Results from the Lennox Park Community Survey!

Click the image above to download the report

The Asian and Pacific Islander Obesity Prevention Alliance (APIOPA), along with our community-based partners Guam Communications Network (GCN) and Tongan Community Service Center (TCSC), are proud to present the results of our community survey of the Pacific Islander community in Lennox.

This survey was done as a part of our First 5 LA-funded project around Safe, Active Family Environments for Asians and Pacific Islanders (SAFE for APIs), which is a project where we are advocating that public parks adopt standards for safety, cleanliness and culturally competent family programming to promote active and healthy lifestyles for API community members.

In this report compiled by our researcher Brittany Morey, there is in-depth analysis of thoughts and perceptions of neighborhood parks in the growing Tongan community in Lennox, CA. With the help of Tongan youth interviewers, we were able to compile over 40 surveys from the local community, and find some very staggering results.

Results from the Victoria Park Community Survey

Download the report by clicking above!

The Asian and Pacific Islander Obesity Prevention Alliance (APIOPA), along with our community-based partners Guam Communications Network (GCN) and Tongan Community Service Center (TCSC), are proud to present the results of our community survey of the Pacific Islander community in Carson.

This survey was done as a part of our First 5 LA-funded project around Safe, Active Family Environments for Asians and Pacific Islanders (SAFE for APIs), which is a project where we are advocating that public parks adopt standards for safety, cleanliness and culturally competent family programming to promote active and healthy lifestyles for API community members.

In this report compiled by our researcher Brittany Morey, there is in-depth analysis of thoughts and perceptions of neighborhood parks in the growing Pacific Islander community in Carson, CA. With the help of Chamorro community members as interviewers, we were able to compile over 40 surveys from the local community, and find some very staggering results.

Key Findings:

Thousands of overweight children missed by BMI measure: research

Around three in ten children aged between two and 15 are thought to be overweight or obese, according to the latest official statistics.

However this is based on the schools measurement programme which uses Body Mass Index, a calculation of a person’s weight in kilograms divided by the square of their height in metres and plotted on a growth chart to take into account their age.

Now experts have said this is leading to an underestimate of the extent of the childhood obesity problem because it does not take into account where on the body the children are carrying their extra weight.

If waist circumference was used as well as BMI, then four out of ten children would be classed as overweight or obese, the researchers said.

Fat around the middle is most hazardous to health and is known to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and this is missed by BMI, researchers from Leeds Metropolitan University said.

‘Obese children struggle in classroom as well’

It’s known that obese children are prone to health hazards such as asthma and diabetes. Now, a new study has found they are more likely to struggle in the classroom as well.

Researchers in the US found that youngsters who were overweight from the ages of three to nine performed worse on a maths test than their slim peers.

The findings, published in the journal Child Development, add to a growing body of research that suggests obesity is linked to poorer academic performance and therefore long-term career prospects.

“Our study suggests that obesity in the early years of school, especially obesity that persists across the elementary grades, can harm children’s social and emotional well-being and academic performance,” lead author Sara Gable, from the University of Missouri, was quoted as saying by ‘Daily Mail’.

The team from the University of Missouri, the University of California in Los Angeles and the University of Vermont looked at a nationally representative sample of more than 6,250 children.