the Benton Harbor campus. All of the meetings will be at 5 p.m.
The contest starts Feb. 9 and ends April 20.
The contest will be conducted by Dr. Don Alsbro, who developed Dump Your Plump in 1985.
Alsbro was a fulltime professor in the physical education department from 1972 to 1991 and presently teaches part-time at the Wellness Center.
Dump Your Plump has been used in several thousand contests with more than  200,000 participants.
In Berrien County, Dump Your Plump was conducted from 1986 to 2000 with more than 7,000 participants.
In 1991, there were 1,229 who started, 1,150 who finished; 58 percent made their weight goal, 71 percent exercised at least 45 out of 50 days and 48 percent made both their exercise and weight loss goals.
Total weight lost was 10,310 pounds with an average weight loss of 8.97 pounds.
In this contest, 11 teams had a perfect score of 6,000 points.
For information, call Dump Your Plump at (269) 925-3524.