In hopes of inspiring at least 1 million Americans to sign up for and
achieve the Presidential Active Lifestyle Award, or PALA, by September 2011,
members from several organizations have presented the public with the
“Million PALA Challenge.”
Dominique Dawes, co-chair of the President’s Council on Fitness,
Sports and Nutrition (PCFSN), Department of Health and Human Services secretary
Kathleen Sebelius and Let’s Move! campaign executive director Robin
Schepper recently launched the program during the PCFSN’s inaugural
meeting in Washington, D.C.
For children, the campaign proposes an hour’s worth of daily
exercise five times per week during a period of 6
weeks to initiate or maintain a healthy lifestyle. For adults, the program
calls for 30 minutes of exercise at the same frequency for the same length of
time.
The campaign’s launch comes in the wake of President Barack Obama
signing a proclamation declaring September as National Childhood Obesity
Awareness Month.
“Ending obesity is critical to children’s health and to their
health as adults,” Sebelius said in a press release. “Nearly one in
three American children is overweight or obese, which puts them at a much
greater risk of diabetes,
heart disease and cancer. There are more than 300
million people in America today, and we want every single one of them to live a
healthy lifestyle.”
School and afterschool programs nationwide support the Million PALA
Challenge, including the three largest afterschool programs: Boys & Girls
Clubs of America; the YMCA; and the National and Recreation and Park
Association. The General Mills Foundation is also a major advocate of the
campaign.