2005 Community Report - Brandywine Health Foundation

ADDRESSING CHILDHOOD WEIGHT MANAGEMENT
The incidence of overweight children
has reached epidemic proportions in
the United States. According to the
American Obesity Association,
30 percent of children ages 6 to 19
are overweight and 15 percent are
obese. In Coatesville, approximately
37 percent of children ages 6-12 and
26 percent of children ages 13-17 are
at risk for obesity, according to the
Philadelphia Health Management
Corporation’s 2002 Community Health
Database.
While the overweight problem affects
children at all income levels, one of
the factors at work in Coatesville is
low socioeconomic status: Nearly a
third of Coatesville children under 18
come from families living below the
poverty level, according to the 2000
U.S. Census. Also, while weight
management programs exist in
surrounding communities, transportation
problems and fees charged by such
programs prevent many Coatesville
residents from participating.
To address this critical issue, which
has significant implications for the
healthcare system, the Foundation
funded a pilot project in spring 2005 at
South Brandywine Middle School. The
project was a collaborative effort of
the Southeast Pennsylvania Area
Health Education Center of West
Chester, the West Chester University
Department of Public Health and the
Coatesville Area School District.
The 16-week pilot, in which 19 girls
participated, included two 90-minute
sessions after school each week. Each
session involved hands-on nutrition
education and a half hour of walking or
hip-hop dance instruction. The goal:
increase the girls’ awareness of the
lifelong benefits of physical activity
and healthy eating and eliminate
sedentary lifestyles.
“I needed to learn more about how to
eat healthy, and I really liked the
hip-hop classes,” says Laura Selin.
“It inspired me to just get out there
and move.” Currently a 7th-grader at
South Brandywine, she now snacks on
vegetables instead of potato chips and
sweets, and walks home from school
with a friend.
Laura, in turn, inspired her mother,
Polly Selin. She rethought the food she
was preparing for her family, joined
Weight Watchers, lost 18 pounds and
is now working out regularly at the
local YMCA. “It made me realize Laura’s
really following my lead,” she says.
The Foundation not only funded the
program, but also an evaluation of its
effectiveness. Tammy James, Ph.D.,
associate professor of health
education at West Chester University,
conducted the evaluation and
surveyed respondents like the Selins
to determine program effectiveness
and potential improvements.
She concluded that the after-school
nature of the program was convenient
and effective and that the girls felt
more comfortable with the all-female
“It inspired me to just get out there and move.”
Laura Selin, student
South Brandywine Middle School
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