City Rounds

Kids and their families who are at high risk for conditions associated with physical inactivity are making lifestyle changes for a healthier future.

by Monika Guttman

The families shuffle in, dressed in tennis shoes and shorts, ready for another Saturday morning of playing games and running obstacle courses.

But they are not at the local YMCA—they are part of a weekend clinic run by the Department of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy in the Health Research Associates building near the USC Health Sciences Campus.

Called “Fit Families,” the program is a free service that provides preventive, wellness, and rehabilitative physical therapy services to underserved children and adults in the local community who are at high risk for diabetes and conditions associated with physical inactivity.

Fit Families started last year and targets children from ages 10 through 17 and their families. A six-week course provides evaluation, group exercise activities, individualized exercise programs and nutrition counseling designed to enhance potential for long-term lifestyle change. Services are delivered in both English and Spanish via group lectures and discussions, interactive demonstrations, one-on-one discussion, and through computer-based tutorials for diabetes and nutrition education.

“We’re trying to get them thinking about activity as a family unit,” says Cheryl Resnik, D.P.T., assistant professor of clinical physical therapy. “Parents attend with their kids, and they all play soccer or other competitive games. The big goal is to make exercise more a part of their everyday life.”

The clinic is a collaborative effort and commitment of the faculty, staff, students, alumni, and Board of Councilors, and contributes to the health of the members of the local community. Students from the department volunteer their time, “which gives them a chance to work with populations they might not otherwise see, and to develop new approaches to the difficult issues of inactivity,” Resnik says.

In addition, students from the USC School of Pharmacy volunteer to provide services such as diabetes screening. A registered dietician provides nutrition counseling.

Lifestyle changes have to be addressed by the whole family, adds Oscar Gallardo, Fit Families program director and adjunct instructor of clinical physical therapy. “The kids aren’t the ones going to the grocery stores, they aren’t the ones planning what the family will do on the weekends,” he says. “If you don’t involve the whole family, the changes won’t really work.”

Originally a program to support the endocrine clinic at LAC+USC Medical Center, Gallardo noted that community physicians have begun referring patients. “They tell us there is nothing like this, no preventive programs that work. They are so happy to have some place to send their at-risk kids.” However, no medical visits are necessary—the clinic accepts clients without referrals.

For now, the clinic is a growing success—over the months it has grown to the point that now there are two different groups each Saturday with 10-20 participants. Since it opened, Fit Families has helped 94 children and 72 adults.

Clinic organizers hope to establish partnerships with other public or private entities and initiatives to extend its ability to address gaps in and provide access to physical therapy care. Another goal is to expand services offered and increase the interdisciplinary focus of the clinic. Volunteer physical therapists are needed as well as Spanish-English translators.

“I would tell people to come to this program,” says Graciela Serrano, a mother and a Fit Families graduate. “They teach you how to take care of yourself and be more aware of what you’re eating and why you should exercise. My kids are more interested and motivated to take care of themselves and are more active.”

The Fit Families program is from 9 a.m. until noon on Saturdays and is located at 1640 Marengo St. in Los Angeles. To refer a family who may be interested in the program, call (323) 224-5592.