Above, Nancy Rodrigues, of Cumberland, spots for Noel Corriveau, of Cranston, as Laura Kavanagh, of Warwick, watches.

The Providence Journal / Sandor Bodo

Shape Up RI, a wellness program that targets obesity, is launching its fourth season Saturday, Feb. 7, at Rhode Island College.

The goal is to recruit 20,000 people who want to experience wellness through exercise and sound nutrition, said Rajiv Kumar, the Brown University medical student who founded the program. Its purpose is to help people lose weight in an effort to fend off diabetes, heart disease and other illnesses related to obesity. When Kumar started the program in 2006, 2,000 people enlisted to compete on teams to lose weight and increase the number of steps they took each day.

“Since then,” he said, “15,000 participants in our statewide wellness program have worked together each new year, collectively losing 64,000 pounds, logging 735,000 hours of physical activity and walking 10 billion steps –– the equivalent of 4,000 trips around the earth at the equator…

“The teamwork, group support and atmosphere of friendly competition that have been the hallmarks of our success encourage us to project record numbers in terms of competitors, pounds lost and steps taken toward good health.”

Last Monday, 400 people registered for the program, said spokesman Ray Rickman.

Participants compete on teams and track their weight, exercise hours and pedometer steps over a period of 12 weeks.

Participants –– or their employers –– pay a $20 registration fee, which includes a digital pedometer, reminder wristband, competition logbook, access to the online Team Tracker system, weekly e-mails with health tips, eligibility to win prizes and free access to health events.

Shape Up RI emphasizes movement.

“When it comes to being healthier, we often have trouble figuring out where to start,” said Kumar. “Here’s a simple idea for all of us: Let’s learn to walk again.

“When we took our very first steps as toddlers, we experienced the joy and sense of purpose that come with standing on two legs and propelling ourselves forward.

“Sadly, we have since forgotten that our bodies were meant to be in motion. Instead, we have fashioned a society where it’s normal to take the elevator to the second floor, fight for the parking space closest to the entrance and drive through the fast-food restaurant so we can get our hands on a sixteen-ounce burger without expending one ounce of energy.”

Salvatore Fichera, an exercise physiologist, corporate wellness consultant and author of Stop Aging, Start Training, will be the keynote speaker when the program officially kicks off at 10 a.m. Feb. 7 in Roberts Hall on the Rhode Island College campus. Fichera has been a wellness and consumer products expert for WebMd.com.

More information on the program is available online at www.shapeupri.org or by calling (401) 421-0608.

Highlights from Fitness, Inside & Out, the wellness blog on projo.com, will appear each Sunday in LifeBeat, starting next week. Pamela Reinsel Cotter and Tom Meade report on exercise, local food and health and wellness opportunities.