UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Mississippi Hosts Inaugural “Mississippi River Marathon” to Encourage Healthier Living in the Delta
UnitedHealthcare Community Plan is hosting the inaugural “Mississippi
River Marathon” Saturday, Feb.9, part of a weekend of health, nutrition
and fitness activities aimed at helping people improve their health,
well-being and quality of life.
Proceeds from the “Mississippi River Marathon” will benefit Teach for
America, a nonprofit organization that recruits and trains teachers who
are creating lasting change in the lives of Delta students. Through an
Expo and news conference kick-off, pasta party, full and half marathon
as well as a UnitedHealthcare 1 Mile Community Run and awards ceremony,
the weekend of music and events aims to bring together people from
across the state – regardless of age, ability or socioeconomic
background – to learn how positive change in their lives can put
friends, families and entire communities on a path to better health.
“UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Mississippi is grateful for the
opportunity to host the Mississippi River Marathon and work with
community partners to help Teach For America make a difference in the
lives of young people in our state,” said Jocelyn Carter, president of
UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Mississippi.
“Tackling obesity in Mississippi requires communities across our state
to come together in venues just like this to challenge our way of
thinking about health, and encourage our young people and families to
engage in fitness as a family,” said U.S. Congressman Bennie G.
Thompson, D-Miss. “Through partnerships like this with UnitedHealthcare
Community Plan and the Mississippi River Marathon, we will help people
in our state develop healthy habits that can last a lifetime.”
Obesity among children and adolescents has almost tripled since 1980,
with nearly one in every three children being overweight or obese,
according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Children from low-income and low-education households are three times
more likely to suffer from obesity, which is a leading risk factor for
diabetes, heart disease and many cancers, according to America’s Health
Rankings®, an annual comprehensive assessment of the nation’s health on
a state-by-state basis. According to America’s Health Rankings’ 2012
report, Mississippi ranked 49th in overall health, tied with
Louisiana.
More information about the weekend of events can be found at www.msrivermarathon.com.
About Teach For America
Teach For America works in
partnership with communities to expand educational opportunity for
children facing the challenges of poverty. Founded in 1990, Teach For
America recruits and develops a diverse corps of outstanding individuals
of all academic disciplines to commit two years to teach in high need
schools and become lifelong leaders in the movement to end educational
inequity. Today more than 10,000 corps members are teaching in 46 urban
and rural regions across the country, while nearly 28,000 alumni are
working across sectors to ensure that all children have access to an
excellent education. For more information, visit www.teachforamerica.org
and follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to
helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health
care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and
sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers
the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers
and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with
more than 780,000 physicians and other care professionals and 5,900
hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare serves
more than 40 million people and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth
Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being
company.
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