December 30, 2019

The Independent Health and Buffalo Bills Health & Wellness Challenge continues to motivate Western New Yorkers to get active, eat right and take charge of their health.

Orchard Park, NY – More than 33,000 individuals – including 2,930 new participants – were registered for the 11th Health & Wellness Challenge, which ran from October 21 through December 1.

Participants were once again challenged to integrate physical activity and good nutrition into their daily lives. In turn, each participant, on average, logged at least six hours of physical activity, while consuming more than 80 servings of fruits and vegetables and 135 glasses of water during the six-week initiative.

The Health & Wellness Challenge was created as a way to help motivate individuals to live healthier lives by offering them opportunities to win prizes. The first initiative kicked off in October 2014 and drew 2,300 participants. Since then, 10 more rounds of the Challenge have been held, with participation steadily increasing each round, bringing the total number of registered participants to 33,407.

Tonawanda resident selected as the Fall 2019 Challenge’s $5,000 grand prize winner

Once again, all Health & Wellness Challenge participants were eligible to win prizes by meeting daily goals and completing challenges for points. Nicole Fields of Tonawanda was the lucky winner of the Challenge’s $5,000 cash grand prize. In addition, 42 participants received daily and weekly prizes, including:

• $500 cash (weekly)
• Buffalo Bills game day tickets
• Autographed Buffalo Bills memorabilia
• Private tours of New Era Field
• $100 gift cards to the Healthy Scratch
• Fitness trackers
• TruWireless earbuds
• Watchpost wireless charger

How the Health  Wellness Challenge Works

As part of the Health & Wellness Challenge, participants earn points by achieving three main daily goals:

1. Get at least 20 minutes of physical activity
2. Eat five servings of fruits and vegetables
3. Drink eight glasses of water
   

Participants can also complete one “extra points” challenge each day. As an added bonus, by referring their friends, family and co-workers, they can earn 10 extra points for each person who registers.

By logging-in at buffalobills.com/thechallenge, participants can keep track of their progress and learn about that day’s “extra points” challenge. The number of points earned throughout the Health & Wellness Challenge will determine the number of chances they have in the random prize drawings. To be eligible to win a prize, participants must be at least 18 years of age and a legal resident of New York State at the time of entry.

To keep the drive toward better health and wellness alive, Independent Health and the Bills are planning to hold the 12th round of the Health & Wellness Challenge in the spring.