Feb. 5, 2014
The Texas Medical Association
Foundation (TMAF) presented its
2015 John P. McGovern Champion of Health Award to FitWorth, a program launched by Fort Worth Mayor Betsy
Price in 2012 to combat the critical issue of childhood obesity in Fort Worth. The TMAF award recognizes exceptional projects that address
urgent public health threats and further TMAF’s mission to fund initiatives
that help physicians create a healthier future for all Texans
When Mayor Price learned that more than half of the children in the
Fort Worth Independent School District (ISD) were overweight or obese, she
developed FitWorth to halt the upward trend of obesity. During the past two
years, FitWorth has worked to create a culture that values health and provides
opportunities to improve health, such as community-wide challenges for tracking
physical activity and nutrition, an annual healthy Culinary Competition, and
programs to support low-income children and schools who participate in
community-based physical activities.
FitWorth’s primary audience is school-age children in Fort Worth,
especially in low-access and low-income
areas. About 180,000 children live in Fort Worth, or about 30
percent of the city’s population (based on 2009 census data). Since FitWorth
began, the obesity rate among Fort Worth ISD students has dropped by more than
4 percent, representing 3,300 children who have achieved a healthy weight.
Kate Blackburn, FitWorth director,
said, “The medical community is pivotal to the success and sustainability of
our grassroots approach toward building a healthier future in Fort Worth. The
Texas Medical Association Foundation’s Champion of Health Award is such an
honor and will serve as a catalyst for our movement.”
FitWorth also partners to promote and engage the community in the
mayor’s rolling town halls, Tour de Fort Worth, and Mayor’s Triathlon. Local
organizations that have collaborated with FitWorth include the University of
North Texas Health Science Center, Cook Children’s Health Care System, Oncor, the
American Heart Association, the Tarrant County Restaurant Association, and the Texas
Chefs Association.
TMAF Champion of Health Award top honorees receive $5,000
and a specially commissioned bronze statue. The award is named after John P.
McGovern, MD, a philanthropist, scholar and noted allergist who founded the
John P. McGovern Foundation in Houston. Dr. McGovern established a permanent
endowment at TMAF, which supports this award.
TMA is the largest state medical society
in the nation, representing more than 48,000 physician and medical student
members. It is located in Austin and has 110 component county medical societies
around the state. TMA’s key objective since 1853 is to improve the health of
all Texans. TMA Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the association and
raises funds to support the health improvement and science priority
initiatives of TMA and the family of medicine.
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Contact: Pam Udall
phone: (512) 370-1382
cell: (512) 413-6807
Brent Annear
phone: (512) 370-1381
cell: (512) 656-7320
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