15% of children in Chicago are considered obese. How can we help prevent Childhood Obesity? DfA's Childhood Health team is tackling this very issues starting with user research and on-site visits to gain insights from the experts- children, their parents and their teachers. To follow along, check out: www.designforamerica.com

1. Childhood Obesity
in Chicago
DFA: Winter 2011
Thea Klein-Mayer, Cody Hiller, Mark Silberg, Sarah Reibstein,
Shamyle Ghazali, Jacquelyn Thich, Liz Schrier, Harika Rayala,
Brandon Rivera-Melo

2. The Problem
- Tripled within the past 30
years
- Health concerns
High cholesterol/Blood pressure
Cardiovascular disease
Sleep Apnea
Psychological problems
Bone problems
- Many resulting problems
may lead to the exacerbation
of the existing problem

3. In Chicago
Englewood: 97% African American. Children 2-18
Pilsen: 92% Mexican/Other Hispanic. Children 2-18
Chicago: 36% Black, 26% Hispanic, 21% White. Children 3-13
U.S.: 65.6% White, 15.6% Hispanic, 12.8% Black. Children 2-19

4. Causes

5. Focus

6. User Research at the Howard
Area Community Center
Attended a "supper club" and a
nutrition class for children.
Goals:
To assess the impact of, and
challenges facing, nutrition
awareness programs
To learn more about children's
attitude towards food

7. User Research:
Key Insights
Students learned facts about
nutrition, but didn't seem
motivated to incorporate these
lessons into their daily choices
Variation in the age of students
makes it difficult to engage
everyone
Children don't despise healthy
food as a rule, but may be
picky about eating choices

8. Upcoming Research at the
YMCA Evanston
Plan to talk to parents during swim
classes and basketball practices
Goals:
To get the parents' perspectives on what
makes their children healthy or unhealthy
To find out what impacts a parent's
decision making at the grocery store
To see what activities are available at the
center, and who is likely to participate

9. Main Takeaways

10. Main Takeaways

11. 1. Food Cost
Pressures

12. 2. Inaccessible High-Quality Food
walkable access
to healthy food
green: <=1 mile from
supermarket
red: > 1 mile

13. 3. Inaccessible Activity Programs
Gyms Community Centers

14. 3. Activity Programs Work

15. Main Takeaways
Narrow Focus - Better Results

16. Moving forward…
Education or Accessibility?

17. Parents and Food
Educating Parents Providing Access to
Healthy Options
Focus: How do we enable parents to provide healthy
food for their kids?

18. Next Steps
Identify food deserts
Identify nutritional awareness
Identify reasons for food selection