UnitedHealthcare Donates Hasbro’s NERF ENERGY Game Kits to Boys & Girls Clubs Across the Country to Encourage Physical Activity

  • Nearly a dozen Boys & Girls Clubs across the country to receive
    more than 1,500 NERF ENERGY Game Kits in time for the holidays,
    gaining access to a limited-release game
  • UnitedHealthcare initiative, featuring Hasbro’s NERF products,
    aims to help reduce youth obesity through “exergaming” and health
    education
  • New NERF ENERGY Game Kits use activity trackers, which connect
    to a mobile game and include a NERF PRO FOAM soccer ball, to get kids
    moving

MINNETONKA, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–UnitedHealthcare is launching a national initiative featuring Hasbro’s
NERF products this holiday season to encourage young people to become
more active through “exergaming.” More than 1,500 Boys & Girls Club
members across the country will receive NERF ENERGY Game Kits, a
limited-release game that tracks physical activity and rewards kids for
being active.


Children are able to pick their own method of being active with the NERF
ENERGY Game Kits, which include an activity tracker (NERF ENERGY Game
Band), a soccer ball (NERF PRO FOAM soccer ball) and a mobile game (NERF
ENERGY RUSH). As children participate in physical activity, they earn
“energy points” that are tracked by the activity band, and these points
turn into screen time to play the mobile game on a smartphone or tablet.
The NERF ENERGY RUSH mobile game is an “endless runner” game that
requires players to turn, jump and avoid obstacles to complete courses
and earn power-ups to continue playing.

As part of the initiative, UnitedHealthcare will visit nearly a dozen
Boys & Girls Clubs across the country to demonstrate how to use the NERF
ENERGY Game Kits throughout the holiday season, a time when children
tend to be more sedentary. UnitedHealthcare will donate more than 1,500
NERF ENERGY Game Kits to Boys & Girls Clubs in Arizona, California,
Kansas, Massachusetts, Mississippi, Nevada, Ohio, Texas and Washington.

The donations are part of a national rollout of the game to schools and
youth organizations. Throughout 2017, UnitedHealthcare will deliver a
total of 10,000 NERF ENERGY Game Kits to elementary schools and
community organizations across the country, enabling children ages six
to 12 to receive the kits at no cost.

“This generous donation from our partners at UnitedHealthcare is a
wonderful complement to our Healthy Lifestyles programming that
emphasizes healthy living, good nutrition and regular physical
activity,” said Penney Ainsworth, president/CEO, Boys & Girls Clubs of
Central Mississippi, one of the first clubs to receive the kits. “By
using this new game, we will help young people in our community develop
healthy habits and learn that exercise can be fun.”

Nationwide, approximately 17 percent of children and adolescents ages
two to 19 years are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, and nearly 30 percent of adults are obese, according to
United Health Foundation’s America’s
Health Rankings
® Annual Report
. During
the holiday season, Americans of all ages tend to gain weight, which may
contribute to obesity later in life, according to a
report
by the National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development.

“The NERF ENERGY game kits will help motivate children to move more in a
fun and interactive way, especially during the holiday season when it’s
often a challenge to stay active and fit,” said Sam Ho, M.D., chief
medical officer of UnitedHealthcare. “We are grateful for the
opportunity to collaborate with Hasbro and many Boys & Girls Clubs
across the country to help reduce childhood obesity and use technology
to improve the health of all Americans.”

Studies indicate that “exergaming” has the potential to reduce the
growing obesity epidemic among children and adults. A study
by George Washington University found exergames “spurred students to
move enough to meet the recommended intensity criteria for vigorous
activity,” and that these games are “a useful alternative to traditional
physical education.”

About Hasbro
Hasbro (NASDAQ:
HAS) is a global play and entertainment company committed to Creating
the World’s Best Play Experiences.
 From toys and games to
television, movies, digital gaming and consumer products, Hasbro offers
a variety of ways for audiences to experience its iconic brands,
including NERF, MY LITTLE PONY, TRANSFORMERS, PLAY-DOH, MONOPOLY,
LITTLEST PET SHOP and MAGIC: THE GATHERING, as well as premier partner
brands. The Company’s Hasbro Studios and its film label, Allspark
Pictures, are building its brands globally through great storytelling
and content on all screens. Through its commitment to corporate social
responsibility and philanthropy, Hasbro is helping to make the world a
better place for children and their families. Learn more at www.hasbro.com,
and follow us on Twitter (@Hasbro & @HasbroNews)
and Instagram (@Hasbro).

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare
is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by
simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and
wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care
providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit
programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees
and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and
contracts directly with more than 1 million physicians and care
professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide.
UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:
UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more
information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com
or follow @myUHC on Twitter.

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Contacts

Hasbro, Inc.
Jen DeAngelis, 401-727-6833
jen.deangelis@hasbro.com
or
UnitedHealthcare
Will
Shanley, 714-204-8005
will.shanley@uhc.com

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