University of Houston researchers study Hispanic children’s activities, views on places to play

Studies have shown that youthful playtime—running in the park or playing ball in the schoolyard—fades by the time children enter middle school years, sometimes with dangerous effects to their health. This is especially true if those children are low-income and Hispanic, studies show. Researchers with the University of Houston Department of Health and Human Performance want to know why, and what can be done about it.

An 18-month study will focus on 200 Hispanic fifth graders, monitor their daily physical activity and record their views on places to be active, such as parks or schoolyards. And because moms have so much influence in the home, the study will also examine how moms view those locations and how their views influence the child’s likelihood of being active. The UH researchers will collaborate with Texas A&M University.

“We’re looking at what influences a child’s desire to be active, or, in the case of moms, what makes them encourage their children to be active – is it how safe they believe a nearby park is, the amount of lighting, the presence of gang activity, picnic tables—all these”” said Norma Olvera, associate professor and principal investigator of the Urban Hispanic Perceptions of Environment and Activity among Kids (UH-PEAK) study. The study is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) through Active Living Research, an RWJF national program.

“We believe that by understanding the relationship between perception of our environment and intention to be physically active, we can design more informed interventions for children who most need them,” said Olvera.

The participants will come from six area schools. While traditional research methods, such as recording each child’s height, weight and percentage of body fat, will be employed, the study also will get a boost from technology as special devices are given to participants to help monitor their physical activity. For example, all children will be equipped with an accelerometer to monitor the number of times they move, an Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) device—which resembles a remote-control unit that randomly asks questions about physical activity, and a Global Positioning System to capture the students’ locations and the speeds at which they are being active. Mothers will also be fitted with EMA devices.

“This is an important aspect to the study because it means our data will come from objective measures,” Olvera said. “To our knowledge, this is the first study that will provide such objective information about the physical activity of this population.”

Work on UH-PEAK is expected to be completed in June 2009. Olvera anticipates presenting the data at the conference for Active Living Research in early 2009, along with her colleagues Dennis Smith and Jill A. Bush with the University of Houston and Chanam Lee with Texas A&M University.

Olvera’s research is specific to the Hispanic community and has often included the role mothers play in the nutritional and physical activity choices for their children. Her expertise includes the influence of parents in a child’s body image and nutritional and physical activity habits, and the environmental factors that prevent or promote physical activity. Based on her research, Olvera developed the after-school healthy lifestyle program BOUNCE, Behavior Opportunities Uniting Nutrition and Counseling Education, which focuses on exercise and nutrition for middle-school girls and their mothers. For the last three years, she has offered a healthy summer program for Hispanic and African American girls, which was recognized by the Texas Public Health Association as a 2006 Nutrition and Physical Activity Best Practices program.”*

*From: http://www.eurekalert.org
Traducido: usando Google o Altavista/Babel Fish

• Low Hispanic College Graduation Rates Threaten U.S. Attainment Goals – New Study: “Rising to the Challenge: Raising Hispanic Graduation Rates as a National Priority” – Hispanic students generally graduate at lower rates than their white peers, even among schools with similar admissions standards
• Why One Undocumented Student is Walking the Trail of Dreams – interview with Carlos Roa
• Oklahoma Hispanic Leaders Raise Awareness About State Bill Requiring Citizenship Checks
• Southwest Airlines and the Hispanic Association of Colleges and Universities Open Travel Program for College Students
• Healthy Chats LLC Publishes Spanish Language Parenting Guide: The Birds and the Bees with Ease!
• In her new book, “Musical ImagiNation” (New York University Press, 2010), assistant professor Maria Elena Cepeda shows how popular music has become an alternative, dynamic space for conceptualizing transnational Colombian identity. – Subtitled “U.S.-Colombian Identity and the Latin Music Boom,”
• Gay Parents or Death? Famed Latino Singer Picks Death – A Mexican feminist singer makes controversial comments just days after Mexico City performs its first same-sex marriages. – Paquita la del Barrio is standing against same-sex adoption, saying, “I’d rather see a kid die.”
• A bill that would require Oklahoma public schools to verify the immigration status of all students and report it to the state Department of Education drew fire from Tulsa Hispanic leaders Monday as well as criticism from Tulsa Public Schools Superintendent Keith Ballard.
• Edward James Olmos seeks to inspire Latino students – 20th annual César E. Chávez Latino Student Leadership Conference – Oregon
• Yet Another Reason for Poor Performance among Latino Students (Like You Haven’t Heard it All Already)
• More than 12,000 illegal immigrants, non-permanent residents or non-U.S. citizens paid in-state tuition or received other such financial aid at public colleges and universities across Texas during late 2009, the Dallas Morning News reported Monday.
• VeneMovies & Semillitas, Two New 24-Hour Spanish Language Channels, Added to RCN’s Hispanic Cable TV Program Packages
• Latino culture a key to childhood obesity
• Chile’s Students Lead Latin America in Marijuana and Tobacco Consumption
• Ser Padres’ 20th Anniversary Celebration at the Children’s Museum of Manhattan
• Update: Census Bureau Launches ‘Children Count Too’ Awareness Campaign Featuring Nickelodeon’s Dora the Explorer
• Cultures & Celebrating Cuentos: National Latino Children’s Literature Conference
• More Minority Babies Will Be Born In 2010 Than White Babies, Demographers Predict
• Utah Senate rejects health coverage for legal immigrant children
• “Fiesta Educativa,” a conference at the Riverside County Office of Education for Latino parents who have children with special needs, was attended by 200 participants