CO-OP Humboldt Park,
the newest project of Vida/SIDA

“Con familias saludables, nuestra comunidad hecha p’alante”

CO-OP Humboldt Park (Community Organizing for Obesity Prevention) is a new program of the Puerto Rican Cultural Center that seeks to build a network of community groups and individuals, medical facilities, and elected officials to create awareness of obesity, related illnesses and create community based solutions to this epidemic. A recent study found that 25% of adults in the United States are obese. In Humboldt Park that figure is 35%. Obesity puts our community at risk for diabetes, heart disease, and arthritis.

CO-OP Humboldt Park Comes to
Fiesta Boricua

Miguel Morales and Steve Whitman

On September 5, 2004 Community Organizing for Obesity Prevention in Humboldt Park (CO-OP Humboldt Park), made a splash on Division Street.  This new project has been organized by the Puerto Rican Cultural Center, is assisted by the Sinai Urban Health Institute (SUHI) and the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children (CLOCC), and is funded by the Otho Sprague Memorial Institute.  The purpose is to help the residents of Humboldt Park create a healthier life style characterized by exercise, activity, and healthy eating.  In the end we hope to reduce the problem of obesity in the community since obesity is a cause of such illnesses as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and more.

We thought that it would be important to begin this project by understanding how much obesity exists in Humboldt Park.  Although there are several ways to measure obesity, the most common is to use Body Mass Index or BMI.  The BMI of a person depends upon that person’s height and weight.  For example, if a person is 5’8” and weighs 180 pounds, then that person has a BMI of 27.  If the person is 5’8” and weighs 220 pounds, then that person has a BMI of 34.  Researchers and doctors agree that it is good to have a BMI less than 25.  If a person has a BMI between 25 and 30 we say that this person is “overweight.”  If the person has a BMI greater than 30, we say that the person is “obese.”

So, on September 5th outreach workers spent the day on Division Street asking people attending Fiesta Boricua to complete a one-page survey.  517 were completed and the data were all entered into a computer for analysis.  In addition each person had his or her height and weight measured.  422 surveys were for adults and 95 were for children.  About 70% of the people who completed the survey said that they were Puerto Rican, 40% were males and most were between the ages of 18 and 59.

Adult Obesity Levels

The BMI results were as follows:

		Sinai Survey	Sinai Survey
	Our Survey	Humboldt Park	West Town	Chicago	US
Under/Normal	25%	28%	43%
Overweight	38%	37%	32%
Obese	36%	35%	25%	24%	22%

Two important observations are clear from this table.  First, the obesity levels in Humboldt Park (around 35%) are much higher than they are for the United States (for which 22% are obese) and Chicago (for which 24% are obese).  Second, the results from this street survey agree well with the results from the Improving Community Health Survey, a very large study conducted two years ago by the Sinai Urban Health Institute and funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, which also measured obesity in Humboldt Park and West Town.

Self-Rated Health

As can be seen from the graph at the below, people who were obese reported much less exercise and also said much more often that their health was “fair or poor” (and not “excellent or good”).

Child Obesity Levels

Obesity levels for the 95 children who were in the survey were even higher (worse) than the adult levels.  For example, the survey showed that 47% of the children were obese.  This can be compared with about 13% of children in the United States and 24% in a survey done in New York City schools.  Thus, our children in Humboldt Park have obesity levels that are three to four times higher than for children in the rest of the United States.

It is also very important to note that 56% of caregivers of overweight children said that their children were “about the right weight or underweight.”  That is, these caregivers were not accurately understanding that their children were having problems with obesity.  These situation must be remedied.  If they are not, obese children will likely grow into obese adults and many of these will suffer from serious health problems.

Updates

Aside from the surveys conducted at Fiesta Boricua on September 5, CO-OP Humboldt Park is conducting ten focus groups during the month of October to obtain input from the Puerto Rican community and create culturally appropriate interventions to prevent overweight and obesity.  The focus group participants are mothers of children 3-5, child-care providers, community leaders, restaurant and bodega owners, overweight women, and teenagers.

On October 6, 2004, CO-OP Humboldt Park helped to walk children to Von Humboldt Elementary School for International Walk to School Day, organized by TASK (Transportation that is Active and Safe for Kids), the Mayors Fitness Council and other community groups. Promotion of walking and other physical activity is an integral part of the Community of Wellness concept. CO-OP Humboldt Park is the first step in this project. 

To advance the Community of Wellness further, the Puerto Rican Agenda Health Committee will hold a Summit on Tuesday, November 9 at 8:30 am at Association House.  Community organizations will discuss a proposal that includes creation of a health track in schools that would entail dual bi-lingual/Spanish preparation for various health careers and insure that students return to serve the community; HIV/AIDS education and prevention; promotion of physical activity (in conjunction with such partners as the Park District and the YMCA); health education that encompasses nutrition from the perspective of the various demographic groups; and mental health services.  In essence, the proposal is the blueprint for a vehicle that would address the health disparities outlined in the study conducted by Sinai Urban Health Institute.

Conclusion

In conclusion, we have seen that obesity, which is a very serious health problem in the United States as a whole, is particularly serious in Humboldt Park among both adults and children.  Recognizing a problem is the first step in fixing it.  CO-OP Humboldt Park, with the help of all of you who took time out during the Fiesta to complete our surveys, has taken this important first step.  Now, together, we must take the next steps and improve the situation.  As our slogan says: “Con familias saludables, nuestra comunidad hecha pa’lante.”  (In English, this means “With healthy families, our community will be able to advance and move ahead.