KNOXVILLE, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

National 4-H Council and UnitedHealthcare are expanding their partnership to promote healthy living by launching a new campaign designed to empower youth to help tackle the nations obesity epidemic.

The UnitedHealthcare 4-H Eat4-Health campaign begins this summer in 10 states, activating thousands of 4-H youth ambassadors to make healthy choices for themselves and encourage friends, families and people in their communities to make positive changes through training, creative programs and educational events.

Eat4-Health builds on UnitedHealthcares successful partnership with 4-H that began last year in Florida, Mississippi and Texas. The campaign will expand to a total of 10 states to include Arizona, Louisiana, Nebraska, New York, Pennsylvania, South Carolina and Tennessee. Each state will receive a $30,000 grant funded by UnitedHealthcare to support healthy-living programs, events and other activities administered by 4-H that encourage young people and their families to eat more nutritious foods and exercise regularly.

The program was officially launched today with more than 400 4-H youth and community leaders at the Tennessee State 4-H Round-Up and All Star Conference. They joined UnitedHealthcares mascot Dr. Health E. Hound in a discussion about the importance of healthy living and participated in a group exercise activity.

4-H is pleased to expand its partnership with UnitedHealthcare and launch this new campaign to empower youth to help improve the health of their peers, their families and their communities, said Donald T. Floyd Jr., president and CEO of National 4-H Council. 4-H youth ambassadors are prepared to work with UnitedHealthcare to make a positive impact on the health and wellness of our nations future leaders.

The Eat4-Health program is making a positive difference in the lives of so many families in communities that are hardest hit by the childhood obesity epidemic, said Russell C. Petrella, Ph.D., president of UnitedHealthcare Community & State, a UnitedHealth Group (UNH) company. UnitedHealthcare and 4-H look forward to expanding the program in more states and harnessing the energy and excitement of 4-H youth to promote healthy living.

Participating 4-H state programs receiving a grant will develop action plans that provide innovative, hands-on learning approaches that target specific community needs in their state. Many of these activities will support healthy living programs led by 4-H that encourage youth and community participation through events such as health fairs, cooking demonstrations, after-school programs, workshops and educational forums, among others. UnitedHealthcare employees will team up with 4-H at many of these events, assisting with planning and executing projects that lead to positive, sustainable change at the community and individual level.

As part of the Eat4-Health campaign, each state will organize and host a Youth Summit/Conference to train 4-H youth ambassadors to implement programs and reach goals in each state. The summits will provide the venue where participants will learn more about nutrition, health and fitness, obtain information on promoting health within their communities, and gain new tools for participating in multi-session educational trainings and one-time community activities and events.

This teen leadership experience will also serve as a launch to a Teen Ambassadors pledge and prepare 4-Hers to use their increased healthy-living knowledge and skills to make an impact in their own communities.

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4-H and UnitedHealthcare Launch “Eat4-Health” Campaign in 10 States Aimed at Empowering Youth to Promote Healthy Living