$150,000 grant funds educational materials promoting fitness for the entire family LEAWOOD, Kan., Oct. 22 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) and the AAFP Foundation announce that they have been awarded a $150,000 grant from MetLife Foundation, designed to counter the national epidemic of childhood obesity by empowering family physicians with new ways to promote physical activity, nutrition and emotional well-being. The partnership will produce educational materials for children, including books and publications. The materials are designed to encourage patients to talk with family physicians about fitness and to work together to develop a plan to enable sustained healthy life style choices among family members. The endeavor will be administered by Americans In Motion (AIM), an AAFP initiative designed to improve the health of all Americans through multifaceted fitness programs. This year's grant builds upon an initiative that was successfully launched in 2008 by MetLife Foundation and the AAFP, which has to date included the production of a DVD and children's book discussing fitness for the family, with a special emphasis on ways to maintain fitness for children. "We are pleased to continue this important partnership with MetLife Foundation," said Lori Heim, M.D., president of the AAFP. "Children learn by example, and to effectively combat childhood obesity, candid discussions must take place between doctors, young patients and their parents. This initiative will plant the seed for such discussions." The materials will be distributed in late summer 2010 to approximately 37,000 family physicians, as well all 455 family medicine residency training programs in the United States, and will be available in Spanish. They are designed to be used in the waiting rooms of family physicians' practices, creating opportunities for parents and children to learn and talk about issues related to fitness with their physician. Rather than emphasizing diets and weight loss, the initiative will present fitness as a balance of physical activity, nutrition and emotional well-being. Only sustained, healthy lifestyle choices will be successful in countering childhood obesity. Today's children may have a shorter life expectancy than their parents because of obesity-related illnesses. Almost 60 percent of Americans do not get sufficient daily exercise and almost 65 percent are overweight or obese. But family physicians are in a strong position to positively influence their patients' fitness habits and, as they conduct 208 million patient visits each year and care for the entire family, they can help fight childhood obesity on a national scale. "Family physicians are an important link to halting the growing threat of childhood obesity, by providing families with much-needed health information," said Dennis White, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation. "MetLife Foundation is pleased to support this initiative, which is dedicated to helping families make smart decisions that can result in longer, healthier lives." About The American Academy of Family Physicians Founded in 1947, the AAFP represents more than 94,600 physicians and medical students nationwide. It is the only medical society devoted solely to primary care. Nearly one in four of all office visits are made to family physicians. That is 208 million office visits each year -- nearly 83 million more than the next largest medical specialty. Today, family physicians provide more care for America's underserved and rural populations than any other medical specialty. In the increasingly fragmented world of health care where many medical specialties limit their practice to a particular organ, disease, age or sex, family physicians are dedicated to treating the whole person across the full spectrum of ages. Family medicine's cornerstone is an ongoing, personal patient-physician relationship focused on integrated care. To learn more about the AAFP and about the specialty of family medicine, please visit aafp.org. For more information about the AAFP's positions on issues and clinical care and downloadable multi-media on family medicine and health care, visit the AAFP Media Center. For more information about health care, health conditions, and wellness, please visit familydoctor.org. About the AAFP Foundation The American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) Foundation serves as the philanthropic arm of the AAFP. Its primary goal is to enhance health care delivered to the American people by developing and providing philanthropic resources for the promotion and support of family medicine. For more information or to support the work of the AAFP Foundation, please visit aafpfoundation.org. About MetLife Foundation MetLife Foundation was established by MetLife in 1976 to carry on its longstanding tradition of corporate contributions and community involvement. Grants support health, education, civic and cultural programs. For more information about the Foundation, visit http://www.metlife.org/ Media contact: Janelle Davis Ted Mitchell American Academy of Family Physicians MetLife Foundation (800) 274-2237 Ext. 5222 (401) 827-3236 DATASOURCE: MetLife Foundation CONTACT: Janelle Davis, American Academy of Family Physicians, +1-800-274-2237 Ext. 5222, ; Ted Mitchell, MetLife Foundation, +1-401-827-3236, Web Site: http://www.metlife.org/

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