Subway Launches Healthy Eating Competition in South Carolina

One in four of South Carolina’s young children are overweight or obese. By the time students reach high school, these numbers will have grown to one in three. To help curb this trend, Subway restaurants are launching a Video and Poster Competition, through October 8, 2009, for students in elementary, middle and high schools across the state. This program is designed to help educate students, increase local awareness about the nation’s current childhood obesity problem, and provide positive incentives for kids to form healthier diet and exercise habits.

Participants in the SUBWAY FRESH FIT® Video and Poster Competition are asked to show how they stay healthy and fit, by either drawing on a poster board or recording a video. Upon entering the contest, each participant will receive a $5 Subway Gift Card. Contest entries will be judged by a panel of community leaders with winners being awarded in five S.C. markets. Winners will be notified by Oct. 26. Two grand prize winners – one per grade categories K-6 and 7-12 – will be selected to each receive an awards package including $1,000 Subway Card and $1,000 fitness grant for his/her school or club.

“Our hope is that students will be motivated to show us how they stay fit, and the unique ways they exercise and live healthy,” said Subway spokesperson Jared Fogle, who plans to visit the state at the end of the competition to recognize the winners. “We hear so often about what we as a nation are not doing to be healthy and this program is designed to spotlight what South Carolina kids are doing right to be healthy and fit.”

Recently, Trust for America’s Health reported South Carolina has an obese/overweight children rate of 33.7%, ranking 13th among U.S. states. Obesity in children is generally caused by a lack of physical activity, unhealthy eating patterns or a combination of both. The majority of today’s kids remain significantly less active than children 15, 10 and even 5 years ago. That’s why Subway restaurants want to encourage students in the area to register for the contest, make healthy diet and exercise choices, and tell local residents how they stay healthy and fit.

For more information about the poster and video contest, visit your local Subway store, and pick-up a contest entry form beginning Sept. 8.