Green Bay Packers, Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield Team on Kid’s Health

It’s no secret that the Green Bay Packers are chasing perfection this season. But what many might not know is that they are quietly leveraging their success to help bring health tips to fourth grade classrooms across the state of Wisconsin.

Partnering with Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Wisconsin, the Packers announced that Anthem will serve as the presenting sponsor of the Green Bay Packers’ Fit Kids program. The program is a free, year-long fourth grade curriculum for public schools in Wisconsin designed to promote healthy living by focusing on the physical, nutritional and social aspects of good health.

Fit Kids was developed in 2004 by several educators in the Green Bay Area Public School District, with support from the Green Bay Packers, CBS 5 WFRV-TV and the Karma Group. Several other districts adopted the program for the 2005-'06 school year, and in 2006-'07, the program rolled out statewide.

Now in its eighth year, Fit Kids is in play by more than 315 public school districts in the state, and thousands of students have the opportunity to benefit from the program. Within these districts, the program has been incorporated by fourth-grade classroom teachers, physical education teachers and school nurses, and integrated into their lessons as they choose.

Green Bay Packers’ players kick off each new section with a video encompassing the theme for that month, in addition to appearing on various posters and program materials.

This year will bring new topics to classrooms each month, such as: Get Together, Get Out, Get Fueled, Get Cooking, Get Moving, Get Bendy, Get Happy and Get Fit.

“We are thrilled to partner with the Green Bay Packers – the league’s only community-owned team—to promote health and wellness in our local communities across Wisconsin,” said Larry Schreiber, president of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield. “Through Fit Kids we hope to help kids learn the importance of playing and eating right so they can live their longest, healthiest lives possible.”

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield will work with the Packers to raise awareness of the program and advance its adoption in classrooms across the state. The partnership comes at a time when childhood health is on the decline, notes Dr. Michael Jaeger, medical director for Anthem.

“Childhood obesity has tripled since 1980,” said Dr. Jaeger. “This means that if we don’t start teaching our kids about healthy lifestyles they are going to face lifelong challenges such as heart disease and diabetes in far greater numbers than previous generations. It is a very serious problem and one that requires our entire state to focus on helping kids get off to a healthy start.”