Learning Objectives

After completion of this module students will be able to:

• Describe the relationship between neighborhood food environments and obesity.
• Define food desert.
• Explain the relationship between neighborhoods and physical activity.
• Identify community policies that could influence obesity.

Key Concepts - Neighborhood Influences:

• Energy input/output is impacted by access to restaurants, grocery stores, parks, food costs.
• School food environment differs by neighborhood.
• The definition of food desert is an area without access to fresh food.
• Neighborhood influences contribute to disparities (e.g., health outcomes by race or SES).
• There’s low availability of fresh and quality food in low income neighborhoods.
• Prevention and interventions that impact neighborhood food environment can include building super markets, expanding convenience stories to include healthier food options, and economic support for families who are financially in need of public assistance.

Key Concepts - Space and Physical Activity in Minority Populations

• Overweight and obesity rates among ethnic and racial minorities are particularly high.
• Minorities account for of 90 percent of population growth in the United States, so it’s important to think about these trends.
• Physical activity among minority populations is low; about 18% of African Americans and 15% of Hispanic Americans met the U.S. recommendations for physical activity.
• Some reasons for why minorities don’t participate as much in physical activity include SES and costs associated with physical activity, long work hours of parents, lack of resources such as time and money, and cultural influences on weight perceptions.
• Neighborhood influences on physical activity includes lack of parks or options, lack of transportation to parks, knowledge of opportunities/resources, and high rates of crime.

Video Microlectures

• Video: Neighborhood Influences on Dietary Behavior and Obesity Risk
  Dr. Angela Odoms-Young, Department of Kinesiology and Nutrition, University of Illinois-Chicago

• Video: Space, Physical Activity, and Minority Populations
  Dr. Monika Stodolska; Department of Recreation, Sport, & Tourism; University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Optional Readings

• Kumanyika, S. K. (2008). Environmental influences on childhood obesity: ethnic an cultural influences in context. Physiology & Behavior, 94(1), 61-70.
• Stodolska, M., Shinew, K. J., Acevedo, J.C., & Izenstark, D. (2011). Perceptions of urban parks as havens and contested terrains by Mexican-Americans in Chicago neighborhoods. Leisure Sciences, 33, 103-126.
• Stodolska, M., Shinew, K., & Floyd, M. (2013). Race, ethnicity, and leisure. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.