Silver City, New Mexico, March 20, 2013:  On Monday (May 22, 2013), residents can get on the path to health by participating in the 5210 Challenge. Over 800 residents took part in the Challenge the last time it  was issued by the Board of Grant County Commissioners and Fitness and Nutrition in the Community (FANC).

Each number of the 5210 Challenge stands for an easy daily goal that helps people to live a healthier life:
5 - Eat five fruits and vegetables a day,
2 - No more than two hours a day of television or screen time,
1 - At least one hour of physical activity each day,
0 - Zero sweetened drinks a day.

The Challenge is based on a Las Cruces Mayor's Challenge, but has been tailored to fit our county by FANC, according to Mary Stoecker of FANC and a member of the Grant County Community Health Council. FANC has added a nutrition component into the challenge for a greater health impact in participants' lives.

This time the Challenge is a bit easier, allowing participants to select a single number and apply that healthy lifestyle change for a week's time, then move onto the next number for another week. Participants must complete three of the four lifestyle changes of the 5210 Challenge.

"We wanted to give participants a little leeway in changing habits so they have a better chance of being successful," said Stoecker about the Challenge. Participant's record they progress in their booklet and turn in the completed booklet with their name and contact information at Jump Into Summer on Saturday, June 15, 2013, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Gough Park.  Participants will be entered in the raffle for a variety of prizes and receive a gift for completing the 5210 Challenge.

This isn't the first challenge issued by FANC to Grant County residents. The Fitness Cup Challenge, where participants counted their daily steps with a pedometer, drew hundreds of residents to compete for the coveted award in previous years

Anyone interested in participating in the 5210 Challenge can pick up a booklet to complete at one of eleven different sites  throughout Grant County including: all the HMS Family Support Centers, Bayard Public Library, Grant County Administration Center, Hurley City Hall, Mimbres Senior Center and Silver City Public Library.  Completed booklets can be returned at the registration booth at Jump Into Summer on Saturday, June 15, 2013, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Gough Park.

The Grant County 5210 Challenge is sponsored by Fitness and Nutrition in the Community (FANC), Hidalgo Medical Services, and the Grant County Community Health Council. For more information of the 5210 Challenge call 538-8573 ext. 120.