Boys & Girls Clubs Of America And Jackie Joyner-Kersee Inspire Families To Get Fit Together At 3rd Annual Fit Family Challenge

Five Families to be Rewarded for their Comprehensive Lifestyle Changes and Compete for a Free Family Vacation at Triple Play Fit Family Challenge Event in LA

ATLANTA, Jan. 3, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- As millions resolve to get fit this New Year, five families are getting a head start at conquering their fitness goals. These Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) families have competed against more than 200 other Club families from across the U.S. in the 3^rd Annual Triple Play Fit Family Challenge – investing months to eat a more balanced diet, become more physically active and spend more quality time together.

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The "Final Five" have earned their way to the Finale Event, which takes place in Los Angeles, Calif. on Saturday, January 12, 2013. There, they will meet Boys & Girls Club alumna and three-time Track & Field Olympic Medalist Jackie Joyner-Kersee and face off to determine one Fit Family Challenge winning family. The Fit Family Challenge encompasses all three elements of BGCA's signature Triple Play program – Mind (healthy eating), Body (physical activity) and Soul (healthy relationships) – and is supported at Boys & Girls Clubs around the country by Coca-Cola and the WellPoint Foundation.

At the Finale Event, the Final Five will put their Fit Family Challenge training to use by navigating through a challenging obstacle course, competing in a nutrition quiz show and participating in a family talent show that reflects the principles they learned during the Challenge. In addition to the all-expense paid trip to Los Angeles, all five families will receive gift bags with prizes from BGCA, Coca-Cola and the WellPoint Foundation to help them continue on their fitness journey. One winning family will also receive an all-expense paid family vacation to the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colo.

"Even though only one family will be selected to win the Triple Play Fit Family Challenge, I see all five of these families as winners," said Jackie Joyner-Kersee, who will host the Finale Event. "For nearly three months, each of them has made simple, but significant changes to incorporate healthy eating habits and physical activity into their everyday lives – and best of all, they've done it as a family! As a Club alumna and a champion for fitness, I am proud to stand with Boys & Girls Clubs of America in celebrating these families and I can't wait to see who finishes on top."

The Final Five were selected for their level of commitment to incorporating Triple Play principles in their everyday lives – with many participating in at least five days of physical activity as a family; making meal adjustments such as drinking more water or incorporating healthy salads into meals; and spending more quality time as a family by playing board games or hosting family themed nights. The five families include:

• The Austin family has four participating family members, they attend the Boys & Girls Clubs of Larimer County and they are from Fort Collins, Colo.
• The Bonds family has three participating family members, they attend the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hawaii and they are from Honolulu, Hawaii
• The Garner/Grey family has three participating family members, they attend the Boys & Girls Clubs of Smoky Mountains and they are from Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
• The Lang-Brown family has six participating family members and they are from the Oshkosh Boys & Girls Clubs in Oshkosh, Wis.
• The Takanishi family has four participating family members, they attend the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hawaii and they are from Honolulu, Hawaii

"We, like many, are well aware of the troubling statistics that one-third of U.S. children and teens are obese or overweight.  According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, that's more than three times the number of obese and overweight children just a generation ago," said Wayne B. Moss, Senior Director, Healthy Lifestyles at Boys & Girls Clubs of America. "By working with our Triple Play national co-sponsors, Coca-Cola and the WellPoint Foundation, we are empowering young people and their families with knowledge and tools to combat obesity, and we are setting young people up for healthier lifestyles."

"The Fit Family Challenge is a great example of the Triple Play principles in action – incorporating physical activity and nutrition education into a fun family program," said Erika Von Heiland Strader, Community Marketing, The Coca-Cola Company. "Our work to help bring this to life will help create stronger, healthier families and in turn create healthier, more sustainable communities."

"Our health is greatly influenced by those around us," said Lance Chrisman, executive director of the WellPoint Foundation. "That's why these families' commitment to physical activity and good nutrition is so inspirational and effective. By working together, they have accomplished increasingly difficult goals and set themselves on a path to sustainable healthy habits. We salute the five finalists and congratulate all the families across the country that used this competition to jumpstart positive lifestyle changes."

In fall 2011, the Promising Practices Network (PPN) website named Triple Play a "Program that Works."  PPN is a national think tank comprised of more than 150 researchers and consultants who specialize in child health, juvenile justice, education, child care, labor and demographics. PPN offers research-based information to validate the effectiveness of programs that serve children and families, and is often referred to as a "model program" or "best practices" site.

For more information about Triple Play, visit www.bgca.org/tripleplay.

Triple Play: A Game Plan for the Mind, Body and Soul
A Game Plan for the Mind, Body and Soul was launched in 2005 by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services with support from The Coca-Cola Company to encourage kids to eat healthier, become more physically active and increase their ability to engage in healthy relationships. A two-year study of more than 2,000 children ages 9-14 showed that Triple Play succeeded in getting them to exercise more, eat healthier foods and feel better about themselves. The study found that Triple Play kids increased to 90 percent of the federally recommended amount of daily exercise, which is 60 minutes a day for children, while their peers outside the program decreased to 78 percent. To date, Triple Play has helped more than one million kids learn the importance of physical activity and proper nutrition. In 2011, the WellPoint Foundation joined BGCA and Coca-Cola as a Triple Play sponsor. Learn more about the program at www.bgca.org/tripleplay.

About Boys & Girls Clubs of America
For more than 100 years, Boys & Girls Clubs of America (GreatFutures.org) has enabled young people most in need to achieve great futures as productive, caring, responsible citizens. Today, nearly 4,000 Clubs serve some 4 million young people through Club membership and community outreach. Clubs are located in cities, towns, public housing and on Native American lands throughout the country, and serve military families in BGCA-affiliated Youth Centers on U.S. military installations worldwide. They provide a safe place, caring adult mentors, fun and friendship, and high-impact youth development programs on a daily basis during critical non-school hours. Club programs promote academic success, good character and citizenship, and healthy lifestyles. In a Harris Survey of alumni, 57 percent said the Club saved their lives. National headquarters are located in Atlanta. Learn more at http://www.bgca.org/facebook and http://bgca.org/twitter.

About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands.  Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, our Company's portfolio features 15 billion-dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks.  Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.8 billion servings a day.  With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate.  Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system associates.  For more information, visit Coca-Cola Journey at www.coca-colacompany.com, follow us on Twitter at twitter.com/CocaColaCo or check out our blog, Coca-Cola Unbottled, at www.coca-colablog.com.

About WellPoint Foundation
The WellPoint Foundation is the philanthropic arm of WellPoint, Inc. and through charitable contributions and programs, the Foundation promotes the inherent commitment of WellPoint, Inc. to enhance the health and well-being of individuals and families in communities that WellPoint, Inc. and its affiliated health plans serve. The Foundation focuses its funding on strategic initiatives that address and provide innovative solutions to health care challenges, as well as promoting the Healthy Generations Program, a multi-generational initiative that targets specific disease states and medical conditions. These disease states and medical conditions include: prenatal care in the first trimester, low birth weight babies, cardiac morbidity rates, long term activities that decrease obesity and increase physical activity, diabetes prevalence in adult populations, adult pneumococcal and influenza vaccinations and smoking cessation. The Foundation also coordinates the company's annual associate giving campaign and provides a 50 percent match of associates' campaign pledges. To learn more about the WellPoint Foundation, please visit www.wellpointfoundation.org and its blog at http://wellpointfoundation.tumblr.com.

SOURCE Boys & Girls Clubs of America