STATE COLLEGE — The Nutrition Habit Challenge 2017, a community-wide wellness initiative, is scheduled to begin Wedneday, Feb. 1, and run for 28 days through the end of the month.
Registration for the event is now open at www.nutritionhabitchallenge.com, according to an NHC press release.
In its fourth year, participants choose a nutritional behavior they commit to changing. It must be significant enough to positively impact their health, but manageable enough that they can be successful for 28 days. If they are successful for 25 out of the 28 days, they become eligible for a prize drawing that includes a trip for four to Disney World.
The NHC was created by Bruce and Kym Burke, owners of One on One Fitness in State College.
“We created the NHC to educate and inspire members of our community to make better choices not only with their diets, but also their exercise habits and lifestyle choices” said Bruce Burke. “We have created a platform to do that, but we need thousands of participants in order to succeed in truly impacting our community’s health.
‘If we have 10,000 participants, and 20 percent of them have lasting, meaningful change, we have helped 2,000 people live healthier lives. That is the end game.”
Last year, Mandy Chaplain successfully completed the challenge and won the trip to Disney.
‘It’s been nine months since the NHC has ended, and I’m still following through on my original commitment,” said Chaplain.
Last year’s NHC highlights include:
■ 3,385 participants (up from 2,214 in 2015 and 720 in 2014)
■ 200-plus participating families (up from 100 families in 2014)
■ 35 percent success rate among participants
■ 93 participating organizations (up from 23 in 2015)
■ Participation from all five Centre County school districts, representing 33 percent of total participation (up from two in 2015)
■ $23,000 raised for Youth Service Bureau and Centre Volunteers in Medicine
The NHC 2016 also included the Centre County “School Challenge.” All Centre County school districts participated, with Bald Eagle Area School District winning the competition. Prizes included a $500 donation to the school’s wellness committee, a traveling banner to display in their school and two copies of “FUNdamentals of Fitness,” a fitness-based P.E. curriculum co-written by local authors Ryan Burke of One on One Fitness in State College and PSU professor Allison Weimer.
For 2017, One on One Fitness will again sponsor the NHC School Challenge, making it available to students, staff and families within the districts. Participants identify their district when registering. The winning district is chosen based on the number of successful participants divided by the total number of students in the district.
For more information, visit www.nutritionhabitchallenge.com.
