Rebecca Anguiano

ETHS 2430-003
Final Paper
5/3/16
Hispanic Students vs. Child Obesity
Over the last 30 years, child obesity rates have tripled, most of which are affecting Latino
Children. Because the Latino population is growing more each year, it is the largest minority
group in the United States. From 2003 to 2006, at least 43% of Mexican-American children were
classified as overweight. (Holub 2014 p.1) Considering that most Hispanic parents work various
amounts of shifts throughout the day, their children spend a majority amount of time home alone.
This can lead to an increasing amount of Latchkey kids, children who dont have parents or
guardians to come home to, and most of all unhealthy eating habits. Looking at this issue from a
scholastic system perspective, on average, a typical U.S student spends at least 6 to 7 hours a day
in school. With that being said, in most public schools, students get at least 20 minutes for recess
and a 45 minute lunch break, and most of the students dont even play when out for recess after
the 4th grade. Research shows that most children under the age of 17 should be getting at least 1
hour of physical activity per day. (Benjamin 2008 p.2) This indicates that students arent getting
enough exercise. Although these kinds of problems cant necessarily be stopped, it can definitely
be helped, and one way to do that is by using school as a helpful tool to make a change.
As of lately, many Hispanic and Latino children nationwide already dont have a healthy
lifestyle. Generally, most leading causes for a child to become overweight are obviously a lack of
physical activity, but exercise isnt the only thing that can have an impact. Having an excessive
amount of time spent in front of the T.V and computer screens will not only make kids lazier, but
affect the way they may think about the foods they should eat. In fact, all sorts of ads will only

make children crave fast foods and anything that shouldnt be consumed at their age. The time it
takes these kids to surf the internet and binge watch their favorite shows can be useful time for
them to exercise, rather than sitting and eating an extremely unhealthy amount of junk food.
These kind of unhealthy habits are most common amongst the Hispanic student population,
especially when both parents arent always a part of their day to day lives. Spending more time
alone will only increase these chances.
When focusing on this country alone, it is safe to say that all children live within several
cultural and ethnic backgrounds. As far as the Hispanic or Latino culture goes, most people
within this group are widely known for the foods they make and eat. These are the kind of things
that cant entirely be stopped. Hispanic students are expected to come home to eat high fats and
carbs once school is over. Without the company of the parents these children wont have the
opportunity to at least walk around the block to get the physical activity they need. All which,
can eventually cause unhealthy consequences. According to the Exercise-Based School Obesity
Prevention Programs, students who continue with an unlimited amount of screen time,
unhealthy eating habits, and not enough physical activity have a high risk of having physical
illnesses including cardiovascular diseases, and type 2 diabetes. Overweight children are more
likely to experience psychological problems and social stigmatization.
Judging from this information, we know that at home many students come home to
different things every day and arent necessarily living a healthy lifestyle, but are students given
the chance to be healthy at school? Not entirely. Considering that students spend most of their
time sitting in class, most public schools only allow physical activities to be held at least once a
week for 45 minutes, recess included. According to the Early Childhood Education Blogger
Kayla Faizha, 10% of our preschool children are overweight. When children are overweight

they have an 80% chance to be an obese adult. There is a list of culprits, but the main dangers are
high-fat foods and lack of physical activity. It doesn't help that many school systems have
recently cut physical activity from the school day. It is said that without the correct amount of
physical activity or healthier eating habits every day, students will have less academic
achievement overtime, not to mention the diseases that may come with it. Because most public
schools are cutting out recess from the students schooling, the chances of these things happening
are extremely high.
As mentioned before, overweight children are negatively related to academic
achievement and are more likely to be absent from school. Higher obesity rates are more
common among poor and less educated families, especially within minority groups. This is all
because fatty foods may be a lot cheaper and faster for parents to feed to their children, rather
than making and eating healthier foods. In fact, one source mentions that, Poor children and
children of color have worse access to health care and as a result often start life several steps
behind their wealthier and healthier white peers. (Edelman 2016 p.1) On the other hand, if a
child continues a well-balanced diet and exercise, good things can come out of it. It is said that,
Physically fit students tend to outscore their peers who are less-fit on academic tests, according
to a new report from New York Citys Health Department and Department of Education (DOE).
When creating activities before, during, or even afterschool, students will be more focused, ready
to learn, and overall do better in school than ever before.
With that being said, unlike most public high schools, elementary schools arent offered
after school programs that help provide extra exercise for the students to take advantage of. With
the help of the community, this can change. Hiring volunteers or teachers that are willing to work
for these standards can lead to better outcomes. Because the families of most overweight

students are not aware of the problems obesity can bring, providing them with the education they
all need may be able to help as well. In order to do either of these things, school districts would
have to consider creating an added form of a healthy lifestyle education for both the student and
their parents into the states standards or curriculums. Holding educational events for the families
and inform them of the consequences in both English and Spanish will be just as beneficial.
Although this is one way of handling the situation, it is safe to say that there isnt anything else
being done to help. Other than having mommy and me programs where the students can
exercise with their families in local recreation centers, there isnt much of a variety for the
students to enjoy doing, and chances are, not all students or parents will be involved in those
programs. But my strategy to help the issue certainly does not come cheap.
In a recent interview with the Director of the school Leadership Support for the Salt Lake
City school district, I had questioned Larry Madden on his thoughts about child obesity and how
he believes it should be helped. At one point he stated, Educating is the key. But we need to
make sure to have someone that is familiar with the community. Making people feel comfortable
and welcome to come to school events is important. Parents need to know the right information
from someone they can trust. And I couldnt agree more. When I had mentioned that part of my
strategy includes the implementation of a healthy lifestyle education in Elementary schools on a
day to day basis, I suggested that schools should consider making physical activity a required
part of a students grade as a homework assignment (Healthy rewards may be used for
motivation), which means this would be an addition to the core curriculum and state standards
for elementary schools. He argued that it may take a lot of convincing, considering that the
students schooling schedule is already so busy, but it wouldnt necessarily cost more than it
already does unless an activity might involve fresh healthy snacks or the use of pedometers for

