AT THE FOREFRONT OF OUR COMMUNITY

Improving Urban Health: Diabetes and ObesityReach-Outis an interactiveprogram in whichchildren learnabout goodnutritionand exercise.University of Chicago MedicineCountless campaigns have beenlaunched to steer schoolchildrentoward healthy habits, yet ratesof childhood obesity and diabetescontinue to soar. One promisingstrategy: Create programs thatare locally focused and tailored tothe culture of children who arebeing targeted.That approach inspired two child diabetes preventionprograms created by University of Chicago researchers.The two programs, Reach-Out and Power-Up, are siblingswith similar designs, goals and measures that target slightlydifferent populations and venues.To design the programs, researchers first listened to the community.The research team, led by Deborah Burnet, MD, professor ofmedicine and pediatrics, organized focus groups with overweightchildren and their parents to learn about their obstacles to improvinghealth and to gather ideas about the types of physical activityand classes that would appeal to them. The conversations laid thegroundwork for programs that would take the unique circumstancesof families on the South Side of Chicago into account.“They were good partners, they really liked working with us, andthey felt a sense of ownership,” Burnet said. “We didn’t just dropit in there; they worked with us to think about how it wouldwork in their setting.”For Reach-Out, parents and children ages 9 to 12 wererecruited to follow a 14-week program at a local YMCA, witheducation and activities that included grocery store tours,cooking classes, martial arts and yoga.For Power-Up, the program modified the Reach-Out scheduleto fit an after-school program for kindergarten through6th grade at Woodlawn Community School. Because theschool’s curriculum is structured around African heritage,traditional cultural activities such as drumming and dance wereincorporated into the course.Preliminary results from the Power-Up pilot study found asignificant drop in body mass index, frequently known as BMI,for overweight children, but not for obese kids, suggesting thatmore intense intervention may be needed. Researchers also haddifficulty reaching parents with the after-school format, andthe second pilot study incorporating text messaging to involveparents in the curriculum is under way.“There may be ways to use technology to help us personalizethings, and that’s where these programs are going,” Burnet said.12