Physical Activity In Latino Preschool-Aged Children

2. It is also important for parents establish a routine of physical fitness into the child’s life. You could go for walk, go hiking, bike riding, or got them involved in sports at your local YMCA. If physical activity is not a part of the family’s life, it may be difficult for the child to pick up these habits and could be just an ongoing issue that gets passed on through generations.

The cultural factor is not the only thing responsible for these habits, also because many Latino Americans in a household where both parents work is sometimes easier and cheaper to just get some fatty or junk food instead of buying fruits and vegetables (Heart Association, 2015). We also have to consider the social-economical factor within the Latino American population where resources are less available than other groups in the United States and their limitation and understanding the role of maintaining a healthy lifestyle can benefit their overall health. Latino Americans are less likely to afford the resources and time to exercise, most of Latino Americans cannot afford the high cost of fitness facilities and professional trainers unlike other Americans. It is important also to highlight that the number of Latino Americans are employed in physical labor jobs which make them tired and often they lack the time and energy to engage in fitness programs that can help them minimize their risks of heart

1.1 Explain why physical activity is important to the short and long term health and well being of children.

The Southwest United States is an area of great diversity. It is located on the border between the US and Mexico. In this region there are four main ethnicities represented: Hispanics, African Americans, Anglo Americans, and Native Americans. These groups interact daily working in the same offices and going to school together. Youth of each ethnicity face risks as they grow up. By focusing on the Hispanic adolescent girl the extent of the possible risks to one ethnicity can be explored. These risks will include motivation at school, the risk of dropping out of school, the at-risk classification, which includes gang involvement, and teen pregnancy. The results of studies focused

I chose this population due to the large numbers, the poverty level, and the risk for obesity. Statistically, the Hispanic/Latino school aged population rated one of the lowest populations to be physically fit. They also ranked lower on fruit and vegetable consumption. Hispanic/Latinos also have a very low prevalence of higher education compared to the other races and ethnicities. They also rank highest in languages other than English spoken at home ("Healthy Kern County:: Better health through community," 2015). If there is a high adult obesity problem, children are at risk because they are at the mercy of the adult food choices and activity examples they set, because it is usually the adults purchasing the food in the home. Contributing factors to the risk for overweight or obesity, the low fruit and vegetable intake, and the low activity can be attributed to cultural norms, language barriers, and lack of money to buy healthier options. Other factors include unsafe neighborhoods and lack of activity outside of school and ease of purchasing less healthy foods. The change in the education system over the years has led to decreased activity time. Attention to test scores has taken precedence over teaching about health (Espinosa-Hall et al., 2007). Also, in Kern County, the climate is a contributing factor to outdoor activities, with temperatures in the high 90’s and over 100 degrees during the summer ("Bakersfield,

The Ethnic minority populations, such as the African Americans, are more likely to be physically inert and experience higher levels of obesity and other sustained conditions than the other ethnic majority counterparts. This disparity may be connected in part to socio-economic status, lack of access to healthful foods and exercise facilities, and varying access to and utilization of health care services .The African Americans are likely impacted by both numerous factors such as self efficacy, and unsafe environments . Becoming more physically active demand cost and safety due to poor access and utilization of health services (de Oliveira et al., 2016).

Obesity is a chronic disease that eventually threatens the life of a child. It has become common today to observe the alarming exponential growth in childhood obesity in the U.S. As an illustration, in California, obesity has become more noticeable in Latino children than in other cultural groups. (Tung & McDonough, 2014). Although maintaining a healthy weight may seem insignificant for some Latino families, it is in effect essential in terms of today’s concern over the health of Latino children. Unfortunately, child obesity is a combination of different elements: junk-food and high- calorie diets, sedentary lifestyle, “super-size” portions, marketing of junk food, and finally, negligence of families and schools. As a matter of fact, Latinos are the largest ethnic group in California. According to the U.S. Census Bureau indicates that in 2014, 38.6% of the total population in California are Latinos, and the largest minority group in the U.S. (Centre for Reviews and Dissemination, 2014). In addition, Statistics reveal that 40% of Latino children in California are overweight (Falbe, Cadiz, Tantoco, Thomson, & Madsen. 2015). The California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) results suggest that Hispanic children and youth were the ethnic group at the highest risk of being overweight in California (Weiss, Yepa, Mouttapa, McMahan, & Gedissman, 2015). For that reason, it is vital to address the serious public health

Another physical socialization practice that African American parents must instill in their children is to keep them physically active by making them go outside more or partaking in sports. For parents, pushing African American children to become physically active can improve their “weight, cardio-metabolic health, and bone mineral density” (Thind et al., 2015). Today, you barely see African American children partaking in any physical activity. It seems that all of them want to do nowadays is stay in the house, watch TV, and get on their phones. Growing up as a young boy, I was get on to a lot for not going outside enough and not playing with the other kids. As I got older, I started to go outside more and also partake in two sports activities

The absence of activity and proper rest has been associated with obesity in children, adolescents and adults. Physical activity habits, and, specifically, inactivity, track significantly from adolescence into young adulthood. Because poor children have fewer opportunities for outdoor exercise or organized sports participation, we expect physical activity will mediate the effects of

It is widely known that the physical activity (PA) levels for children are not being met world wide. There are a myriad of activities and movements that children can participate to receive the recommended 60 minutes a day of PA. However, how do parents have an influence on the physical activity their children are receiving? Gwendolyn Kay VanDerworp and Sarah-Jane Ryan’s 2014 article “Parents’ Perception of their Influence on their Child’s Physical Activity” studies how parents perceive their influence on there children’s PA. During this interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) study, three major themes arose in how they perceived their influence on PA. These themes; environment of opportunity, negative barriers, and their interactions with their children, served as the foundation of the article. In this paper I will discuss the findings of VanDerworp and Ryan’s research and how parental influences effect children’s PA.

Hispanics and Latin-Americans are the largest ethnic minority in the US. They report the lowest amount of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) with only 26% of them meeting the Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, in comparison to 38% of non-Latino whites. The Social Ecological model proposes that physical activity (PA) behaviors are affected at multiple levels, as well as the social environments. The aim of this study is to explain and examine the social ecological model of PA among Mexican-Americans residing in the US-Mexico border in San Diego, California. The authors hypothesis were the following: (1) adjustment to culture would have a positive impact on LTPA, (2) social relations in the neighborhood would have an impact on neighborhood

An, R., Yang, Y., & Li, K. (2017). Residential neighborhood amenities and physical activity among U.S. children with special health care needs. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 21(5), 1026-1036.

Hispanic children revealed patterns in health status by income, education, and activity level, but not in mortality, activity, or eating habits (Braveman, Cubbin, Egerter, Williams, & Pamuk, 2010).

Parents are too reliant on cars instead of running their simple errands to stores on foot with their children. Other parents are very concerned with their child’s safety at the park or in the street without any parental vision. The lack of physical activity in children often translates into poor eating habits, and lack of exercise as adults, expanding their risk factors of poor health.

Physical activity is vital for the healthy growth and development of toddler and infants. For toddlers, play is an essential part of learning. It's how they develop physical skills, confidence and life skills for the future. There are many available options for infants to go and play and develop those skills, like GymbaROO or Kids Aquatic Survival School (KASS) that provide lots of opportunities and benefits for the kids.