At A Glance
As of August 2015, more than 10,000 K-12 students attend healthier afterschool programs in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Public Health Commission (BPHC) partnered with Harvard Prevention Research Center (PRC) and the YMCA Greater Boston to implement the Out of School Nutrition and Physical Activity (OSNAP) Initiative. More than 120 afterschool programs learned how to create environments that promote healthy eating and physical activity. The work was funded, in part, by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Public Health Challenge
Childhood obesity is a growing health concern across the United States. In Boston alone, more than a third (39.9%) of students who attend Boston Public Schools are overweight or obese (Massachusetts Department of Public Health, 2011). The statistics are even more alarming for Black and Latino youth, who experience higher obesity rates than their White peers. BPHC wanted to set up strategies to reduce the overall rates of childhood obesity and give all young people access to conditions that promote the best possible health, particularly those in high-need areas. Afterschool programs were identified as a key setting to focus obesity prevention efforts. According to the Afterschool Alliance, more than 8 million children are enrolled in afterschool programs across the country. Even with competing demands and limited resources, these settings can have a major impact on youth health outcomes.
Approach
BPHC partnered with YMCA Greater Boston and the PRC to implement the OSNAP Initiative. This intervention has proven effective at helping afterschool and other out-of-school-time programs improve nutrition and physical activity practices. With community partners, BPHC introduced OSNAP to afterschool programs across Boston, prioritizing five neighborhoods that experience the highest health disparities. Participating afterschool sites received educational materials, training, and technical assistance to create healthier afterschool programs. Staff evaluated the access that children have to opportunities like increased physical activity, reduced screen time, and healthier food and drinks.