Salud America! Pilot Awardees
Dr. Shari Barkin, Vanderbilt University Medical Center
“Increasing Access to Physical Activity and Use of Community Recreation Centers by Latino Families to Reduce Pediatric Obesity”
Latinos in Tennessee disproportionately underutilize indoor and outdoor recreational facilities. This proposal will assess the impact of the Nashville Collaborative (NC) program, Salud Con La Familia, on the use of the Coleman Recreation Center by Latino families to increase their physical activity. The NC was formed in 2008 between Nashville Parks and Recreation and the Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt University to enhance physical activity among Latino families. Salud Con La Familia focuses on families with young children ages 3 to 5 to teach them how to utilize community recreation centers and incorporate physical activity into their parenting. The two-part evaluation will include assessment of: (1) recreation center staff’s perception of access and use by Latino families; and (2) access to physical activity and reported use of the center by Latino families, which will be compared to matched control families who did not participate in the program. The evaluation will provide data to inform Metro Parks and Recreation’s organizational practices to enhance access and use of their facilities by Latino families.
PowerPoint about Project
Dr. Cristina Barroso, University of Texas School of Public Health, Brownsville
“Body Image Perceptions Among Latinos”
The goal of this proposal is to characterize perceptions of healthy somatotypes (an individual’s build and physical appearance) across generations in Mexican Americans and determine the association between somatotype and physical activity in Mexican-American children across developmental stages. In Texas’ Lower Rio Grande Valley, Mexican-American grandparents will be surveyed regarding their perceptions of healthy somatotypes (endomorphy, mesomorphy and ectomorphy) across development stages, using Stunkard scales and figural stimuli. The project will conduct anthropometric measurements and assess physical activity levels via self-report and accelerometry in children spanning the developmental spectrum. Data from this study will establish the groundwork for future research and intervention studies aimed at increasing physical activity in youth, thereby reducing risk of chronic disease.
PowerPoint about Project
Dr. Alexy Arauz Boudreau, Massachusetts General Hospital
“A Family Approach to Addressing Lifestyle Decision in Obesity and Diabetes”
This project will assess whether a childhood lifestyle intervention can improve child obesity-related factors, specifically nutrition and physical activity, when addressed as a family unit. Through a randomized, waitlist-controlled intervention of 60 households in Massachusetts in which an adult has diabetes and a child is obese, the research group will provide coaching, counseling and culturally sensitive group classes on healthy food and lifestyle choices, physical activity resources and outlets, grocery and purchasing alternatives and mind-body techniques to help children reduce stress and anxiety. Data collection will focus on measuring trends in physical activity, food shopping, body mass index, waist circumference and skin folds, and metabolic markers. Using various analytical techniques to model retention rates and measure effectiveness, the average changes in each household’s outcome will be compared, resulting in a replicable model.
PowerPoint about Project
Dr. Dina Castro, University of North Carolina
“Growing Healthy Kids”
This projects aims to determine if involving families in gardening and providing access to gardens will impact risk factors for obesity, given that the impact of the community gardens can be seen in the progress families have made toward living healthier, more active lifestyles. The goal is to determine how important community gardens and access to fresh produce are in combating the rising trend of childhood obesity. This program will bring a body of work that evaluates an existing program for Latino children and their families (Growing Healthy Kids Project) in North Carolina to make positive gains in combating obesity. The project will provide information on how community gardens (a 10-by-10 garden plot per family) can serve to educate children and their families, addressing both physical activity and healthy eating.
PowerPoint about Project
