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Improving Child Fitness One Step at a Time

La Jolla resident Dr. Andy Baldwin was selected to serve as the ambassador to ING's Kids Rock marathon.

La Jolla resident Dr. Andy Baldwin, a U.S. Navy physician, humanitarian and endurance athlete, was recently selected as the ING Kids Rock ambassador. You might recognize Baldwin as The Bachelor from the 2007 season on ABC. Since his times on TV, he has taken on a very active role promoting health and wellness across the county and inspiring kids to get active.

Almost a third of children and adolescents are obese, according to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. Statistics show that the current generation of children will be the first to see a shorter life expectancy than their parents due to a lack of exercise and poor eating habits.

The ING Kids Rock marathon is a nontimed, noncompetitive event for children in kindergarten through seventh grade. Participants run 25 one-mile legs leading up to their big race day. Kids then race their last mile, which adds up to the 26.2 official marathon length, on race day.

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“Kids have so much potential, and through sports and healthy living it brings it out of them,” said Baldwin.

Creators of the ING Kids Rock event series aligned their program with First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move!, a program geared towards helping children find a healthy future by fostering environments that support healthy choices, such as providing healthier foods in schools and ensuring families have access to healthy and affordable food while encouraging kids to become more physically active.

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During 2011, ING and Competitor will host its inaugural series of Kids Rock events in New Orleans, Dallas, Nashville, San Diego, Philadelphia, Los Angeles and San Antonio. Looking towards 2012, the number of events is expected to double.

“We’re extremely proud to be a part of an event that is really helping to solve a major crisis facing our country’s children,” said Rhonda Mims, president of the ING Foundation and senior vice president of ING’s Office of Corporate Responsibility and Multicultural Affairs. “Through our charity, ING Run For Something Better, and our partnership with Kids Rock, we are expanding ING’s efforts to combat childhood obesity and making a change that we hope lasts a lifetime for these kids.”

The series kicked off in New Orleans on Feb. 12. Baldwin, along with New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu and Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal welcomed more than 1,000 participants from kindergarten to eighth grade decked out in orange shoelaces and T-shirts. Baldwin led the group in a pre-race stretch and they then lined up to complete the last mile of their marathon. The event is much like a typical marathon: the kids train, cross the finish line and obtain a medal.

The program “gets kids excited and engages the parents,” Baldwin said. The program goes beyond exercise and creates awareness of the dangers associated with obesity.

The San Diego event is scheduled for Saturday, June 4. Location and time are still being finalized, but local schools and kids are encouraged to register online for the program and get moving.

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