CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa –Iowa’s Healthiest State initiative began with one small step Friday: a 1-kilometer walk to symbolically kick off the effort toward making Iowa the healthiest state in the nation.

Preschoolers to retirees walked at noon in all 99 Iowa counties on a warm and windy fall day.

Four-year-old Cade Smith trotted a lap and a half at Kingston Stadium in Cedar Rapids before mom, Ellery Smith, 34, finished the 12-minute walk carrying her son.

“I just wanted to come down and show support,” said Smith, a Cedar Rapids dietitian who has seen people struggle with weight and health issues. “People are sometimes overwhelmed and don’t know where to start, so this is great. Just starting somewhere is what needs to happen.”

That was the idea behind Friday’s event, dubbed the Start Somewhere Walk.

The goal was to have 250,000 Iowans participate simultaneously to beat a Canadian record of 231,635 walkers set in 2007.

Walker numbers were still being tabulated this afternoon.

Iowa, now ranked 19th, will attempt to become the healthiest state by 2016, based on the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index.

Gov. Terry Branstad has noted that addressing lifestyle changes could allow Iowa to redirect up to $16 billion over five years, with $11 billion saved in health care costs and $5 billion in lost productivity.

Experts say long-term changes are needed to turn the tide of obesity, diabetes and other conditions that have reached epidemic proportions in America.

As a four-time cancer survivor, Reta Meier, 70, of Cedar Rapids, is keenly aware of the importance of fitness.

She and her husband, Jack Meier, 71 both retired, circled the track with other walkers at Kingston Stadium.

Both try to stay active, so they made the walk – less than 1 mile – with ease.

“This is just kind of fun,” said Jack Meier, who had one hip replaced last year and walks 6 miles every morning.

Not far behind, friends Brody Carstens, 11, and Micah Baumgartel, 7, walked with about 150 other Trinity Lutheran School students.

The boys agreed it was fun to be outside during the school day and cited getting stickers and seeing “Mr. Shucks,” the Cedar Rapids Kernels mascot, as highlights of the event.

Kim Jaber, store manager at the 32nd Avenue NE Hy-Vee Drugstore, said about 500 people walked at the Kingston site and were given information on what’s to come with Iowa’s Healthiest State Initiative.

Exercise and diet are only a portion of the effort, she said, citing healthy workplaces, safe walking paths and improved mental health among other priorities.

Hy-Vee is among the backers of the initiative, along with Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which is contributing $25 million over a five-year period.

Ten cities will be chosen as Blue Zones Communities, with expert advice provided to make the communities healthier.

Eastern Iowans can learn more when Cedar Rapids hosts one of four Blue Zones Road Shows in the state from 9-11 a.m. Wednesday, Oct. 12, at the Scottish Rite Masonic Center, 616 A Ave. NE.