Today, the ABA Foundation announced it will fund a $5 million "wellness challenge" between the cities of Chicago and San Antonio. T hrough Chicago's "Chicago Lives Healthy" and San Antonio's "Three Month HealthPOWER Weight Loss Challenge, o ver the course of a year, city employees and their families are going to battle it out to see who can be the healthiest city employees and lose the most weight.
Choosing a beverage from a Coca-Cola vending machine and knowing just how many calories there are in that Coca-Cola, vitaminwater zero or Powerade before they make their selection just got even easier for them.
Coca-Cola, its beverage industry peers of the American Beverage Association (ABA) and the cities of Chicago and San Antonio are launching a Calories Count™ Vending Program. This initiative will give people the choices, information and encouragement they need to choose the beverages that are right for themselves and their families.
Beginning in 2013, Coca-Cola vending machines, as well as those of all other industry peers in both cities, will feature calorie information for each beverage selection.
Messaging will promote lower calorie beverages and remind people that all calories count. Following the launch in Chicago and San Antonio, the program will be rolled out across the country in 2013
The Calories Count™ Vending Program, which builds on a prior Coca-Cola commitment to place front-of-pack calorie labeling on nearly all beverages worldwide, is part of the beverage industry's commitment in the United States to provide clearer calorie information and more low- and no-calorie product choices. Coca-Cola remains the only global beverage company to offer front of pack energy labeling in all markets around the world.
"Healthy people and healthy communities have always been a priority for Coca-Cola," said Steve Cahillane, President and CEO, Coca-Cola Refreshments. "Our support of the Chicago and San Antonio Wellness Challenge, and the new Calories Count™ Vending Program is another bold step in our efforts to help people understand the importance of energy balance. We believe partnerships like this - those which involve government, industry and civil society - can have a meaningful impact on the obesity issue. We applaud the cities of Chicago and San Antonio for joining us in this innovative initiative."
Coca-Cola and its beverage industry partners will work with government leaders, restaurant operators, vending machine companies and other customers to increase availability of lower-calorie beverages in vending machines and to add calorie labels to buttons on vending machines to show calorie counts per beverage container. Display labels on the front of beverage vending machines will remind people that all calories count.
The actions announced today build on the industry's continued efforts to promote health and wellbeing. Recently, Coca-Cola and other beverage companies announced that 98.8 percent of schools and school districts were in compliance with their National School Beverage Guidelines. This effort has reduced beverage calories shipped to schools by a dramatic 90 percent between 2004-2005 and the end of the 2009-2010 school year.
In the U.S., Coca-Cola also provides online resources for people to learn more about its products and ingredients. The Nutrition Connection is the Company's one-stop shop for ingredient information on each of its beverages.
In addition, The Coca-Cola Beverage Institute for Health & Wellness, has a wealth of information aimed at advancing fact-based scientific knowledge, awareness and understanding of beverages. The site also examines the importance of living an active, healthy and balanced lifestyle. More than 25,000 nursing and dietetic professionals have participated in Continuing Professional Education (CPE) webinars through this effort.
Coca-Cola also supports other initiatives in the U.S. to promote physical activity and healthy living including:
Exercise is Medicine™: A program of the American College of Sports Medicine, calls upon physicians to record physical activity as a vital sign during patient visits. It also asks physicians to advise able patients to participate in at least 30 minutes of physical activity and 10 minutes of stretching and light muscle training five days a week.
Triple Play: E ncourages kids to eat a balanced diet, become more physically active and increase their ability to engage in healthy relationships. A review of the program found that boys and girls who participated in Triple Play were more physically active, had a better understanding of nutrition, and strengthened their ability to interact positively with others and engage in positive relationships, than those who did not participate. This program w as launched in 2005 by Boys & Girls Clubs of America (BGCA) in collaboration with the Department of Health and Human Services with support from The Coca-Cola Company.
About The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) is the world's largest beverage company, refreshing consumers with more than 500 sparkling and still brands. Led by Coca-Cola, the world's most valuable brand, our Company's portfolio features 15 billion dollar brands including Diet Coke, Fanta, Sprite, Coca-Cola Zero, vitaminwater, Powerade, Minute Maid, Simply, Georgia and Del Valle. Globally, we are the No. 1 provider of sparkling beverages, ready-to-drink coffees, and juices and juice drinks. Through the world's largest beverage distribution system, consumers in more than 200 countries enjoy our beverages at a rate of 1.8 billion servings a day.
With an enduring commitment to building sustainable communities, our Company is focused on initiatives that reduce our environmental footprint, support active, healthy living, create a safe, inclusive work environment for our associates, and enhance the economic development of the communities where we operate. Together with our bottling partners, we rank among the world's top 10 private employers with more than 700,000 system employees.
