PRESS RELEASE

UnitedHealthcare Launches Second Annual Step Up for Better Health Sweepstakes to Encourage Walking and Help Reduce Childhood Obesity

March 28, 2019
  • Sweepstakes celebrates National Walking Day and April’s Move More Month, enabling people to enter for a chance to win one of more than 100 walking-related prizes 

  • People can sign the pledge to walk more and enter the sweepstakes at uhcwalkingmaps.com, which provides 10,000-step walking routes in more than 50 cities across the country

  • On behalf of the first 25,000 people to sign the pledge, UnitedHealthcare will donate a total of $25,000 to help reduce childhood obesity, including contributions to Boys & Girls Clubs across the country and the Ginn Academy in Cleveland 

UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, has launched the second annual Step Up for Better Health Sweepstakes, a national initiative to encourage walking and help reduce childhood obesity.

The sweepstakes celebrates National Walking Day (April 3) and continues throughout Move More Month (April), enabling people to become eligible for a chance to win one of more than 100 walking-related prizes, including:

  • Grand Prize: Trip for two to hike the Grand Canyon in Arizona (one trip available);
  • First Prize: Apple Watch® (10 devices available); and
  • Second Prize: $25 gift cards to Foot Locker (100 gift cards available).

At uhcwalkingmaps.com, people can enter the sweepstakes and sign the pledge to walk more, help reduce childhood obesity and encourage kids to become more active. The website provides information about the health benefits of walking and offers 10,000-step walking routes in more than 50 cities, helping people visualize what that distance looks like in their local areas*.

On behalf of the first 25,000 people to sign the pledge, UnitedHealthcare will donate $12,500 as well as pedometers and treadmills to Boys & Girls Clubs across the country, and $12,500 to the Ginn Academy, a public high school in Cleveland, in support of the school’s track program, including new equipment and for travel expenses to attend meets.

“Walking is a great option to help people maintain or improve their health, so we hope our Step Up for Better Health Sweepstakes helps encourage Americans to become more active during April and year round,” said Richard Migliori, M.D., chief medical officer of UnitedHealth Group. “This sweepstakes gives people a chance to win one of hundreds of walking-related prizes by pledging to walk more, helping encourage all who are capable to get or stay active and be healthy.”

Studies have shown walking can help people maintain a healthier weight, strengthen bones, ward off depression, and prevent or help manage various chronic conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes.

These Boys & Girls Clubs will receive donations: Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Denver, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater St. Louis, Boys & Girls Clubs of Metro Phoenix, Boys & Girls Clubs of Philadelphia, Boys & Girls Clubs of King County (WA), Boys & Girls Clubs of the Twin Cities (MN), Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater San Diego, Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Charlotte, and Boys & Girls Clubs of Boston.

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.2 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter.

Apple Watch is a registered trademark of Apple, Inc. Apple is not a participant or sponsor of this promotion. 

1 Bassett, David R., Holly R. Wyatt, Helen Thompson, John C. Peters, and James O. Hill. 2010. “Pedometer-Measured Physical Activity and Health Behaviors in U.S. Adults:” Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise 42 (10): 1819–25. https://doi.org/10.1249/MSS.0b013e3181dc2e54

*Check with your doctor to determine what activity level is right for you.
** Participation in any UnitedHealthcare product or program is not a requirement to participate in the sweepstakes.
***Financial incentives may be less due to limits under applicable laws.

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY TO ENTER OR WIN. PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. Open to legal residents of 50 U.S. and D.C., 18 or older. To Enter: Visit www.UHCWalkingmaps.com (“Website”) between 12:01 AM CT on 3/28/19 and 11:59 PM CT on 4/30/19, follow online instructions, and agree to take the “Step Up for Better Health” Pledge to be healthier. Prizes: Grand (1): Travel voucher (maximum ARV $5,000); First (10): Apple Watch® (ARV $279); Second (100): $25 Foot Locker® gift card; Odds of winning depend on number of eligible entries received for each drawing. See Website for drawing dates, details, limitations & Official Rules. United HealthCare Services, Inc., Minnetonka, MN 55343.

walking benefits infographic
Walking provides a host of potential health benefits, including reducing the risk of chronic conditions, boosting mood and promoting creative thinking. (Source: UnitedHealthcare)