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Gov. Nathan Deal; Muhtar Kent, chairman and chief executive officer of the Coca-Cola Company; and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.
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The Coca-Cola
Company is giving $1 million to Georgia SHAPE to help fight
childhood obesity in Georgia.
In a news
conference Wednesday at the World of Coca-Cola, Gov. Nathan Deal
joined Muhtar Kent, chairman and chief executive officer of the
Coca-Cola Company, and Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed to celebrate the
company's pledge to support programs that help Georgians live
healthier, more active lifestyles.
"We believe we
have a role to play in helping to create lasting solutions" to
the obesity crisis, Kent said. "We want to help people get
healthier here in our own backyard."
The money will
help implement a Georgia SHAPE initiative encouraging 30 minutes
of additional physical activity in all Georgia elementary
schools. This physical activity is in addition to structured
physical education classes, not a replacement and can be led by
any teacher. The data is clear: Physical activity means higher
test scores, increased attention in class and a healthier
student population.
"We're trying to
make sure physical activity becomes an everyday part of school
for our children," Deal said. "That commitment is starting to
show us the results we want."
Georgia was once
known as the state with the second highest rate of childhood
obesity in the U.S. But in April, government statistics showed a
5 percent decrease in the state's childhood obesity rate,
dropping Georgia to the 17th spot on the list. Brenda
Fitzgerald, M.D., commissioner of the Georgia Department of
Public Health, said that kind of progress is encouraging, but
there is still much work to be done.
"This generous
award will have a significant impact on the lives of our
children today and well into the future," Fitzgerald said.
"Unless we address this obesity epidemic facing our children
right now, they will likely suffer life-long consequences of
obesity -- diabetes, hypertension and heart disease. With this
money we can make a real difference."
The Coca-Cola
Company is giving a total of $3.8 million to programs working to
make all Georgians healthier, including the $1 million
contribution to Georgia SHAPE; $1 million to Walk Georgia, a
physical activity promotion program created by the University of
Georgia's Cooperative Extension; and $1 million to Atlanta's
Centers of Hope, Reed's initiative to provide after-school
programs and development for Atlanta youth. The remaining
$800,000 will go to other physical activity programs, including
the Atlanta Beltline and the PATH Foundation.
In 2012, the
Coca-Cola Company joined Georgia SHAPE's network of
collaborative partnerships, which include leading organizations
from the worlds of business, government, education, philanthropy
and health care.
Kent said the contribution is part of Coca-Cola's global effort
to fight obesity. In addition to supporting physical activity
programs around the world, the company will also continue to
offer low- and no-calorie beverages, feature calorie counts on
the front of all their products and ban any marketing to
children under age 12.
