In This Version

• 23% of Young Adults At Risk
• 2005’s Hottest Trends
• Getting More Physical: New Health Guidelines
• California by the Numbers: Obesity, Fitness, etc.

New “At Risk Group”: Young Adults

This year’s KIDS COUNT report featuring the 10 Key Indicators of Child Well-Being reveals the following about youth in the United States:

• Good News: Improvement on 8 of the 10 indicators
• Mixed News: Childhood poverty is declining in every state, but the overall rate of childhood poverty in the U.S. is the highest in the developed world
• Bad News: One in six young adults are “disconnected”

While the good news is heartening, the trend that bears watching is the 4 million young adults who are “disconnected” and having a tough transition to successful adulthood. The focus on this group included the following information:

• One in six young adults ages, 18 through 24, are not working, have no degree beyond high school, and are not enrolled in school
• The percentage of these “disconnected” youth is approximately 15% of the total age group
• Over the past 3 years, there has been a 19% increase; an additional 700,000 youth becoming “disconnected” and facing a tough transition to successful adulthood.
• Most of this group from poverty backgrounds
• Disproportionately minority backgrounds
• Defining experiences: teens in foster care, teens involved with juvenile justice, teens with children of their own, and teens who didn’t finish high school

As cited earlier in this section, there is a great deal of good news or at least steady progress on a number of the key indicators as follows:

About this information: KIDS COUNT is a national and state-by-state effort to track the status of children in the U.S. Every year for the past 15 years, the Annie E. Casey Foundation releases this report over-viewing the 10 Key Indicators of Child Well-Being. Please note that while the data is for 2001, it is the most current data available. Website: www.aecf.org

What’s Hot for 2005?

Every year ENTREPRENEUR Magazine identifies the coming year’s hottest trends in franchising businesses. The premise is that if people are starting businesses in these areas, then there must be an underlying need or sizeable market for that trend area. This year’s hottest franchising trends include:

• Fitness and weight loss
• eBay drop-off stores
• Children's tutoring / enrichment programs
• Senior care

Other than the “eBay drop-off stores” which reaffirm the growing desire on the part of people to exchange some money as a way to retain their precious time, every single one of these trends translates into “parks and recreation.”
(Source: ENTREPRENEUR, January 2005)

More is the Word: New Physical Activity Recommendations

On January 12 of this year – just in time to coincide with people breaking well-intended resolutions to eat better and exercise more - HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced the release of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. The major focus of the advice in this federal government's science-based report promoting health and reducing risk of chronic diseases is to eat better and less and increase levels of physical activity. This is the sixth edition of Dietary Guidelines for Americans and this edition places stronger emphasis on reducing calorie consumption and increasing physical activity. A joint project of the Departments of Health and Human Services and Agriculture, these guidelines supports the nutrition and physical fitness pillars of President Bush's HealthierUS Initiative.

The greater emphasis placed upon physical activity includes the following key recommendations that go well beyond the previous recommendation of 30 minutes per day

• Engage in regular physical activity and reduce sedentary activities to promote health, psychological well-being, and a healthy body weight.
  • To reduce the risk of chronic disease in adulthood: Engage in at least 30 minutes of moderate-intensity physical activity, above usual activity, at work or home on most days of the week.
  • For most people, greater health benefits can be obtained by engaging in physical activity of more vigorous intensity or longer duration.
  • To help manage body weight and prevent gradual, unhealthy body weight gain in adulthood: Engage in approximately 60 minutes of moderate- to vigorous-intensity activity on most days of the week while not exceeding caloric intake requirements.
  • To sustain weight loss in adulthood: Participate in at least 60 to 90 minutes of daily moderate-intensity physical activity while not exceeding caloric intake requirements. Some people may need to consult with a healthcare provider before participating in this level of activity.
• Achieve physical fitness by including cardiovascular conditioning, stretching exercises for flexibility, and resistance exercises or calisthenics for muscle strength and endurance.

How Does California Measure Up? Obesity, Activity, Fitness…

California shares the obesity epidemic of the rest of the country as indicated by:

• Obesity represents a public health challenge of equal magnitude to that of tobacco.
• Poor diet and physical inactivity are the second leading causes of death and disability, resulting in nearly 30,000 deaths each year in California.
• The rate of overweight in Californians has increased from 38 percent in 1984 to 57 percent in 2003.
• Everybody - all gender, age, and race/ethnic groups have shown an increase during the past decade.
• Californians below the poverty level are disproportionately affected.
• Economic burden of overweight, obesity, and physical inactivity in adults cost $25 billion in California in 2000; expected to rise to $35 billion this year for medical care, lost productivity, and workers’ compensation.