example. As far as promoting more after school programs and sports teams go, Madden made
sure to mention that, This one does cost money. You would need to hire more volunteers
willing to help with the teams or programs. Not to mention providing healthy snacks for the
children when theyre hungry. The Implementation of sports and programs would make it so
students can have the access to school gyms and fields after school hours. But it isnt that easy.
According to (cite here) we know that with the existing after school programs in the U.S, a rough
estimate for after school programing would be at least $1,500 per year per child, not including
the price for providing snacks or sports equipment.
When it comes to holding these types of programs or bilingual events for the families of
the students, not everyone might agree with it. For example, uninvolved Hispanic/Latino parents
would be people who wouldnt agree with the program. This is mainly because most Hispanic or
Latino parents spend a large amount of time working, and there is a language barrier or a fear of
being ridiculed by other people and teachers who attend these events. These are the kind of
things that would decrease the chances of parents showing up to educational events about child
obesity, leading to overweight and unhealthy students. Common cultural misconceptions are also
an example of resistance against the program. I say this because many Hispanic or Latino parents
believe exercise and healthy eating shouldnt be as important as the other assignments given in
schools. Some parents would argue that, Theyre just children. They need to eat a lot in order to
grow. Others would say, How is this a good use of my time? Why should I be doing the
teachers job? Exercise and staying active can be seen as a waste of time to many parents and
believe that their kids need to focus on other homework assignments more. Another area of
resistance would include District administrators. As mentioned earlier, it would take a lot to
convince them for the addition of a healthy lifestyle course into curriculums and the

implementation of sports activities and programs. Finally, the most important area of resistance
would be uninvolved children. Although exercise and healthy eating habits include various
benefits for the students, some of them might not agree with it at all. Some students will find
themselves being lazy, others will most likely lie about their answers in the given lifestyle
homework assignments. It is possible that some of the students might find the course a nonuseful tool for their health or a waste of their time. It is extremely important for teachers and
parents to provide their students motivation to continue an active and healthy lifestyle for their
own good.
In the end, exercise and healthier eating habits can increase a students academic
achievement. It is important to recognize that on average, the Hispanic and Latino student
population are those who will be affected the most with child obesity, compared to the Caucasian
student population, who happen to be the second largest group to be affected by it. If students
dont get the appropriate amount of physical activity or healthy diets as suggested, this can lead
to several diseases such as 2 Diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, and other illnesses that were
caused from being overweight. Because most public schools are cutting recess out from most
students schooling, children are not getting the exercise they need. With the implementation of
sports activities or after school programs, a healthy lifestyle course, and most importantly
educational bilingual events for the parents of elementary students, it can have a powerful impact
on the childrens health; hopefully decreasing the rates of obese children nationwide. Keeping in
mind that it isnt easy for these programs to be created, we must remember that the community
must take part into a solution. Although not all people might agree, child obesity can be helped.
Whether it may be District administrators, parents, students, or even new teachers, it will take a
lot of convincing but it all becomes worth it when our children are healthy. It is proven from

various researchers that the right amount of physical activity and healthy eating can increase
academic achievement. Students are ready to learn and focused if they play and eat the right way.
Spending too much time on the internet and T.V will only make things worse, and it is important
that the Hispanic and Latino parents become aware of the consequences with the right
information. With that, I leave you with the words of the Salt Lake City school district director
Larry Madden who once said, Child obesity is a really big problem but its something you have
to be sensitive with. Many people eat differently at home because of their cultures. With that
being said, we cant necessarily change the community, but we can definitely find a way to work
with it.

Works Cited
Benjamin, Sara E, et al. "Obesity Prevention In Child Care: A Review Of U.S. State
Regulations." BMC Public Health 8.(2008): 188-197. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30
Mar. 2016.
"Childhood Obesity." Early Childhood Education. Blogger, 20111. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.
<http://earlychildhoodeducations.blogspot.com/2012/07/childhood-obesity.html>.
Edelman, Marian Wright. "Children's Health." Children's Defense Fund. CDF Action Council,
2016. Web. 24 Apr. 2016.<http://www.childrensdefense.org/policy/health/>.
Holub, Christina K., et al. "School-Wide Programs Aimed At Obesity Among Latino Youth In
The United States: A Review Of The Evidence." Journal Of School Health 84.4 (2014):
239-246. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30 Mar. 2016.
"Physical Activity Linked to Better Academic Performance." Student Wellness at City Tech.
Wellness Center Staff, 13 July 2009. Web. 24 Apr.
2016. <http://studentwellnessatcitytech.blogspot.com/2009/07/physical-activity-linkedto-better.html>.
Yetter, Georgette. "Exercise-Based School Obesity Prevention Programs: An Overview."
Psychology In The Schools 46.8 (2009): 739-747. Academic Search Premier. Web. 30
Mar. 2016.