February 10 2020 – Sticking to New Year’s resolutions for better health in 2020 just got a whole lot easier. Palm Health Foundation has opened registration for its eighth annual Let’s Move! Commit to Change Physical Activity Challenge, a month-long activity challenge that kicks off on March 1, 2020. Individuals and teams are welcome to join the spirited competition that offers physical and wellness activities across Palm Beach County and logs participant minutes to serve as a motivating force for all to achieve their fitness goals. Palm Beach County residents logged 32 million collective minutes of physical activity in 2019.
Participating in Let’s Move is free and open to the public by registering at www.letsmovepbc.org. Individuals and teams from schools, businesses, municipalities, churches and other community organizations are invited to compete in the challenge by completing and logging 30 minutes of physical activity each day in March. Teams with the highest number of minutes will be recognized at a community celebration at the end of the challenge. The Village of Wellington was the 2019 Let’s Move Challenge Champion with 12,849,676 minutes logged.
To help participants inspire their teams and others to take on the physical activity challenge, Palm Health Foundation is holding a Let’s Move video contest. Teams are encouraged to create videos of three minutes or less and submit their entries by Wednesday, March 25th. Video entries will be displayed on the Let’s Move website and the winning team will be awarded a traveling trophy at the challenge’s celebration event. More information is available at www.letsmovepbc.org/videos.
Palm Health Foundation’s Let’s Move initiative was originally inspired by First Lady Michelle Obama’s 2010 national program to decrease childhood obesity. As Palm Beach County’s community foundation focused on leading change for better health, Palm Health Foundation has created the local challenge for adults and children to improve a variety of health issues through regular physical activity, including reducing the risk for diabetes and heart disease, improving brain health and increasing chances for healthy longevity. According to The State of Obesity, Florida’s adult obesity rate is currently 30.7%, up from 18.4% in 2000, and it has the nation’s 8th highest obesity rate for youth ages 10 to 17 (17.8%).
“Change happens at the community level where we can leverage resources and come together to encourage each other to live healthier lives,” said Patrick McNamara, president and CEO of Palm Health Foundation. “Our hope is that residents are encouraged by Let’s Move to incorporate healthy mind and body behaviors for themselves, and serve as inspiration for their own circles, creating a community-wide focus on health for the long-term.”
Throughout the month of March, Let’s Move events will be held across Palm Beach County focusing on physical activity, nutrition and healthy behaviors. Visit www.letsmovepbc.org now and throughout the month of March for updates on events.
Let’s Move sponsors include Joe DiMaggio Children’s Hospital, Valley Bank and Wisehaupt, Bray Asset Management.
About Palm Health Foundation
Palm Health Foundation is Palm Beach County’s community foundation for health. With the support of donors and a focus on results, the foundation builds strong community partnerships, respects diverse opinions, advocates for its most vulnerable neighbors and inspires innovative solutions to lead change for better health now and for generations to come. The foundation supports health equity for Palm Beach County residents of all backgrounds, heritage, education, incomes and states of well-being. Palm Health Foundation has invested more than $83 million in Palm Beach County health since 2001. For more information about Palm Health Foundation, visit palmhealthfoundation.org or call (561) 833-6333.
