Childhood Obesity and Healthy Eating and Exercise Habits
Professor David Hey delves into research regarding childhood obesity and healthy diet and exercise habits. He and other Kinesiology professors and staff members conducted a study on barriers to physical activity and healthy eating in children as perceived by low income parents. Data was gathered from 43 caregivers enrolled in the Women Infant Children (WIC) program, and this information helped the team enact policy changes in public health in Lompoc, California.
Focus groups were asked questions about physical activity in the family, who was responsible for family nutrition, and how schools and communities could make a difference in overall family health. Overall, the most common perceived barriers were issues like lack of recreational opportunities in the community, safety issues with children walking to school, and the increased cost and decreased availability of healthy food options.
Since this study and its findings were submitted to the Lompoc Valley Community Health Improvement Project, several public health programs have been initiated through two infrastructure grants which provide funding through 2015. These programs include traffic calming measures, police enforcement around schools, engineering better bike paths and sidewalks, and implementation of Walk and Roll, a bike to school safety program. Pairing locally based data collection with data driven community responses provides a model approach to define and address the barriers to promoting healthy lifestyles for families.
