San Diego Padre's FriarFit Initiative: A professional sports team gets into the childhood obesity prevention game

Purpose: The involvement of professional sports teams in obesity prevention work is growing and research is needed to determine the impact of these initiatives. This study examined the impact of the San Diego Padres baseball teams' innovative fitness and healthy food initiative on the availability of food and physical activity opportunities at PETCO Ballpark in San Diego, California.

Methods: Data were collected in 2008 and 2009 using a mixed-methods approach. An original tool was developed to assess the availability of healthy food in the ballpark and a modified SOFIT (System for Observing Fitness Instruction Time) tool was used to assess physical activity levels of children participating in the fitness component. An intercept survey was conducted with ballpark patrons and an assessment of the business case was also obtained through structured and conversational interviews with key stakeholders and analyses of sales data for healthy food items.

Results: The percent of food venues in the ballpark offering initiative-designated healthy foods increased from 5% in 2008 to 35% in 2009. Participation in the structured fitness component of the initiative was associated with relatively greater activity during the period observed. Perceptions of success and support for the initiative were high among key stakeholders. Twenty-three percent of intercept survey respondents stated that they attended more baseball games because of the initiative.

Conclusions: The best practices, research tools, and business case developed for the San Diego Padres initiative can inform the development and evaluation of obesity prevention initiatives other sports teams pursue.