Contact: Allison Matthews

STARKVILLE, Miss.—Mississippi State University today [Sept. 21] is joining the Partnership for a Healthier America to expand healthy options for students on campus.

MSU is among 37 other institutions of higher learning which are part of the third cohort joining the PHA’s Healthier Campus Initiative, which involves a three-year commitment to adopt guidelines around food and nutrition, physical activity and programming.

At the university, MSU Dining, Recreational Sports and Health Promotion and Wellness are focusing on meeting and exceeding the guidelines of the PHA’s Healthier Campus Initiative.

“MSU has been promoting a healthy campus culture for many years, and we have successfully expanded options in nutrition, recreation and physical fitness and health programming,” said Regina Hyatt, MSU vice president for student affairs.

“Joining the Partnership for Healthier America will help us continue to be a leader in setting healthier standards, and we are happy to be part of a national network of institutions that make healthy choices a priority,” Hyatt added.

Lawrence A. Soler, CEO of the Partnership for a Healthier America, said colleges and universities are in a unique position to help shape tomorrow’s leaders.

“We know that going to college is a time of change for many students—we also know that means it’s a time when new habits are formed. By creating healthier food and physical activity environments today, campuses and universities are encouraging healthier habits that will carry over into tomorrow,” Soler said.

The Partnership for a Healthier America was created in conjunction with – but independent from – First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! effort. PHA is working to ensure the health of the nation’s youth by solving the childhood obesity crisis by bringing together public, private and nonprofit leaders to broker meaningful commitments and develop strategies to end childhood obesity. For more about PHA, visit www.aHealthierAmerica.org and follow PHA on Twitter @PHAnews. For more information on PHA’s Healthier Campus Initiative, visit www.ahealthieramerica.org/campuses.

MSU is Mississippi’s leading university, available online at www.msstate.edu.