Chairman’s Message

Welcome!

I am honored to lead the Shape Up RI campaign for a healthier Rhode Island.

Over the past four years, 35,000 participants have demonstrated that teamwork, group support, and friendly competition can provide a powerful prescription for taking control of our health.

Our shared sense of community has brought together Rhode Islanders of all ages and fitness levels for a common purpose — the pursuit of a healthy lifestyle and a brighter future for all of us. We subscribe to the notion that when one of us succeeds, we all succeed, because our fortunes are so closely tied to one another.

I have been thinking for a long time about the health problems that we face as a nation and the tremendous impact they are having here at home in Rhode Island. Illnesses including heart disease, diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, and depression are exacting a great toll on our community. It is still clear that right now there is no greater imperative than coming together to reverse our growing obesity epidemic by promoting healthy and active lifestyles.

Shape Up RI is my answer — a way to activate and engage Rhode Islanders, build a strong sense of community spirit, and harness the power of teamwork to inspire us to change our attitudes and behaviors toward our health.

As a student at Brown Medical School, I have made a personal commitment to promote good health in every way that I can. Shape Up RI has already had an enormous impact on the long-term health and well-being of thousands of Rhode Islanders, and this statewide movement is growing substantially every year.

Please join me and thousands of others in the Shape Up RI family as we set ambitious goals for ourselves and then work hard over the coming months and years to realize them. Together, I know that we will succeed.

Yours in Health,

Rajiv Kumar
Founder & Chairman