Race Around Roxbury

Whittier Street Health Center
Roxbury, MA

CAVU funding: $30,000 annually

Results: Delivered focused programming to over 60 children through September 2009.
Integrated with the Whittier Street Healthy Weight Clinic.

Race Around Roxbury (RAR) is an afterschool program designed to address weight management through a combination of counseling, interactive nutrition education, exercise, and fun physical activities. Championed by Whittier's Director of Pediatrics, Dr. Shikha Anand, RAR is designed to complement Whittier's Healthy Weight Clinic, which has provided a clinical approach to dealing with pediatric obesity since 2006. Program participants benefit from the clinical intervention provided by the Healthy Weight Clinic, which includes lab screenings, BMI tracking, and risk assessment for co-morbidities, in addition to the activities provided by RAR.

RAR has served 58 participants since it began in October 2007, with an average daily attendance of 10-12 children aged 8-18. The program runs daily, year-round, with open enrollment for patients from Whittier Street Health Center and South End Community Health Center. The program is open to both overweight children and normal weight siblings, with a flexible schedule that allows patients to move in and out of the program as needed. This open schedule accommodates changes or disruptions in children's and parents' schedules while providing a reliable afterschool resource in a trusted community setting.

RAR participants are constantly engaged through a diverse mix of creative, educational, and physical activities. Twice a month the participants have an art therapy session during which they are given the opportunity to express their feelings and build self-esteem through journal writing, art and music. Sessions are designed to help children work through self-image issues related to physical appearance and health. Twice a week the participants have vigorous kickboxing sessions at the local YMCA during which they learn how to channel anger and frustration. Once a week, the kids and their parents have a cooking class with a nutritionist and case manager where they learn how to cook simple and healthy meals. Weekly nutrition classes allow kids to learn to read labels, understand the food pyramid, and make healthy choices. In addition, participants have daily walks around the community for exercise and take trips to the supermarket to put into practice the lessons they have learned, using pedometers to monitor their steps.

RAR participants all attend the Healthy Weight Clinic at Whittier, where a team of a physician, nutritionist, and case manager develop individualized weight loss and stabilization plans for the children. For more on this clinical model, see the Healthy Weight Initiative section.