Personal and Social Responsibility

Given that our weight is significantly influenced  by our genes, and our environment greatly shapes our eating and physical activity patterns, there is a clear role for social interventions.

The response to the obesity epidemic must be vigorous at all levels of society. The Surgeon General calls "individuals, families, communities, schools, workplaces, healthcare, media, industry, organizations and government... to determine their role and take action to prevent and decrease overweight and obesity."

Formation of FitFuture for Tarrant County: the State of Obesity in Tarrant County

Many citizens, health professionals, schools, businesses and agencies have been working to prevent or treat obesity in Tarrant County for many years. Since the 2001 publication of the Surgeon General's "Call to Action," awareness of the epidemic nature of the obesity problem has grown. Many agencies have acknowledged and responded to the need for unified action.

In 2001, United Way decided to get involved. With the leadership of knowledgeable community volunteers and local experts, United Way chose obesity as an urgent priority in need of broad and sustained attention. Initial funding was provided to two innovative local programs. Next, United Way created a broad coalition of community partners called "FitFuture" to address obesity at the community level. This loose-knit coalition is led by Tarrant County United Way, Tarrant County Public Health and the Fort Worth Public Health Department.

In 2003, United Way hosted a series of focus groups to determine how obesity could be addressed within different segments of society. On January 23, 2004, United Way sponsored the FitFuture for Tarrant County Obesity and Fitness Symposium to stimulate thinking about creative and effective strategies to address obesity prevention and weight loss.  Mike Moncrief, the mayor of Fort Worth, issued a challenge to all those assembled to work together to reduce the burden of obesity. The Symposium also received messages of support from Dr. Robert Cluck, the mayor of Arlington, and Congresswoman Kay Granger. In addition, a broad spectrum of community agencies participated fully.

The planning ideas tested in the focus groups and at the FitFuture Symposium were assembled through a review of hundreds of journal articles on the causes of weight gain and the methods of weight loss, and a review of policy guidelines at both the federal and state level. The following plan is the synthesis of the efforts.