Nearly 100 youth participated in the first UnitedHealthcare IRONKIDS®
Racine Fun Run today at North Beach Park. UnitedHealthcare mascot Dr.
Health E. Hound kicked-off the fun run, joined by Ginger Dzick,
UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Wisconsin vice president.
This Smart News Release features multimedia. View the full release here:
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150718005019/en/
Local youth take off at the first UnitedHealthcare IRONKIDS Racine Fun Run today at North Beach Park. UnitedHealthcare mascot Dr. Health E. Hound kicked-off the fun run, joined by Ginger Dzick, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Wisconsin vice president. Source: Asher Imtiaz
Local athletes, ages 3-15, had the opportunity to run on the same course
as the IRONMAN® 70.3® Racine, which takes place
tomorrow.
“The IRONKIDS fun runs give our community the opportunity to have fun
together, and begin their day being active and healthy. Walking and
running are exercises everyone can do to maintain a healthful
lifestyle,” said Ginger Dzick, UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of
Wisconsin vice president. “UnitedHealthcare is grateful for the
opportunity to partner with IRONMAN to help children in our community
live healthier lives.”
This is the fourth year UnitedHealthcare is supporting IRONKIDS as part
of the company’s commitment to help stem the rising tide of childhood
obesity through healthy lifestyles. The UnitedHealthcare IRONKIDS 2015
Series features nine one-mile fun-runs and a dip-and-dash.
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. Wisconsin ranks 29th in the
country with nearly 30 percent of adults and nearly 12 percent of youth
estimated to be obese.
“We are thrilled to have a partner in UnitedHealthcare to sponsor these
youth events as part of our IRONMAN series,” said Carola Ross, chief
sales officer for IRONMAN. “The opportunity the IRONKIDS fun-runs offer
young athletes is tremendous, as these races can be the catalyst for a
lifetime of exercise and healthy living.”
About IRONKIDS®
After being acquired from the Sara Lee Corporation, which owned the
event series since 1985, IRONKIDS® launched in
2009 with nine events in the IRONKIDS® National
Triathlon Series. Since the inaugural year, IRONKIDS® has
seen more than 60,000 participants and has grown to more than 60 events
worldwide including races in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North
America. The brand represents a multi-dimensional approach to creating
positive experiences for athletes, families and communities, as well as
embodies achievement and determination while fostering self-esteem. The
IRONKIDS® mission is to inspire and motivate through the
sport to live an active, positive and healthy lifestyle. For more
information visit www.ironkids.com.
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, military service members,
retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries,
and contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians and care
professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide.
UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group
(NYSE:UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For
more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com
or follow @myUHC on Twitter.
Click
here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for UnitedHealth Group.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150718005019/en/
Copyright Business Wire 2015