Texas Tech Athletics and School of Medicine Pediatric Club Team Up

News Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 9, 2015
CONTACT: Suzanna Cisneros, suzanna.cisneros@ttuhsc.edu
(806) 743-7605

Texas Tech Athletics and School of Medicine Pediatric Club Team Up
Kids Fall Health Fair to focus on Exercise

The Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center (TTUHSC) School of Medicine Pediatrics Club and Texas Tech Athletics are teaming up to host the Kids Fall Health Fair from 4 to 6 p.m. November 21 at the United Supermarkets Arena, 1701 Indiana Ave.

Mary Thornhill, second-year medical student, Pediatric Club president and former Lady Raider basketball player (then known as Mary Bokenkamp), said this year’s health fair will focus on exercise.

“Being involved in sports my entire life allowed me to form healthy habits at a young age,” Thornhill said. “Physical activity quickly became a priority in my life, and this continued throughout my college career as an athlete. I believe that Texas Tech Athletics and TTUHSC have a common ground in that a healthy lifestyle is important for everyone.”

In 2011, the Lubbock Board of Health reported that 38.7 percent of adults living in Lubbock were overweight and 77.6 percent of adults did not eat the daily-recommended serving of 5 fruits or vegetables.

“I wanted to find a way to bridge the gap between the two institutions, which is why we are partnering with Texas Tech Athletics this year,” Thornhill said. “As medical students, we can get caught up in the pathology and treatment of common diseases, instead of looking at it from the angle of prevention. That is the goal of this health fair — to teach our youth about living a healthy life, why it is important and how they can start now in hopes that we can change the obesity epidemic for their generation.”

The fair will be have stations that include:

• Basketball
• Soccer
• Ladder drills
• Bounce house
• Healthy snacks and nutrition
• Health trivia

After completion of all the stations, each child receives entry into a drawing for an autographed basketball by Texas Tech Lady Raider’s Basketball Coach Candi Whitaker or a new bicycle.

For adults, there will be blood pressure and glucose checks by the School of Medicine Barber Shop Project students. Parents also will have access to health information by various community organizations.

For more information, contact Thornhill at mary.thornhill@ttuhsc.edu or Emily Carlson with Texas Tech Athletics at emily.carlson@ttu.edu.

For more breaking news and experts, follow @ttuhscnews on Twitter.

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