NEW YORK, Feb. 23, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Nutritional company USANA Health Sciences today announced they are teaming up with Dr. Mehmet Oz and Lisa Oz' nonprofit organization, HealthCorps, to help empower young people to live healthier lives. USANA has committed to further HealthCorps' goals of combating childhood obesity and educating children about nutrition and fitness.

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"One of the reasons we chose to donate to HealthCorps is because we share such similar values," said Dave Wentz, USANA's chief executive officer. "Our common mission is to create a healthier world for future generations, while helping people make better decisions today. It's impressive to see how HealthCorps is impacting people's lives."

USANA will be lending a helping hand to an organization committed to dealing with one of the most pressing health issues in the United States.

"Consider that approximately 12.5 million American children and adolescents, ages 2 to 19 years, are obese," Dr. Oz said. "In New York State alone, obesity among children and adolescents has tripled over the last three decades. This is among the many issues that HealthCorps is committed to address, and with USANA's generosity, we are able to do much more with our programs."

The two organizations will kick off their collaboration this afternoon at a "Teen Battle Chef" cooking competition at Columbia University. High school students from the tri-state area will each prepare a healthy dish to present to a panel of judges that includes celebrity chef Rocco DiSpirito, Dr. Oz, Lisa Oz, Dave Wentz, and USANA Founder Dr. Myron Wentz. Each teen will receive Circulon® cookware and tickets to the Health and Happiness Summit, a wellness event hosted by Dr. Oz on Feb. 25 at Radio City Music Hall.

"Teen Battle Chef is one of HealthCorps' many educational programs," Lisa Oz said. "The purpose is to teach kids about healthy eating in a fun way, and we are fortunate to have USANA's support."

Erica Irvin, vice president of Students for Food Policy and Obesity Prevention at Columbia University, said the campus was honored to host the event.

"Organizations like HealthCorps are doing work that have long-term ripple effect," she said. "Kids benefiting from HealthCorps programs today may teach other kids about health, be a strong example to their peers and even go on to affect public policy and change in the future. That's what this is about."

To learn more about USANA Health Sciences, please visit: http://www.usana.com

To learn more about HealthCorps, please visit: http://healthcorps.net/

About USANA: USANA Health Sciences develops and manufactures high‐quality nutritionals, personal care, energy and weight management products that are sold directly to Preferred Customers and Associates throughout the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, China, South Korea, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Mexico, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom and Thailand. Learn more at our website (www.usana.com), read our blog (www.whatsupusana.com), like us on Facebook (www.facebook.com/usanahealthsciences), or follow us on Twitter (@usanainc).

About HealthCorps: HealthCorps® a 501(c)(3) co-founded by renowned heart surgeon and two-time Emmy® Award-winning talk show host Dr. Mehmet Oz and his wife Lisa, is building a movement to fight the childhood obesity crisis by helping Americans discover what they are really hungry for and why.  HealthCorps Coordinators carry out unique in-school and community programming targeting high-need populations. Using peer mentoring to deliver a progressive curriculum in nutrition, fitness and mental strength, HealthCorps Coordinators give teens purpose, help develop human character and inspire an interest in health and culinary arts careers. HealthCorps also serves as a unique research laboratory - exploring the complex, underlying causes of the obesity crisis and discovering and communicating solutions. HealthCorps is bringing many initiatives together to address the "Whole Child" and activate the student's mind, body and spirit. As a result, HealthCorps is transforming the educational paradigm one school at a time. The program network spans 54 schools in 13 states.  For more information, please visit http://www.healthcorps.org and follow us on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/healthcorps and on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/HealthCorps.

Media Contact: Ashley Collins
Executive Director of Marketing, PR, and Social Media
USANA Health Sciences, Inc.
(801) 954-7280
media(at)us.usana.com

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USANA Health Sciences Works With Dr. Oz and HealthCorps to Fight Childhood Obesity