- Power-Up:A Collaborative After-School Program to Prevent Obesity in African American Children
What Is the Purpose of the Study?
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• To assess whether a program promoting healthy nutrition and physical activity can be successfully implemented in the after-school setting, and to begin assessing its promise as a means to prevent childhood obesity.
What Is the Problem?
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• Childhood obesity has risen significantly in recent decades, increasing the health risks for youth and young adults.
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• Schools represent a key venue in which to address obesity, but academic pressures limit curricular changes and other activities during school hours.
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• After-school programs are expanding nationwide, and represent a potential opportunity for promoting healthy nutrition and physical activity.
What Are the Findings?
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• The Power-Up After-School program to prevent obesity was successfully integrated into the after-school setting at one Chicago public school using a collaborative, community-based participatory approach.
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• Participating children lowered their degree of obesity on average.
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• Girls decreased their prevalence of overweight/obesity more than boys.
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• The heaviest children remained obese.
Who Should Care Most?
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• School leaders.
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• Public health leaders and community health care providers.
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• Elected officials.
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• Families of schoolchildren.
Recommendations for Action
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• Work to incorporate opportunities for healthy nutrition and physical activity into after-school programs.
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• Children who are already obese may need more intensive treatment.
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• Larger scale studies are needed to better understand the value of this type of program in preventing childhood obesity. [End Page 357]