Abstract
Individuals who reside in low-income communities are at a higher risk of having chronic diseases like diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and obesity (Bedimo-Rung et al., 2005). Studies show that historically, children living in lower socioeconomic status neighborhoods have a higher Body Mass Index (BMI) on average. These neighborhoods consist of lower social cohesion and feelings of safety, along with other environmental factors that impact one’s ability to participate in physical activity such as access to parks and recreation equipment (Kim et al., 2020). Rates of obesity in children in San Joaquin County are higher than the compared average of California (Gill et al., 2022).
Evidence indicates that physical activity can reduce the risk of more than 25 chronic medical conditions (Warburton & Bredin, 2016). Students grades one through sixth are required by the California Department of Education Code Section 51210 to complete 200 minutes of physical education every ten school days (CDE, 2010). The amount of mandated physical education in schools has significantly decreased over the years, thus it is important to provide children with extracurricular opportunities to learn and engage in physical activity. An educational physical activity curriculum may serve as a tool to the San Joaquin County community to learn the benefits of maintaining a healthy lifestyle, and create new behaviors to increase their quality of life.
To assess how an educational physical activity module may impact children in a low-income community, the following curriculum has been created. The curriculum may be implemented at the Boys and Girls Club after school program in Tracy, California. This curriculum would be an extension of the Triple Play program “a dynamic wellness program that is designed to help youth create opportunities to take charge of their personal health and wellness” (“Triple Play” n.d).
Youth development professionals (YDP’s) employed by the Boys & Girls Club will deliver after-school weekly recreation activities and interactive healthy habit lessons by following the provided curriculum. Pre-program needs assessments will be distributed to evaluate the baseline of knowledge and physical activity level among the community of children. Previous research collected on physical activity benefits, along with the data gathered from the distributed needs assessments will be used as a framework to create this curriculum.