‘Million PALA Challenge’ campaign promotes healthy living

In hopes of inspiring at least 1 million Americans to sign up for and achieve the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award, or PALA, by September 2011, members from several organizations have presented the public with the “Million PALA Challenge.”

Dominique Dawes, co-chair of the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN), Department of Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Let’s Move! campaign executive director Robin Schepper recently launched the program during the PCFSN’s inaugural meeting in Washington, D.C.

For children, the campaign proposes an hour’s worth of daily exercise five times per week during a period of 6 weeks to initiate or maintain a healthy lifestyle. For adults, the program calls for 30 minutes of exercise at the same frequency for the same length of time.

The campaign’s launch comes in the wake of President Barack Obama signing a proclamation declaring September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.

“Ending obesity is critical to children’s health and to their health as adults,” Sebelius said in a press release. “Nearly one in three American children is overweight or obese, which puts them at a much greater risk of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. There are more than 300 million people in America today, and we want every single one of them to live a healthy lifestyle.”

School and afterschool programs nationwide support the Million PALA Challenge, including the three largest afterschool programs: Boys & Girls Clubs of America; the YMCA; and the National and Recreation and Park Association. The General Mills Foundation is also a major advocate of the campaign.

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