Abstract
Problem Significance
Obesity is a public health issue that highly inflicts people living in underserved communities. Indicators of this include the built environment, while impacts include onset of chronic diseases. People in underserved communities are most affected because of lack of conducive infrastructure and resources for daily physical activity. The communities of interest are the South Sacramento zip codes of 95822 and 95823.
Analysis and Objectives
Obesity analysis involved education level attained and annual income. To gain qualitative insight of 95822 and 95823 residents, informational interviews with individuals working in the community were conducted. In addition to safety, concerns included food insecurity, and lack of resources, and schoolteachers lacking the resources to ensure students are physically active throughout the day. A creative approach is needed to alleviate this problem.
Intervention (Solution) Proposal
Fitness Immersion and Social Transformation is an after school, physical activity program aimed to help students in underserved communities feel comfortable in their neighborhoods to exercise consistently. The pilot program is held at Rosa Parks Elementary K-8 School in South Sacramento, spans 5 weeks, and is split into 2 cohorts: Rookie (Kindergarten-3rd grade) and Champion (4th grade-6th grade).
Recommendations and Conclusions
Since this is a pilot program, room for improvement is needed. In lieu of this program, policy change is needed to ensure neighborhoods are safe for youth and adults to remain physically active to support positive public health outcomes. Lastly, this program can include a nutrition education component to support disease prevention through healthy eating and active living.