Overweight and obesity is defined as having a Body Mass Index (BMI) 25 or over. The following chart identified such levels among various race and ethnic groups living in California:

Source: California Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey, 2004

What about physical activity or inactivity?

• Good News: 46% of California adults meet the recommended levels of physical activity (Definitions: Recommended levels of physical activity according to 2001 criteria entail: 1) self-reported moderate-intensity activities for at least 30 minutes a day, 5 days a week or more (e.g., brisk walking, bicycling, vacuuming, gardening, or other activities that cause small increases in heart rate and breathing); or 2) vigorous-intensity activity for at least 20 minutes a day, 3 days a week or more (e.g., running, aerobics, heavy yard work or other activities that cause large increases in heart rate and breathing). Sources: Prevalence of Physical Activity, Including Lifestyle Activities Among Adults --- United States, 2000--2001, Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report, Volume 52, Issue 32, August 15, 2003, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
• Bad News: 27% of adults report no physical activity (Definitions: Subjects classified as inactive reported no leisure time activities that cause increases in heart rate and or breathing (e.g., running, calisthenics, golf, gardening, or walking). (Sources: Prevalence of Physical Activity, Including Lifestyle Activities Among Adults --- United States, 2000--2001, Mortality and Morbidity Weekly Report, Volume 52, Issue 32, August 15, 2003, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)

California Kids by the Numbers

California’s children are experiencing health problems both physical and emotional due to overweight and obesity; in addition they are experiencing adult-like medical problems at astonishingly younger ages.

A 2002 study, An Epidemic: Overweight and Unfit Children in California Assembly Districts, from the California Center for Public Health Advocacy revealed that:

• 26.5% of the state’s students are overweight.
• 39.6% of the state’s students are considered unfit.
• Urban Los Angeles County and the rural Central Valley have the highest rates of overweight.
• African-American and Latino youth face higher rates of overweight and poor fitness than White and Asian youth.

Data from the 2003 California Department of Education FITNESSGRAM assesses the percentage of students in three different grade levels who met the minimum fitness levels. Results as follows:

• Only 23% of the students tested in grade five
• 27.1% of students tested in grade seven
• 24.1% of students in grade nine met the minimum fitness standards.

(Definition: FITNESSGRAM which assesses six major fitness areas, including aerobic capacity, body composition, abdominal strength and endurance, trunk strength and flexibility, upper body strength and endurance, and overall flexibility) (Source: California Department of Education Fitnessgram 2003)

TIPs (Trends Into Practice)

Unfortunately health, obesity, and lack of physical activity continue to challenge both government at all levels and individuals everywhere. This unfortunate trend continues to translate into opportunities for parks and recreation.

The majority of American adults have not been able to meet the previous physical activity prescription: 30 minutes of moderate intensity activity on 5 days of the week. If this is the case, how can they be expected to and/or motivated to undertake 60 minutes or even 90 minutes of physical activity on most days of the week?

The time usage experts indicate that it isn’t about “lack of time”. Repeatedly such studies suggest that we do have the time, but we just don’t seem to be physically active during these periods of discretionary time.

What role can parks and recreation play in this challenge?

• Identify the periods of time when we are in direct contact (and a certain degree of control) of children such as summer day camps and after school programs. Train staff and challenge them to infuse more positive, enjoyable physical activity into existing programs.
• Offer opportunities for people to try experiencing try new activities. Sometimes people have not been able to find the physical activity that either fits into their lifestyle or is enjoyable for them. Create “less investment” intense opportunities for a variety of physical activities so people don’t have to commit to 8 classes or purchase special equipment or clothing.
• Remind adults that they likely had some favorite physical activities in their youth and suggest ways they might rekindle the interest or become re-involved with the activity.
• Bring back the lifetime skills. There was a time when physical education focused upon teaching youth lifetime skills – those physical activities that could be enjoyed throughout the life span. It may very well be time to introduce or re-introduce those old standbys.
• Make time for adults in the more youthful physical activity areas. Remember, it’s a new world and the participants in skateboarding are not all between the ages of 10 and 20.

Good Luck – residents will be pleased to have the opportunities to put “fun” back into the fundamental need for physical activity. Please Note: Physical activity can be exercise, but it doesn’t have to be!

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trendSCAN is created by CPRS by Leisure Lifestyle Consulting of Sarasota, FL. Comments and questions can be directed to Dr. Ellen O’Sullivan at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it . Please feel free to share interesting trend information with her as well.