SparkPeople Helped Set a New Guinness World Record

By , SparkPeople Blogger
In October, SparkPeople partnered with National Geographic Kids magazine to attempt to break a Guinness World Record for the most people doing jumping jacks in a 24-hour period. We needed more than 20,000 people to do jumping jacks to break the record.

We are excited to announce that we broke the record! More than 300,000 people– including many SparkPeople members – participated in Let’s Jump! events around the world between 3 p.m. on Oct. 11 and 3 p.m. on Oct. 12. The record now stands at 300,265 — far surpassing the previous record of 20,425. (Find out how many calories you can burn while doing jumping jacks!)

Here's what our partner, National Geographic Kids magazine, had to say about the event:



To kick off the challenge, “Jumper in Chief” Michelle Obama and National Geographic Kids led an event with 464 Washington-area children on Oct. 11 at 3 p.m. on the White House lawn, where they did one minute of continuous jumping jacks. As the first lady launched the attempt, others around the world joined one of many sponsored events, organized their own event or jumped by themselves following Guinness World Records rules, which required them to submit official documentation, to help break the record. Each official jumping jacks form was counted and reviewed by both National Geographic Kids and Guinness World Records to arrive at the final official count.

“We couldn’t be more thrilled to have broken this record for jumping jacks,” said Melina Bellows, executive vice president and chief creative officer of National Geographic Books, Kids and Family. “Breaking our 5th Guinness World Record is an achievement our readers and their parents can be proud they accomplished together, and we couldn’t be more proud to have kicked off our campaign with first lady Michelle Obama. Stay tuned for our next Guinness World Records attempt!”
The National Geographic Kids Let’s Jump! challenge supported Let’s Move!, the first lady’s initiative to solve the problem of obesity within a generation. Let’s Move! is about putting children on the path to a healthy future through healthy activities and healthy eating.

“This is a remarkable achievement,” Michelle Obama said. “We saw 300,000 people getting up and getting active, 300,000 people getting their hearts thumping and their bodies moving, 300,000 people who worked together to make history. But we know that this isn’t only about one day in October. It’s not simply about jumping jacks or even a world record. We’ve got an even bigger goal to go after — ending childhood obesity in a generation, so that all our kids will grow up healthy and strong. And I know that with everyone’s help, we can build a healthier tomorrow for our kids and for our country.”

“It gives us great pleasure to once again welcome National Geographic Kids magazine into the Guinness World Records book,” said Stuart Claxton, Guinness World Records adjudicator. “Not only did it successfully organize the Most People Doing Jumping Jacks Simultaneously, but to do it with the first lady’s Let’s Move! initiative is a wonderful achievement, and we congratulate everyone who took part.”
Team Up for a Healthy America, Jamba’s national grassroots campaign to help raise awareness about the nation’s obesity epidemic, also partnered with National Geographic Kids to help break the world record. Jamba Juice hosted events at select store locations across the country. 

“We believe our mission to inspire and simplify healthy living has never been more relevant, given the worldwide obesity epidemic,” said James D. White, chairman, president and CEO of Jamba Juice. “We will continue to accelerate our efforts to help people globally live healthier, more active lives and support organizations and publications like National Geographic Kids that endeavor to make a difference in the lives of kids.” 

The Jamba Juice “Team Up” campaign is intended to show America how pledging to make simple changes to eat healthier and become more active can lead to an overall improved lifestyle.

Other supporters of the jumping jacks world record bid were National Geographic Education; the President’s Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition; Macerich Malls; National Recreation and Park Association; SparkPeople.com; Let’s Move in School, an American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance initiative; Girl Scouts of the USA; We Can! (Ways to Enhance Children’s Activity & Nutrition)®; and Let’s Move Cities and Towns.

National Geographic Kids magazine has set four previous Guinness World Records.  In August 2009 it collected 33,088 items of denim clothing for the record for Most Items of Clothing Collected for Recycling. In July 2008, it set the record for the Longest Chain of Shoes (10,512 shoes that stretched nearly 1.65 miles); in December 2006 the magazine collected 2,304 stuffed animals for the Largest Gathering of Plush Toys; and in November 2004 it set the record for the world’s Longest Line of Footprints — 10,932 prints, measuring almost two miles.

Have you ever been part of a Guinness World Record?

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