Gateway to Fitness Program

Asha Mehta, Director San Francisco Beacon Initiative Lara Sallee, Community Benefit Manager Kaiser Permanente San Francisco

How many children are obese? JAMA, April 5, 2006, Vol 295, No. 13, Since 1963, the number of obese children in the U.S. has tripled!

What children are at greatest risk? JAMA, April 5, 2006, Vol 295, No. 13,  Black  Hispanic  American Indian  Alaska Native

How many children have type 2 diabetes?  Non-Type 1 Diabetes in children is now 32% of cases (10 fold increase from ).(1)  The lifetime risk of developing diabetes for a hispanic female born in the United States in the year 2000 until their death is 1 in 2.(2)  This may be the first generation of children who may live less long than their parents as a result of the consequences of overweight and type 2 diabetes.(3) 1. Pediatrics May 2005 Vol. 115 No. 5: pp. e553-e JAMA 2003 October 8;290(14): New Engl J Med Vol. 352(11) March 2005, pp

Addressing Obesity in the Community

Beacon Initiative Bayview/Hunter’s Pt. OMI/Excelsior RichmondVisitacion Valley SunsetMission ChinatownWesterm Addition

Gateway to Fitness Program In 2005, Kaiser Permanente launched a partnership with San Francisco Beacon Initiative to develop the Gateway To Fitness Program. Using Kaiser Permanente’s First Class Fitness Curriculum, Gateway to Fitness teaches 10 – 15 year olds about healthy eating and active living. Since Fall 2005, more than 1800 youth have participated in Gateway to Fitness Program at Beacon sites throughout San Francisco.

Gateway to Fitness Program Kaiser Permanente’s Involvement: Sharing of best practices and ongoing technical assistance by:  Dr. Charles Wibbelsman, Chief of Teenage Clinic  Janet Green, Clinical Health Educator, Department of Pediatrics  Juggy Jaspal, Health Education Community Benefit regional and local funding totaling $450,000 in grant funding and in-kind Thrive donations since Referral of Kaiser Permanente members into community program Commitment to continue partnership

Gateway To Fitness Program SUMMARY OF FINDINGS Final Evaluation Report Resource Development Associates Funded by California Endowment

Evaluation Findings Since Participating in the Beacon Afterschool Fitness Program, I have... (percent of youth responding some or a lot to fitness items on posttests )

Evaluation Findings Physical Activity Now as Compared to Before Gateway... Posttest (N=279) Follow-up (N=82)

Evaluation Findings Since Participating in the Beacon Afterschool Fitness Program, I have... (percent of youth responding some or a lot to nutrition items )

Evaluation Findings PHYSICAL ACTIVITY Many participants entered with a high level of self-reported physical activity. # of times participants exercised in the previous week increased from pre to posttest for strenuous, moderate and mild types of activities. The % of participants exercising two or more hours the previous day also increased. These were statistically significant changes. ¼ of participants for whom BMI percentile was available were either at-risk or were overweight. These youth also realized increases in physical activity. On the posttest and follow-up surveys a little over half of youth stated they were more physically active than before they started Gateway.

Evaluation Findings HEALTHY EATING On the posttest nearly the solid majority of youth felt that Gateway had helped them to find healthy food that they liked to eat and learn to prepare healthy food for snacks and meals. Almost half of youth at follow-up report not eating fast food in the last week.

Evaluation Findings SUPPORT The great majority of students shared that their families are supportive of their efforts to eat healthy and be physically active. Friends were notably less supportive than were parents and Gateway staff for eating healthy and being physically active. The large majority of participants reported making new friends and feeling better about themselves as a result of the Gateway program.

Evaluation Findings IMPACT ON FAMILY Over half of youth reported on the posttest that their family was buying healthier food at the store and had been eating healthier since Gateway.

Gateway To Fitness Program Future Directions Modern Cooks Summer

Gateway To Fitness Program Contact Information: Asha Mehta, Director San Francisco Beacon Initiative ; Lara Sallee, Community Benefit Manager Kaiser Permanente San Francisco ;