JOINT BASE CHARLESTON, S.C. -- The Wellness staff at Naval Health Clinic Charleston is inviting the entire Joint Base Charleston family to participate in the 2012 Crews Into Shape challenge.

The challenge, sponsored by the Navy and Marine Corps Public Health Center, will take place over a four-week period from March 4 to March 31. Active duty, Reservists, retirees, family members, civilians and contract employees are encouraged to form teams.

As part of a team or "crew," participants will assess their nutrition and exercise habits with the goal of improving both. Each crew may have up to 10 members with a designated crew leader and a unique team name. Points will be awarded for the amounts of exercise completed and amounts of fruits and vegetables consumed.

Additional points can be earned by member's achieving their weight goal, the timeliness of reporting and degree of team participation. At the end of the challenge, the teams with the most points will be recognized by NMCPHC.

Last year, 1,932 crew members in 276 "crews" composed of Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines, Coast Guardsmen, Department of Defense civilians, contractors and family members registered for Crews Into Shape. More than 41 percent of the crews submitted their final scores. Participants were invited (and scored a point) for completing a web-based survey within seven days of completing the challenge. Survey results showed Crews Into Shape positively affected self-reported health-related behavior. Of the 448 people who completed the post-Crews survey, most agreed or strongly agreed the Crews program "helped me improve my daily habits" regarding exercise (80.6 percent), fruit consumption (87.7 percent) and vegetable consumption (86.5 percent).

During the 2011 competition, one NHCC team made up of 11 females lost a total of 46 pounds in four weeks proving the activities are fun, the goals are reasonable and the team support is invaluable.

For more information or to register a team, go to: http://www.nmcphc.med.navy.mil/Healthy_Living/Resources_Products/Crews_Into_Shape/crews_info.aspx.

All crews must be registered by March 4.