What do most Brown Medical School students do in their few hours of spare time each week? Catch up on sleep, hang out with friends, call family members back home and battle Rhode Islanders' obesity.
Or that might just be Rajiv Kumar '05 MD '09, chairman of Shape Up Rhode Island, a non-profit initiative in which citizens of the Ocean State will compete to lose weight.
"Ever since I started med school, I've become increasingly interested in obesity and its effect on society," Kumar said. "It's one of the biggest problems affecting us today."
Kumar's initiative seems to be just in time. Rhode Island's obesity statistics show an overwhelming need for better health - 56 percent of adult Rhode Islanders are overweight or obese, according to a 2004 study by the Centers for Disease Control.
Even with those numbers, though, Kumar said Rhode Island isn't one of the worst states in terms of obesity. "But it's still not good enough!" he added.
"Obesity is an epidemic now," said Ray Rickman, chief advisor for Shape Up R.I. and president of the non-profit Adopt A Doctor, which he co-founded with Kumar. "It's not just a lifestyle issue, it's a health issue. The stats say that we're going to have the first people in America that don't live longer than their parents."
"We have to reverse this trend," he added.
Kumar's challenge was to create a program that not only helped people lose weight but also educated them on how to continue losing it. The Shape Up R.I. model has been tried and tested in 20 other states, beginning with Lighten Up Iowa.
The Iowa program has had great success. Last year, its 20,000 participants lost a total of 95,000 pounds, Kumar said.
More important than the initial weight loss, Kumar said the program has "created a mindset where people in Iowa are thinking more about their health."
"I'd like to see the same thing happen in Rhode Island," he added.
So in September of last year, Kumar began planning Shape Up R.I., which is scheduled to begin March 1.
Teams of participants will compete until June 21 to either lose the greatest percentage of collective team weight or log the most hours of physical activity, or both, according to the Shape Up R.I. Web site.
Kumar said the program's benefits are many. "Aside from the health aspects, I think it has a lot to do with mental health, (and) getting together with friends and co-workers to exercise," Kumar said.
To help foster healthy competition between teams, Shape Up R.I. will also provide prizes from random drawings and a grand prize that has yet to be announced for the winning teams.
Beyond the competition, Kumar said the initiative will be educational. He cited Shape Up R.I.'s weekly newsletter, which will have different health experts writing about topics such as physical activity, mental health and the importance of sleep.
"We hope that will also be a great benefit - people just learning more," he said.
Additionally, the program has a philanthropic aspect, Kumar said. The proceeds made from Shape Up R.I. go to support local non-profits dedicated to improving health care here and abroad.
"Rhode Island is one of the least charitable states in the nation, yet Providence has the largest concentration of non-profit organizations," Kumar said. "We like to think people just haven't been given the opportunity (to contribute)."
Both Kumar and Rickman are participating on teams, with Kumar joining other first-year Brown medical students.
Shape Up R.I. has garnered the attention of people from all walks of life, as evidenced by the four co-chairs of the program: R.I. Democratic Congressman Patrick Kennedy, President and CEO of the Rhode Island Hospital Joseph Amaral, WPRI News Anchor Karen Adams and Rhode Island House Majority Leader Rep. Gordon Fox.
"They're all prominent community leaders, so we're excited to have them on board," Kumar said. "People know them." And at least one of the chairs, Amaral, is going to participate on a team of his own.
Nearly 450 people have registered so far, Kumar said. "We're hoping for a thousand participants. But I think it has the potential to double, if not triple, every year," he said.
For those currently registered, Shape Up R.I. seems to have already made a big difference in their lives even before the competition begins. Kumar said eager participants have contacted him through the initiative's Web site, ShapeUpRI.org.
"It's been amazing the response that we've gotten," he said. "(People) e-mailing us saying (the program) 'is going to save my life'," Kumar said.
Rickman emphasized the point, saying, "We're literally going to save people's lives. That's why we're doing this."
While Shape Up R.I. is impressive on its own, this isn't Kumar's first time helping others. As an undergraduate at Brown, he helped to start the non-profit organization Adopt A Doctor, which aims to "reverse the brain drain that's drawing doctors away from the poorest countries," Kumar said.
Adopt A Doctor provides doctors in Malawi, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Haiti with monthly salary supplements, and, in exchange, the doctors agree to stay and practice medicine in their home country.
"We give them $100 a month, but it doubles or triples their income," Kumar said.
With one initiative going strong and another just starting, it might seem like Kumar has no time to actually be a student.
"It's mainly a time-management problem," Kumar said. "If you organize your time well, you can make time."
Still, "I don't get a whole lot of sleep," he added.
Despite that, Kumar feels that his activism keeps his life interesting. "I think I'd be miserable if I was just a med student," he said. "This makes me energized."
To others, though, what Kumar has already done in his young life is worthy of praise.
"He's a remarkable human being," Rickman said. "Rajiv's just a committed person, particularly when it comes to helping others. He's just wonderfully driven to try to make a difference."
Kumar remains modest about his influence, ultimately crediting results to those who participate in his programs.
As far as whether Rhode Islanders will be slimmer and healthier come June, Kumar said it's up to them.
"People have to take their own initiative," he said. "We're giving them the opportunity, but they have to take initiative. That's the key to success."
