AstraZeneca Joins the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation and Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr. in the Fight Against Obesity

CHICAGO, Sept. 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Tomorrow, AstraZeneca , one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies, and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) will continue nationwide Black Health Empowerment Project (BHEP) events in Chicago. As part of their commitment to the community, AstraZeneca contributed a $750,000 grant to BHEP, an initiative designed to educate African-Americans about the relationship between obesity and the chronic health conditions that disproportionately plague communities of color.

"According to the National Center for Health Statistics, African-Americans are severely affected by the current obesity epidemic with an estimated 62% of men and 78% of women overweight or obese(1). Combined with the link between obesity and diseases such as heart disease, diabetes, depression and cancer, the impact on the African-American community is devastating," said Catherine Bonuccelli, MD, Vice President of External Scientific Affairs, AstraZeneca US. "The Black Health Empowerment Project is an important step not only in raising awareness of obesity, but also equipping the African-American community with the resources to combat this major health problem."

Hosted by Congressman Jesse L. Jackson, Jr., Chicago's BHEP event at the Wyatt Community & Family Life Center from 10 AM - 4 PM is intended to motivate African-Americans to adopt healthy eating habits and participate in regular physical activity, as well as empower the African-American community to take advantage of health care options available through their physician and other local health care professionals. Attendees can participate in dialogue with health and fitness experts, attend cooking and fitness demonstrations, free health screening and healthy food tasting sessions.

"Advocate Health Care is proud to be a community partner of the Black Health Empowerment Project," said Lee Sacks, MD, Executive Vice President and Chief Medical Officer, Advocate Health Care. "Every day, our doctors and hospitals treat patients with chronic health conditions related to obesity throughout the diverse Chicagoland communities we serve. This important event helps to raise awareness about the link between obesity and disease, which disproportionately affects African-Americans."

BHEP events have commenced in Miami, New York, Los Angeles and Rocky Mt., North Carolina. For more information about the Chicago event go to: http://www.cbcfinc.org/Public%20Health/powertour/program.html or call 1-866- 447-7103.

About AstraZeneca

AstraZeneca is a major international healthcare business engaged in the research, development, manufacture and marketing of prescription pharmaceuticals and the supply of healthcare services. It is one of the world's leading pharmaceutical companies with healthcare sales of $23.95 billion and leading positions in sales of gastrointestinal, cardiovascular, neuroscience, respiratory, oncology and infection products. In the United States, AstraZeneca is a $10.77 billion healthcare business with more than 12,000 employees. AstraZeneca is listed in the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (Global) as well as the FTSE4Good Index.

For more information about AstraZeneca, please visit: http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/.

(1) National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2005 with Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans. Hyattsville, 2005. 292. 26 Sept. 2006 http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus05.pdf#073.