AMES, Iowa – Jan. 11, 2012 – The 2012 Live Healthy Iowa Kids / Governor’s Challenge has 20,083 participants registered on 801 teams. These numbers have substantially surpassed previous year’s participant numbers by nearly double. With the event kicking off Jan. 17, 2012, there’s still plenty of time to register.
With respective representation from many Iowa counties, Dubuque County currently has the most represented participation with 7,907 participants on 328 teams.
“With our participant numbers as high as they are, this is a great contribution toward helping make Iowa the healthiest state in the nation,” said Traci Kepley, health initiatives coordinator. “But whether our numbers are big or small, we’re starting to engrain these positive nutrition and physical activity habits in the adults of tomorrow, our children. No number can put a value on that.”
Live Healthy Iowa Kids is a free 100-day challenge for youth inspiring them to be more active and make better food choices. During the program, participants aim to be active for 60 minutes a day, at least five days a week. Youth will also be challenged to track their nutrition habits. In 2011, the Live Healthy Iowa Kids / Governor’s Challenge had 10,947 participants on 549 teams registered for the challenge. For more information about Live Healthy Iowa Kids, visit www.livehealthyiowakids.org.
About Live Healthy Iowa Live Healthy Iowa Kids was created in 2004 as a program of the Iowa Sports Foundation and is endorsed by the Iowa Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness & Nutrition. Live Healthy Iowa Kids’ youth initiatives are free programs encouraging Iowa’s youth to be more active and learn about healthy food choices in a positive, fun way. Since they began, more than 500,000 youth have participated in Live Healthy Iowa Kids / Governor’s Challenge, Go the Distance Day and Fall Fitness Day.
Contact: Traci Kepley, Health Initiatives Coordinator, Live Healthy Iowa, traci@livehealthyiowa.org (888)777-8881 ext. 111