Arizona Fifth-Graders Take 3.4 Billion Small Steps and One Giant Leap toward Better Health.

Nearly 11,000 Students Participate in Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona's 2008 Walk On! Challenge

Wittmann's Nadaburg Elementary School Wins $2,500 Grant for 100 Percent Student Participation

PHOENIX -- Nearly 11,000 Arizona fifth-graders collectively took a giant leap toward healthier living during the month of February, walking the equivalent of 68 trips around the Earth in the third year of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona's (BCBSAZ) Walk On! Challenge. These students represent more than 400 schools statewide.

The Walk On! Challenge was designed to help combat childhood obesity by motivating Arizona youth to incorporate exercise into their daily routines. Fifth-graders across the state were encouraged to walk 10,000 steps each day in February. This year, BCBSAZ enhanced the program to include Walk4Life(tm) pedometers, subject-specific lesson ideas selected from submissions by teachers statewide and incentives for participants, including iPod shuffles and an iMac([R]) desktop computer. Individual students who met the Challenge goal of 290,000 steps were eligible to win one of the prizes. The program also included a $2,500 grant toward a fitness-related activity for the school with the highest percentage of student participation.

Nadaburg Elementary School of Wittmann was selected as the winner of the $2,500 grant through a drawing from a pool of the 44 schools that reported 100 percent participation. The grant will be awarded at the State Capitol on April 30 in conjunction with National Walk @ Lunch Day, an event during which Nadaburg students will lead a commemorative walk through Wesley Bolin Memorial Park, adjacent to the State Capitol in downtown Phoenix. National Walk @ Lunch Day is a workplace walking program, which encourages people to take time during their lunch breaks to start walking toward better health.

"I liked this experience of getting fit and active," said Salvador Alanis, a Nadaburg Elementary School student who participated in the challenge. "I was one of the kids who just does nothing and sits on the bench at recess, but now I always go outside and get active and have fun, all because of the Walk On! Challenge."

Michele Kliphon, a fifth-grade teacher at Learning Foundation and Performing Arts Academy in Gilbert, said that the small charter school does not have a physical education program, so the Walk On! Challenge sparked an interest in her students.

"We started out walking the 10,000 steps every day for 60 minutes," she said. "We had some sore feet at first, but gradually, over time, the students began asking to go outside to 'do their walk.' We even bundled up and went in the rain!"

As an added bonus for their efforts, Kliphon treated her students to a hike and barbecue at South Mountain for those who completed the Challenge.

"We are proud that so many Arizonans have utilized this program to increase exercise among their schools and families," said Richard Boals, president and CEO of Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. "Encouraging Arizona's youth to engage in healthy exercise habits at a young age will promote a lifetime of fitness."

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ), an independent licensee of the Blue Cross and Blue Shield Association, is the largest Arizona-based health insurance company. The not-for-profit company was founded in 1939 and provides health insurance products, services or networks to more than 1.1 million individuals. With offices in Phoenix, Flagstaff, Tempe and Tucson, the company employs more than 1,500 Arizonans. For information about BCBSAZ and its HealthyBlue program, an integrated program of tools, resources and services that can help Arizonans live a healthier lifestyle, visit azblue.com/HealthyBlue.