Dr. Ian's 50 Million Pound Challenge comes to New Birth Missionary Baptist Church

Duluth, Ga., Feb. 19, 2008 – Dr. Ian Smith's 50 Million Pound Challenge sponsored by State Farm® will be coming to New Birth Missionary Baptist Church Inc. February 23-24 to help spread the “Gospel of Healthy Living” to the Metropolitan Atlanta community. On Saturday, February 23, the Atlanta-area mega church will host an activities-based health fair at its Samson’s Fitness Center within its Family Life Center on the church’s campus located at 6400 Woodrow Road in Lithonia. The health fair will begin at 10:00 a.m. and last through 3:00 p.m. The event is free and open to the general public. Attendees will have the opportunity to sign up for the historic 50 Million Pound Challenge as well as take part in a variety of informational activities centered on developing and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

On Sunday, February 24, Dr. Ian Smith and Bishop Eddie L. Long will jointly issue “The Challenge” to the church’s members and encourage them to focus on taking control of their health. "In tandem, the online Challenge community and the church can be the ultimate support group. We want to support churches in helping their congregations make 2008 the year they started focusing on the well-being of their bodies, along with their souls," Dr. Ian said. "Churches and individual participants can access free resources and set up teams 24/7 at 50millionpounds.com. They can gain support and motivation by working together with others in the congregation on a similar journey. Losing weight isn't always easy, but working together and support are important keys to success."

The Challenge is a national health initiative backed by numerous African-American leaders, national civic and health organizations and sponsored by State Farm. Anyone can join at 50millionpounds.com , an online community and go-to resource that tallies the total pounds lost by everyone taking The Challenge. Free tips, tools and Challenge teams make it easier to get fit and reach your healthy weight—there's even a private personal weight tracker to help measure your progress. One of the most far-reaching initiatives of its kind, The Challenge is an historic campaign by the African-American community that has so far taken on 334,000 participants and taken off 1,440,061 pounds.

OTHER INFORMATION:

About The 50 Million Pound Challenge
Dr. Ian Smith's 50 Million Pound Challenge is an historic opportunity and commitment by the African-American community to come together and help people take control of their health by getting fit, losing excess weight and turning back the deadly toll of weight-related diseases that threaten nearly half of Americans and hits the African-American community especially hard. The Challenge, a campaign supported and endorsed in name and deed by leaders across the community and national civic and health organizations, is sponsored by State Farm.

About Dr. Ian Smith
Dr. Ian is a diet expert on VH1's Celebrity Fit Club and author of the NY Times #1 best-sellers Fat Smash Diet and Extreme Fat Smash Diet, and other works of fiction and non-fiction. He hosts his own TV and radio shows, BET’s Meet the Faith and HealthWatch on American Urban Radio Network. Dr. Ian is a contributor to The View and Men's Health Magazine. He has filed reports and written for NBC Nightly News, Today Show, Essence, Ebony, People, Cosmopolitan and University of Chicago's Medicine on the Midway. He is a new dad and lives with his family in Chicago.

About State Farm
State Farm® insures more cars and homes than any other insurer in the U.S., the leading insurer of watercraft and is also a leading insurer in Canada. State Farm's 17,000 agents and 68,000 employees serve over 76 million auto, fire, life and health policies in the United States and Canada, and more than 1.7 million bank accounts. State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company is the parent of the State Farm family of companies. State Farm is ranked No. 31 on the Fortune 500 list of largest companies. For more information, please visit statefarm.com® or in Canada statefarm.ca®.

State Farm | Publish Date: 02.19.08 | Back to home |