Twelve Hundred Seniors Attended the State's Largest Senior Stretch & Stroll at the Minnesota State Fair
Posted on: Thursday, 31 August 2006, 18:00 CDT
ST. PAUL, Minn., Aug. 31 /PRNewswire/ -- A crowd of 1,200 seniors wearing special green T-shirts turned Carousel Park into a "sea of green" as they stretched and strolled their way around the Minnesota State Fairgrounds on Thursday, Aug. 31, as part of "The State's Largest Senior Stretch & Stroll."
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060831/CGTH063 )
UCare Minnesota and AARP Minnesota co-sponsor the event to offer health and fitness information to Minnesota seniors, and to encourage seniors everywhere to incorporate physical activities such as stretching and walking into their daily lives.
About one-third of the 1,200 seniors who received Stretch & Stroll items reported in after the three-hour stroll. Using a measurement of 2,000 steps per mile, this group logged 2, 270,107 steps, which is equivalent to 1,135 miles around the fairgrounds. Strollers measured their steps using pedometers issued free to Stretch & Stroll participants, who were asked to log at least 2,006 steps as part of the event.
Trained EnhanceFitness instructors at the Stretch & Stroll led the large audience of seniors in physical stretching exercises and stretch band exercise techniques using stretch bands provided to participants. The attendees also received information about how to stretch their prescription dollars in order save money on medications.
"It's important for seniors of all ages to stay active, which helps them live a full and healthy life," said Dr. Barry Baines, UCare's Chief Medical Officer. "The Stretch & Stroll crowd today really joined in with our stretching and stretch band exercises. We found the participants to be very receptive to our message about the importance of maintaining health and fitness in the senior years."
Organizers stressed the link between regular exercise and health. Walking two and a half hours per week reduces your chance of heart disease or stroke by 30 percent. According to AARP studies, close to two-thirds (63%) of midlife and older Americans (people ages 50 to 79) in "very good" health have exercised "regularly" or "fairly regularly" throughout life. Correspondingly, two-thirds (66%) of those in "fair" or "poor" health have either never exercised regularly, or have done so only occasionally.
Stretch & Stroll participants received a free T-shirt, pedometer, stretch band, State Fair food voucher, bottle of water, and a State Fair Walking Map indicating the number of steps that could be earned by walking to and from familiar State Fair destinations.
The event was emceed by WCCO TV's Morning Team, and event speakers included Nancy Feldman, president and CEO of UCare, and Skip Humphrey, AARP Minnesota state president. Participants and bystanders enjoyed Salsa dance music performed by Salsa del Soul. Salsa dancers entertained the crowd as the seniors strolled and then returned to Carousel Park.
UCare Minnesota is an independent, nonprofit health maintenance organization (HMO) providing health care and administrative services to more than 140,000 members. UCare provides health insurance programs for people with Medicare: UCare for Seniors, a Medicare Advantage product; and UCare Senior Select, a Medicare Select product. UCare also offers income-based health programs to people enrolled in Minnesota Health Care Programs, including Prepaid Medical Assistance, Prepaid General Assistance Medical Care and MinnesotaCare, in 77 Minnesota counties. For more information, visit http://www.ucare.org/ .
AARP Minnesota has 655,000 members in Minnesota. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan membership organization dedicated to making life better for people 50 and over. It provides information and resources; engage in legislative, regulatory and legal advocacy; assist members in serving their communities; and offer a wide range of unique benefits, special products, and services for our members. These include AARP The Magazine, published bimonthly; AARP Bulletin, our monthly newspaper; AARP Segunda Juventud, our quarterly publication for Hispanic members; NRTA Live & Learn for National Retired Teachers Association members; and its web site, http://www.aarp.org/ . AARP has staffed offices in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060831/CGTH063AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com
UCare Minnesota
CONTACT: Deanne Probst, UCare Minnesota, +1-612-676-3630, or cell,+1-612-747-6272; or Amy McDonough, AARP Minnesota, +1-651-726-5644, or cell,+1-651-492-5837
Web site: http://www.ucare.org/http://www.aarp.org/
Source: PRNewswire
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