Summertime has emerged as a high-risk period for weight gain among low-income minority youth who often experience a lack of resources when not attending school. Structured programming may be an effective means of reducing risk for obesity by improving obesogenic behaviors among these youth. The current multi-method study examined sedentary time, physical activity, and dietary intake among low-income urban minority girls in two contexts: an unstructured summertime setting and in the context of a structured 4-week community-based summer day camp program promoting physical activity. Data were analyzed using paired-sample t tests and repeated-measure analyses of variance with significance at the p < .05 level. Results evidenced no significant differences in total calories and fat consumed between the unstructured and structured settings. Participants exhibited significant increases in fruit consumption and physical activity and significant decreases in sedentary time of over 2 h/day and dairy consumption when engaged in structured summer programming. All improvements were independent of weight status and age, and African-American participants evidenced greater changes in physical activity during programming. The study concludes that structured, community-based summertime programming may be associated with fewer obesogenic behaviors in low-income urban youth and may be a powerful tool to address disparities in weight gain and obesity among high-risk samples.
Youth engagement is the least researched, but potentially most important, aspect of participation in afterschool programs. The level of youth engagement can vary across programs, across youth within a program, and within individual youth over time. Engagement is important for both recruiting and retaining participants, and has been associated with more positive academic outcomes over time. This chapter integrates perspectives from practitioners, researchers, and the school engagement literature. Reasons why engagement is an important dimension of afterschool programming, different methods for assessing engagement, key features of engaging afterschool programs, and implications for practice are also outlined.
Low-income minority females are disproportionately affected by obesity. The relevance of summer months to weight gain is often overlooked. Some evidence suggests that summer programming, such as day camps, may offer increased opportunities for structured physical activities resulting in less weight gain. This study examined the effectiveness of Girls in the Game, a six-hour four-week sports and fitness summer camp program, in increasing physical activity (PA) and reducing body mass index and media use. Statistically significant increases were observed in four physical activity measures including total PA, MVPA, average number of ten-minute bouts of MVPA, and minutes participants spent in bouts of at least ten minutes of MVPA. This chapter highlights the importance of investigating the potential relationships among weight, physical activity, sedentary time, media use, and participation in summer camp programming.
Peers may provide a protective social context with regard to obesity-related health behaviors. Targeting changes in health behaviors during the middle school years may be an effective means of decreasing obesity risk among urban African-American adolescents. Interventions for urban African-American early adolescents may benefit from facilitating physical activity with peers and targeting change in family health behaviors.
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