FITNESS Magazine’s 2nd Annual Ten Champions of Health and Fitness Honorees

FITNESS Magazine’s 2nd Annual Ten Champions of Health and Fitness Honorees Include
U.S. Surgeon General, Regina Benjamin, Jillian Michaels, Jamie Oliver & Jessica Biel

NEW YORK, NY (January 27, 2010) – FITNESS magazine announced their second annual Champions of Health and Fitness Awards, honoring ten do-good powerhouses who are helping people in the United States live healthier and better. Ten activists and innovators were nominated by health experts and FITNESS editors for their contributions over the past year.

For the full story including photos, please visit: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/workout/real-plans/stay-fit/2011-champions-of-health-and-fitness/

The Ten Champions of Health and Fitness are:

America’s Doctor: Regina Benjamin, M.D.
Since taking office, Benjamin has called on employers to encourage physical activity for their employees, pushed physicians to talk to patients about how their weight can affect their health, and encouraged families to become more active and limit TV viewing. Last January, she released The Surgeon General’s Vision for a Healthy and Fit Nation, her grassroots plan for combating the obesity epidemic.

Tough-Love Trainer: Jillian Michaels
The Biggest Loser trainer and bestselling author formed her tough-love approach to fitness at age 14, when she was “the chubby ugly duckling who ate lunch alone every day.” Going through her own personal transformation taught her that setting goals is the key to changing lives.

Food Revolutionary: Jamie Oliver
Not only did Oliver overhaul lunch menus on his Emmy winning TV show, Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, he launched an online petition in the UK that called for better food for kids which pushed the British government to announce an almost $1 billion investment to improve nutrition in schools. He’s started a similar petition in the United States that has more than 622,000 signatures and he plans to present it to Congress.

Action Heroine: Jessica Biel
She kicked off 2010 by climbing Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise awareness for the global water crisis. She’s also hosted and participated in Revlon Run/Walks for breast and ovarian cancer, and she’s a true defender of the environment.

Compassionate Medicine: Roseanna Means, M.D.
Female patients weren’t showing up at the Boston clinic for the homeless where she was the medical director, so she started Women of Means, which enlists volunteer doctors to donate $500,000 in medical care to 2,500 women and children at 10 shelters every year. The women are also taught good nutrition, given pedometers and encouraged to walk, and offered yoga and dance classes.

The Wheel Deal: Chris Carney
Hosting a fund-raiser for a wounded soldier in 2004, inspired the personal trainer and amateur cyclist to do a 5,000 mile solo coast-to-coast charity bike ride to raise more money. Two years later, Carney had raised nearly $4 million from his Solider Rides.

Budding Genius: Donna Cavato
Nearly 5 years ago, Cavato helped design Louisiana’s first-ever Edible Schoolyard (ESY), an educational gardening program. The garden now yields about 2,600 pounds of produce every school year. Kids work in the garden, and the chef-teachers on Cavato’s staff show them how to use the produce they grow to prepare healthy dishes that taste good.

Class Act: John Skretta
In 2004, Nebraska’s Norris School District 160 Superintendent partnered with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation to combat childhood obesity, and since then he has overhauled the district’s phys ed programs. Kids have daily breaks at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., and each school period starts with a Jammin’ Minute when kids dance to get their hearts pumping. The staff has, started walking and running clubs, and the high school hosts monthly walk/runs for the community.

Healing Force: Kathryn Schmitz, Ph.D.
Thanks to an international team of experts led by Schmitz, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM) has issued guidelines strongly endorsing exercise for cancer patients and survivors and begun certifying specialized cancer exercise trainers.

Social Networker: Chris Downie
Inspired by his own health makeover, Downie launched SparkPeople.com in 2001, an online community whose mission is to help people reach their health goals. Today, with 9 million users, it is the largest diet and fitness website in the United States, and features health tips, online tools like fitness trackers, workout videos and recipes—all free.

About FITNESS magazine
Launched in 1992, FITNESS magazine is a leading source for all the latest news on health, nutrition and exercise. The magazine and its partner website, fitnessmagazine.com are devoted delivering strategies and tools that help women make little changes to achieve big success. With a you-can-do-it attitude, our workouts, health and beauty advice, diet plans and success stories motivate readers to get strong in mind, body, and spirit. The magazine empowers women to embrace fitness as a lifestyle—not an age or dress size-and to change the conversation from "skinny" to "healthy." FITNESS is published 10 times a year by Meredith Corporation [NYSE: MDP], with a rate base of 1.5 million and an audience of 7.3 million readers. For more information, please visit www.fitnessmagazine.com.