The “O” Foundation continues its Race to Fitness campaign to fight obesity this year. A 5K walk and run was held Monday at Bicentennial Park, where medals were awarded to first, second and third place winners of both the run and walk, and certificates were given out to everyone who completed the walk.

There are more than 72 million obese adults in the United States, according to The Center for Disease Control and Prevention. In Mississippi, over 30 percent of adults are obese. Rose Powell, Elisa Corley and others of The “O” Foundation are trying to fight obesity by getting people active again.

“It went great,” event coordinator Elisa Corley said. “It was bigger than last year. We’re getting more people to come out and people are starting to find out more about it, so it was great.”

Rose Powell started The “O” Foundation in 2005, but since 2013 the primary focus for the organization has been obesity.

“Nobody was doing anything about obesity in the community, and we’ve got plenty of groups around here working on all kinds of issues,” Powell said. “We thought we would focus on one thing.”

Corley said they have one event a month until October. The next walk will be July 25 at Lake Lincoln, according to Corley, who coordinates the events. Registration is free and it begins at 6:30 p.m. The walk/run begins at 7.

Anybody can come to the event, but Corley said he’s hoping to set up a theme where local businesses compete against each other. Corley said he’s got a couple lined up already.

“This is our community and we want anybody who works in our local businesses to come out of your cubical,” he said.

For more information about the events, call  Corley at 601-320-0196.