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Health & Fitness

POOR, LATINO YOUTH HIT BY NATIONWIDE OBESITY CRISIS

Somerville, MA, July 15, 2014 – Somerville has not been spared from the obesity crisis affecting some 12.5 million children across the country.

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Somerville, MA, July 15, 2014 – Somerville has not been spared from the obesity crisis affecting some 12.5 million children across the country.

Obesity rates in eastern Massachusetts are declining, thanks in part to programs like the innovative and nationally recognized Shape Up Somerville, but health professionals in the city remain very concerned.

About half of Somerville 4th through 8th graders in Somerville are healthy weight, but almost half are not. A 2010 study noted that 21.5 percent were overweight and 28 percent were obese.

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Among poor families and immigrants, especially Latinos, those numbers are even higher.

“And that’s not surprising,” Dr. Kirsten Meisinger of the Union Square Family Health Clinic told Somerville Neighborhood News. “Families who have recently changed countries and have children have much less money and opportunities than families who are well-established here and have higher incomes.”

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More than 38 percent of Latino youth ages 2-19 in the United States are overweight and almost 21 percent are obese, placing them at higher risk for developing both health and psychological problems.

Fast food and other food marketing is part of the problem. Young people who watch television or videos are bombarded by advertising starting even before they can speak and read. Recently, advertisers have increased their focus on Spanish-speaking youth.

In 2012, total spending by fast food restaurants on Spanish-language television reached $239 million, an 8 percent increase over what was spent only three years ago, according to a 2013 study by the Yale-Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity. And that’s bad for kids’ health.

“Children absorb things all the way to the core of their being, and do not have the ability to think critically about things until age 12,” Dr. Meisenger noted. “Advertising is extraordinarily effective in that age group.”

Highly processed foods are more advertised on Spanish-language than on English-language television. According to the Yale-Rudd Center, healthier kids’ meals from fast food vendors represented just 5 percent of fast food ads on Spanish-language TV, versus one-quarter on English-language TV.

Janice John, a physician’s assistant at the Union Square clinic, said that junk food marketing is problematic.

“The way that we eat is highly influenced by the fast food industry,” John said.

“Highly processed food makes people eat without even thinking about it. The more salt something has, the more sugar something has, we almost eat subconsciously which obviously is unhealthy.”

“You know the phrase, ‘you can’t eat just one’?” she added. “Well, that’s not good, right? You can’t eat just one, ideas like that is what leads to obesity.”

Shape Up Somerville director David Hudson agrees.

“Fast food marketing is deceptive,” he said, noting that some fast food restaurants “are placed strategically around schools.”

But the nationally recognized program he overseas has helped the city, schools and families fight the crisis. Today, school cafeterias offer unlimited fruits and veggies, only whole grains and low-fat milk, and other healthy options. Some of the program’s other features are the physical programs applied throughout Somerville public schools, such as PEP (Physical Activity in Progress), where structured physical activity is integrated into recess. Another includes Shape Up Approved, where Somerville restaurants team up with the organization to provide residents a healthy menu.

The Mystic Learning Center is one of the after-school programs that applies Shape Up Somerville methods.

“We have fresh fruit every morning as an option,” counselor Nick Ortolani explained, adding that the children love fruit. “I get the impression that some of these kids don’t get fresh produce on the regular, so this is a pretty good opportunity for them to get it every single day.”

At the Mystic Learning Center’s summer camp, children get a healthy breakfast and lunch, some of which comes from a garden they cultivate.

“It’s amazing because they eat it all the time. They’re very non-judgmental about it; they’re not very picky eaters,” Ortolani said.

When asked to pick their favorite selection for breakfast or lunch, many of the Mystic campers replied with a fruit or vegetable.

“My favorite food is smoothies,” said ten-year-old Jessey, while drinking a peanut butter-banana smoothie. “Mango and strawberry smoothies.”

“Watermelon and mango! ” 9-year-old Gricelda chimed in.

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