When the six second-year family medicine residents at Hunterdon Family Medicine Residency in Flemington, NJ sat down to talk about their community medicine requirement, they quickly agreed they wanted to focus on childhood obesity. With that decision out of the way, they began to research ideas. Lisa Flores, MD, Hunterdon’s co-chief resident, suggested Ready, Set, FIT!, the AAFP’s school-based fitness education program. When the residents found that the AAFP provides all the materials, and that the program is comprehensive, with lessons on physical activity, healthy eating and emotional well-being, their decision was made.
This wasn’t Hunterdon’s first experience with AAFP school-based initiatives. Their residents had previously presented Tar Wars, the AAFP’s tobacco prevention program. For those presentations, residents incorporated medical models of normal and diseased lungs. The kids had responded enthusiastically to the hands-on lessons.
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Residency Program Adds a Yuck Factor to Ready, Set, FIT!
Atul Sofat, MD, co-chief resident, said their success with Tar Wars motivated them to incorporate medical models into their Ready, Set, FIT! presentations. They invested in three plastic/polymer models: a five-pound piece of fat, a five-pound piece of muscle, and a coronary artery that shows plaque buildup.
Because of their rotation schedules, the residents needed to complete their project over the summer. Marta Mazzawi, MD, reached out to summer camps and the Lambertville Academy at Fisherman's Mark, a non-profit organization that helps those in need. The team of six residents then branched out, presenting to 30 or more kids at once. They condensed the pre-visit activity and all four lessons into presentations that lasted about an hour: a 45-minute lesson, followed by 15 minutes of “playing” with the models.
“The reaction was great,” said Sofat, who was somewhat surprised that kids at summer camp were so interested in fitness lessons. “The students liked the interactivity of Ready, Set, FIT!, and asked a lot of questions. And “they loved the models.” The residents asked the kids to compare the feel and consistency of muscle with that of fat. “The kids were mesmerized by them,” explained Sofat. The muscle was hard, while the fat was softer, and slimy. “They thought it was gross.”
Following the presentations, the residents gave kids the Ready, Set, FIT! take-home activities, plus copies of the AIM-HI books, F is for Fitness, A is for Active, E is for Eating, and F is for Feelings . They also encouraged the kids to go grocery shopping with their parents and to try a new fruit or vegetable.
Sofat and his colleagues plan to continue Ready, Set, FIT! presentations in their third year of residency. They’re using what they learned from year-one pre-and post-presentation evaluations to assess students’ basic knowledge of physical activity, healthy eating, and emotional well-being, and the importance of each.
Hunterdon Family Medicine Residency residents participating in the Ready, Set, FIT! project: Atul Sofat (Co-Chief), Lisa Flores (Co-Chief), Gennady Gelman, Marta Mazzawi, Hamid Masood, Aasma Ahmed
Because of their rotation schedules, the residents needed to complete their project over the summer. Marta Mazzawi, MD, reached out to summer camps and the Lambertville Academy at Fisherman's Mark, a non-profit organization that helps those in need. The team of six residents then branched out, presenting to 30 or more kids at once. They condensed the pre-visit activity and all four lessons into presentations that lasted about an hour: a 45-minute lesson, followed by 15 minutes of “playing” with the models.
“The reaction was great,” said Sofat, who was somewhat surprised that kids at summer camp were so interested in fitness lessons. “The students liked the interactivity of Ready, Set, FIT!, and asked a lot of questions. And “they loved the models.” The residents asked the kids to compare the feel and consistency of muscle with that of fat. “The kids were mesmerized by them,” explained Sofat. The muscle was hard, while the fat was softer, and slimy. “They thought it was gross.”
Following the presentations, the residents gave kids the Ready, Set, FIT! take-home activities, plus copies of the AIM-HI books, F is for Fitness, A is for Active, E is for Eating, and F is for Feelings . They also encouraged the kids to go grocery shopping with their parents and to try a new fruit or vegetable.
Sofat and his colleagues plan to continue Ready, Set, FIT! presentations in their third year of residency. They’re using what they learned from year-one pre-and post-presentation evaluations to assess students’ basic knowledge of physical activity, healthy eating, and emotional well-being, and the importance of each.
Hunterdon Family Medicine Residency residents participating in the Ready, Set, FIT! project: Atul Sofat (Co-Chief), Lisa Flores (Co-Chief), Gennady Gelman, Marta Mazzawi, Hamid Masood, Aasma Ahmed
AIM-HI Success Stories
Family Medicine Program Finds Success With AIM-HI Childhood Obesity Grant
AIM-HI Family Medicine Residency Childhood Grant Projects
Silver Sage Center for Family Medicine Gets Physical
Alcona Health Center Inspires Patients Through Example
Baltimore Students Get Ready, Set, FIT!
Medical Students Focus on Prevention with AIM-HI
Residency Program Adds a Yuck Factor to Ready, Set, FIT!
