Lt. Gov. Challenges Georgia Schools to Get Kids Healthy

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Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, troubled by the growing concern of child obesity, has issued a challenge to Georgia schools to get kids healthy. In an effort to tackle what he describes as an epidemic, Cagle has launched the Lt. Governor’s Healthy Kids Challenge in collaboration with The Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

“One out of every three children in Georgia suffers from obesity,” said Cagle, who also chairs the Georgia Children’s Health Alliance Executive Committee. “Not only does this affect kids’ physical health, but it also impacts a child’s self-esteem, leading to greater troubles in the future.”

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program is a free resource for schools and individuals working in youth-related organizations to support sustainable efforts to combat childhood obesity. The Healthy Schools Program offers technical support and assistance to anyone engaging the entire school community in becoming a healthier place—guiding participants to resources that help them overcome obstacles and make healthy changes in nutrition, physical activity and health education so students and staff can lead healthier lives. The program also recognizes successful schools through the National Recognition Award and its Success Story newsletter.

“Were excited to see Lt. Gov. Cagle take up the cause of childhood obesity and put so much energy behind the Alliance’s Healthy Schools Program,” said John Bare of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation and vice president of the Atlanta Falcons Youth Foundation. “It’s exciting to see this progress, and we know more schools can step up and generate similar stories.”

One of the country’s most extensive childhood obesity prevention efforts, schools that are part of the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program are making significant changes in the areas of healthy eating, physical activity and staff wellness to help tomorrow’s generation be healthier. The program works with more than 9,000 schools across the United States, including more than 225 schools in Georgia. In 2010, 13 Georgia schools received National Recognition awards from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation for their work transforming their campuses into healthier places for students and staff. Cagle’s goal is to enroll 50 more schools in the program.

Watch Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle’s Healthy Kids challenge.

Learn more about the Alliance for a Healthier Generation’s Healthy Schools Program.

Enroll and gain access to all that the Program has to offer.

Read Success Story newsletter featuring Georgia schools in 2010.

Contact:
Beth Graham
National Network Manager
843-213-1135
beth.graham@healthiergeneration.org

William Valladares
GaFCP Communications Manager
404-527-7394 (x114)
william@gafcp.org