ANN ARBOR, Mich. -- Students in 28 schools across Michigan have been selected to participate in the 2013-2014 Building Healthy Communities program to establish healthy lifestyles among schoolchildren and create healthy school environments.
The effort results from a partnership of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Michigan Fitness Foundation, United Dairy Industry of Michigan, University of Michigan and Wayne State University.
“The University of Michigan’s Project Healthy Schools, a middle-school-based program designed to reduce childhood obesity and its long-term health risks, is excited to work with so many partners across the state that share the goal of creating healthy school environments and helping students form heart-healthy habits from an early age,” says cardiologist Kim Eagle, M.D., a director of the U-M’s Frankel Cardiovascular Center.
“The long-term benefits of the Building Healthy Communities program cannot be overstated in terms of its potential to improve the overall health of our citizens today and into the future; reduce health care costs that will benefit all of us; and help generations of Michiganders live healthier, more successful lives.”
The Building Healthy Communities program educates students through classroom lessons, creates an environment that makes the healthy choice the easy choice, encourages students to practice lessons learned in the classroom, provides opportunities for physical activity during and after school and improves access to healthy food and beverages for elementary and middle school students.
Building Healthy Communities is a comprehensive, school-wide program created to fight childhood obesity. Since the inception of the program in 2009, over 35,000 students in 83 schools have been reached. For the 2013-2014year, 28 school buildings, reaching an additional 12,500 students, will be implementing the Building Healthy Communities program.
With its public, private and nonprofit partners, the Building Healthy Communities program continues to show a positive impact on students’ making healthy choices at a time when one in three children in the nation is obese or overweight and when the rate of childhood obesity has tripled in just 30 years.
For more information on Building Healthy Communities, please visit www.bcbsm.com/buildhealth.
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