Zara Singer – Active Families

Background

Zara was referred to the Active Families Programme at Harbour Sport in December 2015. The Onewa Doctors team, along with Zara’s Family, felt that the programme would benefit Zara, in terms of getting her more active, and receiving nutrition          education. Zara and her family were already a pretty active   family, as they would often be out walking or going for bike rides.

Solution

Zara and her parents, Ashia and Graham, decided to attend an initial Active Families Session. The first session was so enjoyable that they decided to enrol in the programme, and attend the weekly activity and nutrition sessions.

Zara and her parents became regulars at the Wednesday night sessions, held at the Northcote Baptist Church.

Zara hardly ever missed a session during her 12 months with Active Families, and would always enter with a smile, and a positive attitude. Her engagement in the games and cooking sessions was always noticeable.

Zara set initial goals of walking more than 6000 steps a day, and going for at least 1 bike ride at the weekend. She very quickly reached her goals, and was making great progress. Zara commented that “the cooking sessions are the best”, and would always get involved in the nutrition sessions.

Results / Impact

Over the first 6 months on the programme, Zara was able to reduce her BMI by 2 points and her Body Fat % by 2.5%. Zara also saw an increase in her muscle mass of 2kg, as a result of her increase in activity. The most noticeable change for Zara occurred toward the end of the programme, with a reduction of her HbA1c, to within the normal range.

Conclusion

Zara and her parents were proud of their achievements. Most importantly, Zara’s confidence with exercise increased markedly over the course of the programme, and she graduated from Active Families with the skills required to live a healthy life. We loved working with the Singer’s, and we will miss Zara!! Well done Zara, you have done yourself proud and the Active Families Team wishes you well for the future!!