Walt Disney World® Marathon Weekend presented by CIGNA January 7-10, 2010

CIGNA SUPPORTS TRAINING FOR A CAUSE

CHALLENGING OUR CHILDREN TO GET HEALTHY

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), obesity is a serious health problem facing many families today and children are one of the most at risk populations. Statistics show that the prevalence of obesity among children aged 6 to 11 more than doubled in the past 20 years, going from 6.5% in 1980 to 17% in 2006. The rate among adolescents aged 12 to 19 more than tripled, increasing from 5% to 17.6%.

"Establishing healthy lifestyles really begins at home," said Kim Hohol, registered dietitian for CIGNA. "Parents who serve as positive role models by demonstrating smart food choices and exercising regularly tend to have children who lead healthy lifestyles."

"There is a great deal that families can do to promote healthy active living and support each other in staying healthy. Nutritious meals, portion control, and physical activity are fundamentals of living a healthy lifestyle," suggested Hohol.

Additionally, families can focus on creating a home environment that encourages and supports healthy choices, regularly communicate with their doctors to understand family members' Body Mass Index (BMI) percentiles, and/or partner in the community to advocate for healthy communities and schools.

Ideas to get families started on enjoying a healthy and active lifestyle include:

• Eat between 5-9 fruits and vegetables per day
• Get 1 hour of physical activity a day (does not need to be consecutive)
• Limit TV screen time to less than 2 hours a day
• Limit consumption of sugar sweetened beverages
• Eat breakfast daily
• Switch to low-fat, rich-in-calcium dairy products
• Regularly eat family meals together
• Limit fast food, take out, and eating out
• Eat foods rich in fiber such as dried beans, legumes, fruits, vegetables and whole grains

At this year's WALT DISNEY WORLD® Marathon Weekend Expo, CIGNA will be partnering with Healthy Kids Challenge with the goal of educating families about making healthy behavior a priority and to help children integrate these habits into their everyday routines. Children and their parents will be invited to an interactive experience where they will have the opportunity to actually walk through the food pyramid and learn about the importance of healthy food choices and active play every day.

Healthy Kids Challenge is a nationally recognized nonprofit that helps school, community, business, and health leaders take action for kids to eat, move and enjoy a healthy balance. Created by registered dietitians, Healthy Kids Challenge offers solutions through workshops, events, toolkits, a Web site, newsletters and programming. Six healthy eating and active play practices make teaching and learning simple and fun.

CIGNA and Healthy Kids Challenge have collaborated for several years, working together to develop and implement programs that drive behavioral changes in many important settings where kids and families live, learn, work and play.

"Our collaboration with Healthy Kids Challenge has enabled us to expand nutrition and fitness messages to families through a variety of opportunities, including the WALT DISNEY WORLD Marathon Expo," said Hohol. "It really helps address this very important and growing health concern."

To learn more about Healthy Kids Challenge, visit www.healthykidschallenge.com.

For more information about CIGNA, please visit www.cigna.com or www.itstimetofeelbetter.com.