Shape Your Future Partners With OSU and OU Athletics to Help Fans Choose Water on Gamedays
TSET program gives out free water bottles to increase water consumption
OKLAHOMA CITY (Oct. 1, 2020) – Three Oklahoma organizations are partnering to encourage Oklahomans to drink more water this college football season. Shape Your Future, a program of the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), has joined Oklahoma State University (OSU) Athletics and University of Oklahoma (OU) Athletics, in a collaboration to provide free water bottles at home football games to encourage fans to choose water.
Through this unique partnership, Shape Your Future will help OSU and OU Athletics create healthy opportunities on game days while observing proper COVID-19 precautions. Water bottles will be available at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater and Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium in Norman through a contactless grab-and-go system. Touchless water fountains and water stations are being installed at the stadiums to ensure the safety of game-day patrons and staff.
"Oklahoma leads the nation in the per capita consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, and we want to make sure that fans have a safe and healthy alternative,” said Julie Bisbee, TSET executive director. "Those empty calories can add up and lead to extra weight that can increase risk for chronic conditions such as heart disease, diabetes and even cancer. Obesity costs Oklahomans $1.7 billion every year. Drinking water is a great first play toward tackling that issue.”
Children who consume higher amounts of sugary drinks have a 55% greater chance of being overweight or obese compared to those who consume fewer sugary drinks. A 20-ounce bottle of soda contains the equivalent of approximately 17 teaspoons of sugar. The American Heart Association recommends that adults consume no more than 5-9 teaspoons of added sugar per day and no more than 6 teaspoons for kids.
Shape Your Future offers a variety of tips and tools to help Oklahomans make the healthy choice the easy choice. Learn how you can make small changes add up — by swapping sugary drinks for infused water, eating better with healthy recipes or finding physical activity ideas at ShapeYourFutureOK.com.
“We all seem to be particularly health conscious at this time, and we know the incredible benefits of drinking water. We are delighted to partner with TSET in making sure water is a free and available option throughout our stadium. It’s another way that we’re working to serve our great fans,” said Kenny Mossman, Senior Associate AD for University of Oklahoma.
“Water consumption is an essential part of a healthy diet, and when seeking to quench your thirst, it is by far the best and most affordable choice,” said Todd Misener, Ph.D., chief wellness officer for Oklahoma State University. “Thanks to our partnership with TSET’s Shape Your Future program, we will enable greater consumption of water at our sporting events and across our state as we cheer on our Cowboys and promote a healthier future.”
The partnership between Shape Your Future and university athletics departments was secured by Learfield IMG College, multimedia rightsholder for both schools. Cowboy Sports Properties in Stillwater and Sooner Sports Properties in Norman are collaborating on the TSET sponsorship on behalf of OSU and OU.
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Shape Your Future (SYF) is a community health education intervention that encourages Oklahomans to eat better, move more and be tobacco free. SYF was developed in 2011 by the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) and the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). It provides simple messaging for moms and influencers in the lives of children to eat more fruits and vegetables and to be more physically active to improve overall health. SYF strives to educate parents, teachers, caregivers and all Oklahomans on how to make the healthy choice the easy choice.
The Oklahoma Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET) serves as a partner and bridge builder for organizations shaping a healthier future for all Oklahomans. TSET provides leadership at the intersections of health by working with local coalitions and initiatives across the state, cultivating innovative and life-changing research, and working across public and private sectors to develop, support, implement and evaluate creative strategies to take advantage of emerging opportunities to improve the public’s health. TSET – Better Lives Through Better Health. To learn more, go to: tset.ok.gov.
Click here to download the Shape Your Future and OSU social graphic.
Click here to download the Shape Your Future and OU social graphic.
