Live Light
Live Right
Background
Childhood obesity has become a public health epidemic in the U.S. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (C.D.C.), during the past three decades, the prevalence of childhood obesity has increased four-fold, from 5 to over 20 percent. Overweight children and adolescents are at high risk for future health problems and chronic illnesses, including type II diabetes, severe asthma, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, pulmonary disease, sleep apnea and even certain types of cancer. By compromising a child’s health status, obesity also leads to higher rates of absenteeism and poor school performance. In New York City, nearly 40 percent of elementary school students in kindergarten through 5th grade are overweight or obese, defined as body mass index (B.M.I.) above the 85th or 95th percentile, respectively, for children of the same age and gender. Nearly 25 percent of younger children who are only ages two to four in NYC Head Start programs are also obese.
The Live Light Live Right program is based at Brookdale Hospital, a nonprofit teaching hospital in Brownsville, Brooklyn. Over 95 percent of patients are African American and Latino and 40 percent live below the federal poverty line. Two-thirds of children in the community ages 5 to 11 are overweight and 43 percent obese—three times the alarming national average. Among adults in the area, mortality rates due to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and H.I.V./AIDS are double those of New York City overall. The teenage pregnancy rate is also among the highest in the city. In addition to significant health disparities, Brownsville also suffers from high incidences of domestic violence, incarceration, and foster care removal and is among the neighborhoods producing the greatest number of entries into the homeless shelter system.
In New York City public elementary schools, student-teacher ratios for physical education are estimated to be 730 to 1, and nearly half of schools offer no after school sports or fitness activities at all. As with many underserved communities, it is no surprise that the neighborhood does not offer residents many safe spaces for physical activity. The area also lacks farmers’ markets and major grocery chains with fresh fruits and vegetables-- families are forced to frequently turn to bodegas and fast food outlets.