The city of San Antonio is taking on a "Million-Pound Challenge" against the City of Houston to fight the obesity epidemic in Texas.
On Tuesday, the San Antonio YMCA and HEB teamed up with the San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro's Fitness Council to launch the city-wide weight loss competition.
The competition pits San Antonio residents against Houston residents in a race to lose a collective million pounds by the end of the year.
"We've issued a challenge to Houston that San Antonio will lose at least a million pounds together," said Mayor Julian Castro. "And we believe we can get healthier and more active and beat them, the way that the Spurs beat the Rockets."
To sign up for the challenge, San Antonio residents can register at www.Fitcitysa.com or visit the Million Pound Challenge at Siclovia on March 30.
Those participating will be asked to periodically track their progress online, which will also make them eligible for a number of giveaways.
"We've all heard a lot about the challenges that we're facing with our health," said Kate Rogers, HEB vice president of Partner Communication & Engagement. "But we thought this would be a fun way to get people interested in wanting to participate."
"I've been so pleased these last couple of years (at) how many more people we see out at the parks, how well Siclovia has done, the increase of membership that we've seen here at the YMCA," said Castro. "So we know San Antonio cares about getting healthy. Now we can say we actually have a goal of a million pounds and that's going to mean less diabetes, less stroke and a better quality of life."
Rogers said HEB will be offering free screenings every second Saturday of each month.
There are also "stay healthy machines" at HEB pharmacies that can track blood pressure and BMI.