Healthy Opportunities for Physical Excellence (HOPE) for Kids

Introduction

Childhood obesity is a growing public health concern in the United States that disproportionately affects disadvantaged youth. The contributing factors of obesity are genetics, lifestyle behaviors, and the environment. In response to this epidemic the Healthy Opportunities for Physical Excellence (HOPE) for Kids program was developed. This program is designed to emphasize lifetime fitness and healthy eating behaviors and is currently offered as a physical education class in 19 public schools in mostly underprivileged areas in Southern California. To maximize the impact of the program, its founder, the American Academy of Pediatrics, and St. Joseph Health System, Orange CA, have formed a collaboration.

Program design

HOPE for Kids is a no cost physical activity and nutrition class facilitated by certified nutritionists, fitness instructors, and physical education teachers. Upon enrollment, a physician measures the following: height, weight, blood pressure, waist circumference, medical history, and self-esteem. Students must input their activity and food logs into the program's website available in Spanish and English. A laptop computer is provided to each participating school. At the end of the term, a post-evaluation is performed.

Program evaluation/results

Results after the third year of implementation indicate a statistically significant increase in self-esteem, a decrease in waist circumference and no increase in body mass index.

Discussion

HOPE for Kids has important implications for health practitioners. The program has the potential to improve the health of underprivileged youth whose neighborhoods are unsafe and often lack facilities for exercise. Furthermore, it provides a safe, accessible, no cost, and effective method to minimize the causal factors of obesity, which disproportionately affect disadvantaged youth.