Blue Cross do.® Campaign has Minnesotan Living in Glass Apartment at Mall of America®

"The Human Do.ing" will move more, eat better with community support for 30 days

EAGAN, Minn., March 18, 2011 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- More than 60 percent of Minnesotans are overweight or obese, and one Minnesota man is determined to change that statistic about himself. He's making public his quest for a healthier lifestyle by moving into a glass apartment at Mall of America®, in Bloomington, Minn., for an entire month as part of a new project created by Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota (Blue Cross). Scott, "The Human Do.ing," will live at Mall of America from March 18 – April 16 to model daily physical activity and healthy eating and show how community support is a key factor in maintaining a healthy lifestyle. He will encourage others to join him in getting fit and eating right, thereby involving all of Minnesota in his quest and inspiring others to start their own healthy lifestyle journeys.

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110318/DC67398-a)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20110318/DC67398-b)

The Human Do.ing is part of the Blue Cross do Campaign, which promotes grooving your body and smart nutrition choices to prevent a host of health problems. It's also part of a larger Blue Cross effort to curb and reverse the increasing obesity trend and encourage the public to not just think about getting active and eating better, but actually start doing what's healthy. The Human Do.ing project demonstrates how an everyday person like Scott, a 45-year-old entertainer and husband, can engage in daily do activities with the support of friends, family and the community. Social media will be a key element of this program, as The Human Do.ing looks for encouragement, ideas and camaraderie during his 30-day stay. People can offer support and encouragement, vote on activities for The Human Do.ing, or participate in healthy lifestyle activities by following him online at: Facebook.com/thehumandoing, Twitter.com/thehumandoing and do-groove.com.

"Adopting healthy behaviors and losing weight may be overwhelming, but success is easier with the right support," said Marc Manley, M.D., chief prevention officer for Blue Cross. "The Human Do.ing project is a unique way to model how a typical person can build physical activity, better nutrition and support into their life and make real progress towards a healthier lifestyle. We also know many people who are actually overweight or obese don't recognize their health status and their need for change. We're going to highlight the need to be educated and aware of your own health status—and work to motivate people to get started."

While Scott, The Human Do.ing, will engage the public in fun physical activities that can be done at a desk, at home or outdoors, and share healthy recipes or ways to eat better foods, the project underscores a serious issue. Obesity increases risk for high blood pressure, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, stroke, osteoarthritis, and colon cancer.

"As a health company, Blue Cross is committed to helping people prevent unnecessary diseases and conditions by encouraging everyone to move more and eat better. Physical inactivity and unhealthy eating, combined, are the second leading cause of preventable death in the United States," added Dr. Manley. "Our research shows that if left unchecked, the rise of obesity will add billions of dollars in health care costs annually. In Minnesota alone, obesity will add an additional $3.7 billion in health care costs annually by 2020."  

The Human Do.ing project is helping to shed light on the importance of acknowledging what is a healthy weight and demonstrating how to make incremental changes to behavior. Scott realizes that he needs to move more and eat better to achieve a healthy weight, but he needs support to make smart decisions while living in the glass apartment at Mall of America for the next 30 days. The project is based on research that shows those who have support from their friends and community are more likely to succeed when adopting better eating, exercise and overall healthy habits and are less likely to be obese. Scott, The Human Do.ing, is allowing everyone to view his daily ups and downs, but in return he is asking for help from the public. Several times a day, he will ask his fans and friends to vote on activities or to join him at a community event. He will stream video posts with his daily successes and struggles, and he also wants to hear tips, suggestions and activities that have worked well for others.

"I'm really excited to be The Human Do.ing, and I hope others will see the activities that I'm trying, take an honest look at their own health, get off the couch and take action themselves," said Scott.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota's do Campaign has raised awareness about the importance of physical activity and healthy eating since 2004. Through television commercials and community programs, Blue Cross has encouraged people to groove their bodies every day and eat better in order to improve overall health. The Human Do.ing project will allow Scott to lead by example and inspire others to start doing. As part of Blue Cross' Prevention Minnesota(SM) initiative, the do Campaign and The Human Do.ing project are funded entirely by Blue Cross' settlement proceeds from its historic lawsuit against the tobacco companies. Other programs and services Blue Cross offers to help achieve and maintain a healthy weight include: sponsoring the public bicycle-sharing program Nice Ride Minnesota; funding community projects to improve access to healthy foods in schools and underserved communities; supporting new laws like Complete Streets to make communities more walkable and bikeable; and providing tools on bluecrossmn.com that can help members achieve a healthy weight.

To offer support and encouragement to Scott, The Human Do.ing, and share personal stories and tips on staying active and eating healthy, visit The Human Do.ing Facebook page and the do-groove.com website. For more information about Blue Cross' many prevention efforts, go to bluecrossmn.com/preventionminnesota.

do.® is a registered trademark of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota, with headquarters in the St. Paul suburb of Eagan, was chartered in 1933 as Minnesota's first health plan and continues to carry out its charter mission today as a health company: to promote a wider, more economical and timely availability of health services for the people of Minnesota. Blue Cross is a not-for-profit, taxable organization. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota is an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, headquartered in Chicago. Go to bluecrossmn.com to learn more about Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota.

SOURCE Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Minnesota