FAQs

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona is teaming up with elementary schools throughout the state for the 10th year of the Walk On! Challenge, a fun, educational program designed to motivate kids across Arizona to incorporate healthy habits into their daily routines. It’s all part of an effort to promote exercise and good nutrition as key elements of a healthy lifestyle. Using the formula 5-2-1-0, program materials will teach children the following four principles: eat five fruits and vegetables every day; limit screen time (TV, video games, computers) to two hours or less per day; get at least one hour of physical activity each day; and avoid sweetened drinks, filling up on water instead. Fourth and fifth-graders will be challenged to track not only their daily minutes of exercise, but how many fruits and vegetables they eat, how much screen time they get and how many sweetened drinks they have each day in the month of February.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona cares about Arizona’s children and it is concerned about the alarming number of them who are affected by obesity. The Walk On! Challenge is a positive program designed to help children learn healthy habits to reduce the incidence of obesity among children in the state.

Registration for the program is only open to teachers of fourth- and fifth-graders. Registration for the 2020 program is open October 15 through November 22. The Walk On! Challenge was specifically designed for fourth- and fifth-graders based on research that revealed that this age group 1) sees physical fitness as important, 2) thrives on goal-oriented behaviors that build self-esteem, and 3) are still seeking approval from adults, making them more receptive to school programs than their older counterparts. However, the principles of the Challenge are good for every age group and for families to do together. Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona encourages anyone who is interested to take the Challenge right along with Arizona’s fourth and fifth-graders.

Yes. All fourth- and fifth-grade-teacher registrations for the Walk On! Challenge must be submitted online at walkonaz.com by November 22, 2019. However, for those who miss the deadline or who are not fourth- or fifth-grade teachers and would still like to participate in the Challenge, you can download and print the interactive student brochure from walkonaz.com in January.

The Walk On! Challenge begins every February 1. Registration to participate in the 2020 program opens October 15, 2019. Registrations must be received by November 22, 2019.

Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona created tracking brochures for teachers to provide to each of their fourth and fifth-grade students. In addition, teachers will receive instructions on implementing the program, an educational poster for the classroom, an interactive tracking poster for the classroom, a four-week lesson plan and a flier to send home with the kids. There is also a set of pre- and post-event surveys that will allow teachers to measure how much their students learned participating in the program.

Yes. The Walk On! Challenge is open to fourth- and fifth-graders throughout Arizona, and at the end of the Challenge, all participants who complete the Challenge and submit their results will receive a popular Walk On! drawstring backpack. Fourth- and fifth-graders who meet the 5-2-1-0 goal for at least 15 days in the month of February will also be eligible to win one of five Garmin vivosmart wearable activity trackers or one of 40 $25 Big 5 Sporting Goods gift cards. In addition, schools that support the Walk On! Challenge in the classroom with specific curriculum and achieve 100 percent participation from the fourth- and fifth-graders in each class will be eligible to win one of 10 $2,500 grants to be used to further impact the childhood obesity level in their school.

The 5-2-1-0 goal is a fun and memorable way to remember healthy habits. Organizations that recommend at least five fruits and vegetables each day, two hours or less of screen time and zero sweetened drinks include the American Academy of Pediatrics, American Diabetes Association and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.