On October 16, Univera Healthcare's Fun 2B Fit program received a proclamation from the Niagara County Legislature. In Niagara County, 1,300 children have participated in this healthy lifestyle program, which offers components for second, third, and fourth grade.

Niagara County Legislature Chairman Clyde Burmaster and Vice Chairman William Ross, presented the proclamation to Olivia Belter, regional director of community health programs at Univera Healthcare. The proclamation commends the Fun 2B Fit program for its outstanding commitment to the youth of Niagara County and Western New York.

More than 8,000 elementary school students have participated in this program in WNY, which encourages 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.

Fun 2B Fit was created by Univera Healthcare to combat childhood obesity and is based on recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and the New York State Learning Standards. According to the American Obesity Association, of six to 11 year olds, 30% are classified as overweight and 15% are considered obese.

As part of Fun 2B Fit, second graders participate in 12 weeks of healthy taste testing, third graders take part in a physical activity lesson and workout, and fourth graders go on a shopping and food preparation field trip to a local Wegmans store.

All students receive incentives for participating, including recipe cards and a Fun 2B Fit kid-sized chef apron for second graders, a parent tool kit including a stopwatch and a magnetic healthy grocery pad for third graders, and a bag of healthy groceries from Wegmans for fourth grade students. Parents of participating students who fill out a pre and post survey are mailed a custom-made portion control plate for their child. There are many resources available for students, parents, and teachers on the Fun 2B Fit Web site (http://www.fun2bfit.univerahealthcare.com/).

Fun 2B Fit is being offered to schools in the Western New York area after a successful pilot program was conducted in 2005. According to 2006-2007 survey results, 75% of children surveyed are going grocery shopping with their parents more now than before experiencing Fun 2B Fit, 65% of children surveyed are cooking more with their parents now than before Fun 2B Fit, and 90% of children surveyed responded as caring more now about being fit than before participating.

Fun 2B Fit has been honored with two awards for Publication Excellence (APEX Awards), two 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 the American Academy of Pediatrics newsletter CQ, a national publication, acclaimed Univera Healthcare for this innovative program.

Fun 2B Fit program partners include Wegmans Food Markets, Inc., Body Shaping By Sandy, the Healthy Community Alliance, and Lifetime Health Medical Group.

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