The American Heart Association and the Mississippi Children’s Museum will host the 2012 Go Healthy Challenge this Saturday, August 4 from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Children will complete challenges that teach them about living a healthy lifestyle to win a backpack full of school supplies and other great prizes (while supplies last.) Also, one lucky student will win an iPod touch.

This free event that includes admission to the museum specifically focuses on the issue of childhood obesity by encouraging children and parents to get active and make better food choices. The 2010 ‘F is for Fat Report’ by the Trust for America’s Health indicates that Mississippi is the most obese state in the nation for both adults and children. The report shows that 33.8 % of adults in the state are obese and 21.9 % of children.

“The solution to childhood obesity is education and implementation therefore that involves teaching positive lifestyle changes which includes implementing healthier diets, and increasing activity,” said Dr. Timothy Quinn, American Heart Association’s spokesperson. “Creating events such as the ‘Go Healthy Challenge’, we can increase children’s knowledge about childhood obesity and encourage them to incorporate lifestyle modification changes. This will help decrease childhood obesity in our great state of Mississippi.”

For more information about the 2012 Go Healthy Challenge call the American Heart Association at 601-321-1213. For more information about starting healthy habits or for tips for getting children active visit the American Heart Association website, heart.org.

Just across the way from Fondren, the Mississippi Children’s Museum is part of a multitude of cultural and recreational opportunities just steps from our central business district. Other points of interest include the Mississippi Sports Hall of Fame, the Mississippi Agricultural and Forestry Museum, The Mississippi Natural Science Museum, LeFleur’s Bluff State Park and Mayes Lake.