Buffalo, NY-Sue Cornell, a Lancaster mom of two young boys, is like many moms and tries to be involved in what her kids are doing at school. Having her boys try news foods is something that Sue feels is important, so when she heard her oldest son, 9-year-old Brian, was participating in Univera Healthcare's Fun 2B Fit taste testing program, she immediately decided to be a parent volunteer.

"I figured that if I were to make some of the healthy Fun 2B Fit recipes, my kids would be more likely to try them" said Sue.

And she was right.

Brian's second grade class at Central Avenue Elementary School spent 12 weeks sampling healthy versions of kid-friendly recipes, such as macaroni and cheese and pizza, as part of the program. Sue volunteered to make a few of the recipes, including the Un-fried Chicken, Trail Mix, and the Fruity French Toast.

"I wasn't sure about the Fruity French Toast" said Brian about the whole wheat, fruit-topped version of the popular breakfast dish. "But I tried it and I liked it."

Univera Healthcare's Fun 2B Fit is a school-based, healthy lifestyle initiative encouraging children and their families to make healthier food choices by trying new foods, increasing their level of physical activity, shopping for healthy foods and preparing meals together.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the prevalence of overweight among school-aged children (6-11 years) in the United States has increased more than 14% over the past 30 years.

Sue's youngest son, Eric is a second grader this year and Sue admits she will probably volunteer to make the recipes for his class as well.

"I think that if you start (having them think about healthy food choices) when they're young, and involve them so they're a part of it, I think it's very beneficial" said Sue.

A total of 16,000 students at 60 schools in the Western New York area have participated in Fun 2B Fit. To watch a video testimonial of Sue Cornell and her boys, log on to fun2bfit.univerahealthcare.com. Along with the Cornell family, there are additional video testimonials on the site from WNY students and families whose lives have been impacted by Fun 2B Fit.

Fun 2B Fit offers components for second, third, and fourth graders and students are given healthy incentives for each part of the program. Students receive lime green chef aprons and laminated recipe cards for each recipe they try as part of the second grade taste testing; third graders who participate in the Fun 2B Fit workout go home with a tool kit for themselves and their families, filled with items to help them make healthy choices, such as a magnetic grocery pad with pre-printed healthy items on each tear-off page, a magnet with everyday tips on how parents can keep their kids healthy, a Healthy Family Pledge to be signed and displayed in the home, and the tool kit itself is a sling-style backpack that can be reused as a gym bag, or to take on family outings; fourth graders take a field trip to a local Wegmans store to learn about the origins of healthy food, how to shop for them, and they leave with a bag of healthy groceries.

This summer, Fun 2B Fit was honored with the Community Leadership Award from America's Health Insurance Plans, which is considered to be the leading national health organization. The program has also received multiple Excalibur Awards from the Buffalo/Niagara Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America, international MarCom Creative Awards, a Civic Empowerment Award from the Greater Buffalo All-America City committee, an Award of Distinction from the Video Communicator Awards, a World Wide Web Health Award, and a Health Care Advertising Best of Show designation.

Fun 2B Fit program partners include Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., Body Shaping by Sandy, and Lifetime Health Medical Group.

For more information, please visit the Web site at www.fun2bfit.univerahealthcare.com.

###