A Community-based Healthy Living Promotion Program Improved Self-esteem Among Minority Children.

OBJECTIVES: Improving self-esteem, dietary habits, and physical activity is essential for long-term success in childhood obesity prevention. The aim is to evaluate the effects of a healthy living promotion program, Healthy Kids-Houston, on BMI, dietary habits, self-esteem, and physical activity among minority children. METHODS: The after-school program was implemented at community centers in low-income neighborhoods with close proximity to public schools. The program consisted of 3 6-week sessions. Each week, children attended 2 2-hour sessions. Each 2-hour session in the intervention included 90 minutes of structured physical activities and 30 minutes of nutrition and healthy habit lessons. The control group received typical enrichment programs. Outcomes were measured before the intervention and at the end of each 6-week session. RESULTS: We enrolled 877 children (age 10.2 ±â€Š0.1 years (mean ±â€ŠSE); body mass index z score: 1.49 ±â€Š0.1; 52.0% boys; 72.6% Hispanic) in the program with 524 children received the intervention at 14 community centers and 353 children served as control at 10 community centers. The intervention led to no improvements in BMI z score (P = 0.78) and dietary habits (P = 0.46). Significant improvements (P ≤ 0.02) were detected in the amount of exercise that a child perceived to be required to offset a large meal and in several key self-esteem scores. No improvements were detected in physical activities (P ≥ 0.21). CONCLUSIONS: The improvement in some key self-esteem scores and nutrition knowledge may act as a mediator to motivate these children to adopt a healthier lifestyle in the future.

Body weight has no impact on self-esteem of minority children living in inner city, low-income neighborhoods: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: The relationship between body weight and self-esteem among underserved minority children is not well documented. METHODS: We measured the self-esteem profile using the Self-Perception Profile for Children among 910 minority children at 17 Houston community centers. RESULTS: Weight status had no effect on any of the self-esteem scores among the minority children (P ≥ 0.21). Black children had higher scholastic competence than Hispanic children (P = 0.05). Social acceptance was not affected by age, gender, and race/ethnicity (P ≥ 0.13). Significant age x gender (P = 0.006) and race x gender (P = 0.005) interactions were detected on athletic competence. The younger boys had higher athletic competence than the younger and older girls (P ≤ 0.01). The older boys had higher athletic competence than the older girls (P = 0.008) but their scores were not different from those of the younger girls (P = 0.07). Within each race/ethnicity group, boys had higher athletic competence than girls (P ≤ 0.03). Black boys had higher athletic competence than Hispanic girls (P = 0.007) but their scores were not different from those of the Hispanic boys (P = 0.08). Age and gender had no effect on physical appearance but black children had higher scores than Hispanic children (P = 0.05). Behavioral conduct was not affected by age, gender, or race/ethnicity (P ≥ 0.11). There was an age x gender interaction on global self-worth (P = 0.02) with boys having similar scores regardless of ages (P = 0.40) or ethnicity (P = 0.98). However, boys from both age groups had higher global self-worth than the older girls (P ≤ 0.04) but their scores were not different from those of the younger girls (P ≥ 0.07). CONCLUSIONS: For the first time, we documented that being normal weight did not necessarily guarantee positive self-esteem among minority children. Their self-esteem scores were similar to those found among children who were diagnosed with obesity and obesity-related co-morbidities and lower than those reported among normal-weight white children. Therefore, activities to promote self-esteem are important when working with underserved minority children in order to promote a healthy lifestyle.

Sleep duration of underserved minority children in a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Short sleep duration has been shown to associate with increased risk of obesity. Childhood obesity is more prevalent among underserved minority children. The study measured the sleep duration of underserved minority children living in a large US urban environment using accelerometry and its relationship with BMI, socioeconomic status (SES), gender, ethnicity and physical activity. METHODS: Time spent on sleep and physical activity among 333 Hispanic and 150 black children (9-12 y) was measured objectively by accelerometry over 5-7 consecutive days. The children were recruited at 14 underserved community centers in Houston, Texas, between January 2009 and February 2011. Body weight and height were measured in duplicate. RESULTS: The majority of children (88.8%) wore the monitor for 6 consecutive days. The children slept 8.8 ± 0.6 (mean ± SD) h/d and spent 45 ± 24 min/d on moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA). Hispanic children slept 0.2 h/d longer (P<0.001) than black children. Obese children slept 0.2 h/d less (P<0.02) than normal-weight children. SES had no effect on sleep duration. There was a significant interaction between gender and age (P<0.03); girls aged 11-12 y slept 0.3 h/d less than boys and the younger girls. Children slept 0.6 h/d longer (P<0.001) during the weekend than weekdays. No relation was detected between sleep duration and MVPA time. CONCLUSIONS: Minority children living in a large metropolitan area in the US are not meeting the National Sleep Foundation recommendation for sleep duration of 10-11 h/d. Longitudinal studies based on objective measures are needed to establish causality between sleep duration and obesity risk among minority children.