APHA Explores Food and Physical Fitness
The 137th Annual American Public Health Association (APHA) Meeting is bustling in Philly. The Spectrum team continues to explore panels, sessions and posters to learn the latest in public health.
Food and Fitness in Focus
During this morning’s sessions at APHA, Linda Jo Doctor, MPH from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation hosted a discussion at the “Youth Involvement in Community-based Participatory Research Projects” roundtable. She spoke about multiple initiatives aimed at engaging community members to produce real health outcomes.
Both the Food and Fitness and The School Food FOCUS initiatives are working to increase access to and bring affordable, regionally grown and nutritious food options to communities and schools throughout the country. In addition, the Food and Fitness program is collaborating with organizations in nine communities to create sustainable “fitness” environments for community members to become active.
The National Physical Activity Plan
Dr. Russ Pate, Associate Vice President for Health Sciences & Professor at the Arnold School of Public Health at the University of South Carolina led a session unveiling the first National Physical Activity Plan – an initiative requiring a large “social movement” (in his words) to shift the norm away from the belief that sedentary behavior is okay.
The plan (in its draft form), with resources from like-minded advocate groups around the country like the American Cancer Society and the American College of Sports Medicine, will work to create and sustain systemic change to enable Americans to move more – in their workplace, their school and their community.
Healthy Snack Food Availability in Low-Income Neighborhoods
Dr. Angela Odoms-Young from the University of Illinois at Chicago presented a study on healthy snack food availability in SW Chicago low-income neighborhoods. The study interviewed 29 parents from two neighborhoods and asked them to log their food purchases.
The results were fascinating and insightful. African American neighborhoods had a higher percentage of poverty, fewer grocery stores and less healthy snacks available. The majority of snack purchases in these communities were from corner stores: 53.3 percent of urban school children shop at corner stores every day. For every $1 spent, 356 kcal are consumed.
African American parents believed that available corner store healthy food items had food safety issues or lacked quality. In addition, personal safety concerns led many to grab a bag of chips or a soda and leave instead of spending time looking at fresh and nutritious items. Dr. Odoms-Young concluded that corner stores increased the opportunity for unhealthy snacking.
These sessions were opportunities to analyze environmental factors that could improve nutrition and increase physical activity in communities throughout the country. Our Spectrum team is continuing to live tweet, make sure to follow us: @Allisonrbrown, @Kate_Morrison and @Plourde.
Tags: APHA, fitness, Public Affairs, Public Health, Research
