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Coca-Cola System and Bonnie Blair Lead the Charge With 2006 Live It!(TM) Program in Middle Schools

Posted on: Monday, 6 February 2006, 15:00 CST

NEW YORK, Feb. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The Coca-Cola Company and its major bottlers today announced the 2006 kick off of Live It!(TM), a health and fitness initiative designed to help students build healthy lifestyles by encouraging physical activity as part of their daily lives and providing nutrition information in schools. Developed in collaboration with The President's Challenge, a program of The President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, the School Nutrition Association and the National Association for Sport & Physical Education, the Live It! campaign features inspirational figures, including five-time Olympic gold medalist speedskater, Bonnie Blair, to promote healthy eating and physical activity.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060206/CGM048 )

"I never could have achieved the success that I have without setting physical activity and health goals," says Bonnie Blair.

"I feel it's so important to encourage youth to make physical activity and healthy eating habits a priority in their lives. The Live It! program provides useful suggestions for how students can easily get more activity and nutritious foods into their lives, and have fun while doing it."

Program components include: -- Endorsing Healthy Lifestyles: Schools will be given "Live It!" posters for the cafeteria and school, featuring inspirational figures endorsing proper nutrition, physical activity and balanced lifestyles. -- Encouraging Daily Physical Activity: Students will receive a personal Stepometer(TM), a student activity guide to log their steps, and activity cards that suggest fun ways to achieve 10,000 steps daily. Whether students are running, dancing, stepping or walking, the idea is to make physical activity fun even for those who aren't involved in athletics. -- Emphasizing Healthy Choices: Students will receive activity cards that provide food tips for each day, helping them choose their meals and snacks according to the new Dietary Guidelines. For example, a tip from the milk and grain groups suggests students try a whole grain cereal with low fat milk for a snack rich in vitamins, minerals and fiber.

"There are many factors at play in helping our young people build balanced lifestyles," said Don Knauss, president of Coca-Cola North America. "Because of our long-time partnership with America's schools, Coca-Cola wants to play a positive and effective role in helping to promote healthy, active lifestyles among students nationwide."

Live It! is expected to reach more than two million 4th - 8th graders by the end of 2006. The program builds on the success of The Coca-Cola Company's Step With It! program, which has reached more than one million kids to date. Live It! expands on Step With It! by adding a new focus on tips for healthy food choices based on elements of the revised U.S. Dietary Guidelines.

Participating schools are offered posters featuring Live It! celebrities offering their personal tips on how to incorporate physical activity and healthy eating into everyday life. In addition, the program features Lance Armstrong in a short school video explaining the program and its importance for students.

"Proper nutrition and physical activity in our schools are vital components in teaching young people how to maintain a healthy lifestyle for the long-term," said Barbara Belmont, executive director, School Nutrition Association. "The School Nutrition Association is proud to be collaborating on the "Live It!" program with The Coca-Cola Company and other national organizations that care about the health and well-being of our student population."

"The National Association of Sport and Physical Education is pleased to support the continued commitment by The Coca-Cola Company to healthy lifestyles with the exciting new Live it! program," said Charlene Burgeson, Executive Director. "NASPE members enthusiastically implemented the program's predecessor, Step with It!, and are looking forward to using the new program to motivate kids to be physically active."

For more information on Live It! and other school programs from The Coca- Cola Company, please go to: http://www.liveitprogram.com/ .

Continuous Innovation

The Coca-Cola Company will continue its research and development activities to introduce new products and package sizes for the schools that meet a wide range of nutritional and hydration needs for young people. Fueling the innovation pipeline will be the work of the Beverage Institute for Health and Wellness, a division within The Coca-Cola Company that supports nutrition research, education and outreach, with a primary focus on beverages. For more information on the Beverage Institute for Health & Wellness, please go to: http://www.thebeverageinstitute.org/ .

The Coca-Cola Company is the world's largest beverage company. Along with Coca-Cola, recognized as the world's most valuable brand, the Company markets four of the world's top five soft drink brands, including Diet Coke, Fanta and Sprite, and a wide range of other beverages, including diet and light soft drinks, waters, juices and juice drinks, teas, coffees and sports drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy the Company's beverages at a rate exceeding 1 billion servings each day.

For more information about The Coca-Cola Company, please visit our website at http://www.coca-cola.com/ .

First Call Analyst: FCMN Contact:

Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20060206/CGM048AP Archive: http://photoarchive.ap.org/AP PhotoExpress Network: PRN17PRN Photo Desk, photodesk@prnewswire.com

Coca-Cola Company

CONTACT: Kirsten Witt, +1-404-676-0314, or, Rand Elliott,+1-404-515-0726, both for Coca-Cola Company

Web site: http://www.liveitprogram.com/http://www.coca-cola.com/http://www.thebeverageinstitute.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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