Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona Champions Healthy Living Through FitPHX and Meet Me Downtown Community Partnerships

PHOENIX, Nov. 18, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The state's largest locally-owned health insurer, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ) continues to center its community efforts on health and wellness, most recently marking one-year of support for FitPHX, a citywide healthy-living initiative, as well as Meet Me Downtown Phoenix, in which BCBSAZ is the title sponsor. Together, the partners are striving to make Arizona one of the healthiest states in the nation.

FitPHX, led by Mayor Greg Stanton, Vice Mayor Daniel Valenzuela and Olympic Gold Medalist Misty Hyman, aims to create programs and utilize existing resources to improve health and wellness in the region. The initiative encourages residents to lead healthier lifestyles, focusing on reducing childhood and adult obesity, nutrition education, walking, bicycling, the use of public transportation and healthy worksites.

As part of this program, BCBSAZ is supporting Meet Me Downtown Phoenix (MMDT), a free weekly event that brings people of all ages to downtown Phoenix to participate in a walk or run through downtown Phoenix. MMDT celebrated its one-year milestone with a Birthday Bash on Monday, Nov. 9 downtown, where 465 people participated in the walk/run and other festivities. BCBSAZ was onsite, providing Nourishing Arizona recipe bags and Fitbit prizes. To date, more than 9,000 people have participated in MMDT, helping to make Phoenix residents healthier through fitness.

"As we celebrate the one-year anniversary of Meet Me Downtown Phoenix, we realize collectively 9,000 participants have put in enough miles to circle the globe – right here in the city of Phoenix," said Vice Mayor Valenzuela. "These public-private partnerships, like the one with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona, have come together and it's good for the health of the community – and the health of the economy."

BCBSAZ is committed to supporting the health and wellness of Arizonans, this includes supporting the city of Phoenix Food Day fun in the FitPHX Apple Crunch activity. In addition to these Phoenix programs, BCBSAZ also educates Arizonans about making better food choices and preventing chronic health conditions through its Nourishing Arizona program.

For more information, visit AzBlue.com.

About Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona
Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona (BCBSAZ), an independent licensee of the, is an Arizona-based health insurance company. The not-for-profit company was founded in 1939 and provides health insurance products, services or networks to 1.4 million individuals. With offices in Phoenix, Flagstaff, Tucson and the East Valley, the company employs more than 1,400 Arizonans. Follow BCBSAZ at www.facebook.com/bcbsaz or on Twitter at @bcbsaz.  

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SOURCE Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona