Saginaw County in Michigan has an obesity rate near 40%, and a health insurance company is stepping in with grants to help reverse the trend.
A grant program by insurer UnitedHealthcare is offering grants of up to $1k to help schools and organizations fight rising obesity rates in youngsters.
To quality the programs are to be proposed by the community. They must encourage youth participation, help student academic achievement and improve workplace skills.
The insurer knows that obese children lead to obese adults — and obesity can be costly. It’s best to start early to fight it. According to the 2009 America’s Health Rankings,43% percent of adults will be obese by 2018 at a cost of over $340 billion in health care costs.
The current obesity rate among all people in Saginaw County is almost 37%
Past projects funded by the grants include healthy cooking classes, planting gardens, runs and walks. Some organizations used the grant to raise more funds for programs.
Idea: “We had a program that, instead of a spelling bee, it was a health bee competition between Boys and Girls Clubs in different cities,” Thompson said.
In 3 years, UnitedHealth has given grants to 361 schools and communities across the nation; 6 were awarded to Michigan communities last year.
See www.YSA.org/HEROES to apply. Applications are due Oct. 22; recipients will be notified in December and January.
We like to see these private partnerships – like how Whole Foods Donated Salad Bars to Schools) where companies contribute to solving this serious problem. The government is also involved. Can we do it without major cultural changes? That’s the question.
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- How the White House Plans to Fight Childhood Obesity (rubberecycle.com)
- How you Can Help Fight Childhood Obesity? (rubberecycle.com)
Tags: Health, Health care, Michigan, Obesity
