RIESTER and UnitedHealthcare fight against childhood obesity.

The community garden at Valley View Elementary School in Phoenix was recently featured by FOX News.
It’s a privilege for us to work with UnitedHealthcare, one of the nation’s largest health and well-being companies, as it helps address childhood obesity in Arizona and nationwide.
Childhood obesity has tripled during the last 30 years. Unless we change course, estimates suggest that one-third of all children born after 2000 will suffer from diabetes or other obesity-related health problems—conditions that cost an estimated $147 billion each year to treat.
First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move initiative is helping make the issue of childhood obesity a national priority. Her childhood obesity action plan “seeks to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation,” in part by encouraging healthier food in schools and more physical activity among our nation’s youngsters.
For its part, UnitedHealthcare of Arizona recently awarded $5,000 in grants to five local organizations working to develop programs to help prevent childhood obesity in their communities . Kids in these programs worked on a variety of projects, such as creating community gardens, developing fitness routines, producing documentary films, writing healthy-ingredient cookbooks and even funding a new fitness track. The grants, which were awarded in Arizona and various other states, seek to further UnitedHealthcare’s mission of helping people live healthier lives.
A little education combined with action goes a long way in helping young people establish healthy habits and happy lives.
View the coverage of Valley View Elementary’s garden from Fox News.

Taking a stand for clients and causes is the RIESTER way. That is why it is no surprise that Tim Riester was selected as a 2010 Father of the Year by the Phoenix Father’s Day Council, which supports a very important issue in our community: diabetes education and awareness.

