A healthy community thrives on making healthy choices, and teaching children to embrace healthy habits at a young age is critical for the future well-being of the community.

In its 20^th year, UCHealth’s 5210+ Challenge program has been leading this mission in northern Colorado, serving as a cornerstone of health education in the region.

The 5210+ Challenge, which kicks off each February, encourages students to make healthy choices regarding nutrition, exercise, sleep and screen time. It is under the umbrella of UCHealth’s school-based Healthy Hearts and Minds program and aims to improve student health, inspire schools to enhance wellness curriculums and motivate families to adopt good habits at home.

What is the 5210+ Challenge?

To engage in healthy habits each day, including:

• Eating five servings of fruits and vegetables
• Spending only two hours or fewer on screen time
• Doing at least one hour of physical activity
• Consuming zero sugary drinks
• Sleeping nine or more hours each night

For the challenge, students are sent home with a daily log that contains a checklist of the five daily 5210+ components. Students strive to check each of the five boxes daily and report the total number of daily goals achieved in February. Students who achieve 80 checkmarks get a free t-shirt, and schools have an opportunity to earn wellness initiative money.

Implementing the 5210+ Challenge in school and its impact

Many teachers incorporate the 5210+ principles into lessons before the challenge begins.

Mark Bartlett, a physical education teacher at Irish Elementary School in Fort Collins, gears up for the challenge when students return from winter break. Bartlett said the challenge is his and his students’ favorite event of the year.

The 5210+ Challenge, he said, is the foundation of his health curriculum, and he focuses on one component of the challenge each month.

“We talk about why we focus on these things, and when we do, how it improves us, our learning and our focus,” Bartlett said. “We use it to reach our goals in PE (physical education) and to move better with more confidence. We talk about how that transfers into the classroom; how what we do positively impacts our brain and its ability to learn.”

More than 22,000 students participate annually in 5210+ Challenge, which is now in 119 schools across 11 districts in northern Colorado. Longmont has also begun to participate in the program, and a pilot program is underway in Colorado Springs, said Cindy Meland, community health educator for UCHealth and lead coordinator for the 5210+ Challenge in northern Colorado.

Filling out the form each day helps bring awareness and set goals.

“There is a mountain of evidence that shows when we do these things, we have more energy to do the things we want,” Bartlett said. “We are in a better mood. We are more optimistic and maintain relationships better. And these are why we want to bring awareness to healthy habits.”

Evan McDermott, a physical education teacher at Mountain View Elementary in Windsor, said most students already achieve some of the goals, so the Challenge allows them to make it more intentional in their daily lives.

“When we talk about it and check those boxes, the students realize they are already getting nine hours of sleep, but they start to think about it and be more intentional,” he said. “They count their fruits and veggies; they make sure they go out and play longer than they did during the school day.”

Greeley-Evans School District 6 Wellness Coordinator Rachel Hurshman said she sees children embrace healthy habits.

“It leads to almost every student walking around with a water bottle in their hand because of the zero sugary drinks component,” she said. “And we get feedback that the whole family is participating in the challenge by going out for a walk together. That it crosses over into the home is a nice piece.”

Carly Jewell, a mother of two elementary students in Timnath, said she and her husband completed the challenge with their children.

“This program is something that motivates our family,” she said. “As parents, our kids see us making better choices, like what’s for dinner. They recognize it and get excited about those new choices.”

UCHealth’s program helps fund wellness within schools

Besides encouraging healthy habits that benefit the community’s overall health, the 5210+ Challenge supports schools through wellness initiative money.

In 2024, UCHealth provided $28,600 in wellness initiative funding. The money goes to the schools with the highest percentage of participation change from one year to the next.

The money is spent to further support wellness in schools, such as providing water bottles for all students or additional physical education equipment.

Hurshman said one of her schools, where 90% of its students qualify for free and reduced lunch, used its wellness money to purchase new soccer goals. The goals are used multiple times daily and have allowed the school to offer an after-school soccer program.

Program is improving lives

After each year’s challenge, Meland said UCHealth gathers input from parents and teachers to make improvements for the following year.

“We hear about how a staff member completely changed how they cared for themselves and saw changes in energy and weight,” Meland said. “Parents tell us their kids make different decisions when they eat out. PE teachers tell us how enthusiastic students are to move their bodies, making it easier for them to reinforce what they are teaching.

“We hear how families get involved; they spend more time together and make better decisions. And this is not just happening during the month of the challenge,” Meland said.

One parent provided this feedback: “This is amazing. It truly got my son off of his devices and helped to encourage him to find alternate activities. It also helped us build a better routine of communication and encouraged him to explore nature.”

Those healthy habits will serve the child for years to come and help northern Colorado continue to grow healthier.