Rajiv Kumar, 24, is a medical student at Brown University in Providence, R.I.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — By age five, Rajiv Kumar already knew he wanted to be a doctor. "I come from a family of about 30 doctors," said Kumar, a medical student at Brown University. "It's something I grew up with."

At 24, Kumar is still training to become a doctor, but he has already been labeled a "healthcare hero" by the Rhode Island Chapter of the American Red Cross and by Blue Cross Blue Shield of Rhode Island.

The two organizations honored Kumar on October 18 for helping thousands of Rhode Islanders lose weight through a program he created two years ago called Shape Up RI. The honor included a $500 donation made in Kumar's name by Blue Cross to the American Red Cross. Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island is also a sponsor of Shape Up RI.

During his first year of medical school, Kumar founded Shape Up RI, a low-cost weight loss program that uses team work to inspire healthy habits. For $15, the 14-week program gives participants a pedometer, online software, a health e-newsletter, and a log book to track progress. Members are lead by "captains" and grouped into teams of five to 11 people who compete to lose weight and increase exercise as a team.

Kumar said Shape Up RI is his attempt to combat the shocking rates of obesity in the United States. About two out of three American adults are obese or overweight, according to the National Center for Health Statistics.

"I always knew that as Americans, we struggle with our lifestyle. ... But I never knew how devastating the problem was until I started medical school and started to learn in my classes about the obesity epidemic and its impact on the health of our country," he said. "The number of diseases associated with obesity is mind boggling.”

After witnessing patients visit their doctors and become frustrated with an inability to lose weight, he said he realized how difficult it is to diet and exercise alone.

"When I started medical school, I had the opportunity to start seeing patients in the doctor's office once a week. I was struck by how many patients would come, who were overweight or obese, and were struggling with their weight or with their lifestyle," said Kumar. "Because our health is such a personal and private thing, we don't like to talk about it with other people. When we go about trying to do something about our health, we always do it alone. ... The problem is when you try to lose weight on your own, it's difficult."

He modeled the program off of a similar one in Iowa called Lighten Up Iowa, which also uses teamwork to motivate people. He felt the idea could be successful in the small state of Rhode Island, where the population is only about 1 million people.

During the first year of Shape Up RI, Kumar's goal was to enlist 500 people that would be broken into 50 teams. But the effort turned out to be "overwhelmingly" more successful than planned, he said. High profile community leaders and politicians, such as Rhode Island Congressman Patrick Kennedy, signed on to support the program, and first-year membership was four times what he had hoped.

"The response was unbelievable, we had almost 2,000 people join in the first year," he said. The program continued to grow, and during the spring of this year, the number of participants was 7,000.

According to Kumar, participants lose on average 8.5 pounds per person over the course of the competition and exercise on average of 30 minutes daily.

"By way of his compassion, insight, and innovative advocacy, Rajiv Kumar is making a healthier Rhode Island for all of us," said Robb Dimmick, a Shape Up RI member who nominated Kumar for the award from the Rhode Island Chapter of the Red Cross and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island.