[October 07, 2015]

UnitedHealthcare Teams up With IRONKIDS to Sponsor Fun Run And Second IRONKIDS® Keiki Dip-n-Dash

More than 50 young athletes participated in the second UnitedHealthcare IRONKIDS^® Fun Run and Keiki Dip-n-Dash at the Kailua Pier in Kona, Hawai'i today. The UnitedHealthcare IRONKIDS Fun Run and Keiki Dip-n-Dash is for "triathletes to be" and aims to help stem the rising tide of childhood obesity through exercise and healthy lifestyles.

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Nearly 50 local youth participated in the second UnitedHealthcare IRONKIDS Fun Run held Tuesday at Kailua Pier. UnitedHealthcare mascot Dr. Health E. Hound lead participants in a pre-race stretch exercise before the 1/4 mile run - where every child received a medal. Photo credit: Toby Hoogs.

Prior to the race, Dr. Ron Fujimoto, chief medical officer of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Hawai'i presented a check for $3,000 to Mark Nishiyama, vice president of Kama'aina Kids. UnitedHealthcare also provided 50 free admissions to the Kama'aina Kids organization to support its efforts to help youth and families live healthy lives.

"The fun run and IRONKIDS Dip-n-Dash give our community in Kona the opportunity to have fun together, and end their afternoon being active and healthy. Walking, running and swimming are exercises everyone can do to maintain a healthful lifestyle," said Dave Heywood, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Community Plan of Hawaii, the company's Medicaid business. "UnitedHealthcare is grateful for the opportunity to partner with IRONMAN to help our island community live healthier lives."

This is the fourth year UnitedHealthcare is supporting IRONKIDS as part of the company's commitment to help stem the rising tide of childhood obesity throuh healthy lifestyles. The UnitedHealthcare IRONKIDS 2015 Series features nine one-mile fun runs and a dip-and-dash.

Obesity among children and adolescents has almost tripled since 1980, with nearly one in every three children being overweight or obese, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Children from low-income and low-education households are three times more likely to suffer from obesity, which is a leading risk factor for diabetes, heart disease and many cancers, according to America's Health Rankings®, an annual comprehensive assessment of the nation's health on a state-by-state basis. Nearly 22 percent of adults and 13 percent of children in Hawaii are estimated to be obese.

"We are thrilled to have a partner in UnitedHealthcare to sponsor these youth events as part of our IRONMAN series," said Carola Ross, chief sales officer for IRONMAN. "The opportunity the IRONKIDS fun runs offer young athletes is tremendous, as these races can be the catalyst for a lifetime of exercise and healthy living."

"We thank UnitedHealthcare for its support and appreciate the opportunity for our local youth to be part of this fun, exciting IRONKIDS event," said Mark Nishiyama, vice president, Kama'aina Kids. "We always reinforce the importance of healthy living to our keiki and Dip-n-Dash is a great way to directly connect that message."

About IRONKIDS^®

After being acquired from the Sara Lee Corporation, which owned the event series since 1985, IRONKIDS^® launched in 2009 with nine events in the IRONKIDS^® National Triathlon Series. Since the inaugural year, IRONKIDS^® has seen more than 60,000 participants and has grown to more than 60 events worldwide including races in Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe and North America. The brand represents a multi-dimensional approach to creating positive experiences for athletes, families and communities, as well as embodies achievement and determination while fostering self-esteem. The IRONKIDS^® mission is to inspire and motivate through the sport to live an active, positive and healthy lifestyle. For more information visit www.ironkids.com.

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter (News - Alert).

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