Health
Nutritional Lessons Boost Health of Latinos
- Shears in hand, two youngsters take part in a USC research project based on gardening and cooking.
- Photo/Teresa Luong
By Leslie Ridgeway on August 3, 2011 9:28 AM
Latino children who participated in an interventional gardening, nutrition and cooking program experienced significant health improvements, including lower body mass index and lower blood pressure, according to a study by researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC and the UCLA School of Public Health.
The research, led by Jaimie Davis of the Keck School and Nicole Gatto of UCLA, resulted in a significant decrease in blood pressure, an increase in fiber intake and a drop in body mass index and rate of weight gain among children who participated in the 12-week L.A. Sprouts program. According to Davis, this is the first research to look at the effects of a gardening program on obesity measures. The research is published in the August edition of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association.
“There has been a grassroots movement across America for a garden-based approach to nutrition, but not a lot of hard science on outcomes,” said Davis, assistant professor in the Department of Preventive Medicine at the Keck School. “It surprised me that this intervention worked as well as some of our clinical metabolic studies. We’re happy that a more community-based intervention based on gardening and cooking worked so well.”
Previous research by the USC Childhood Obesity Research Center indicates that more than 50 percent of Latino children in Los Angeles are overweight and more than 30 percent have health issues that may lead to type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular problems later in life. This population tends to eat a lot of refined grains and added sugar but few fruits and vegetables.
The study followed 100 mostly low-income Latino fourth- and fifth-graders at a nearby Los Angeles elementary school who were participating in L.A.’s BEST, an after-school enrichment program. L.A. Sprouts brought 34 students once a week to the Milagro Allegro Community Garden in Highland Park for 90-minute educational sessions focusing on cooking, gardening and nutrition. Seventy other students were controls.
Students participating in L.A. Sprouts learned easy, healthy recipes, as well as tips for adding healthier foods to their diets, how much hidden sugar is in sodas and other beverages, and other food information. A University of California Cooperative Extension master gardener taught students the basics of gardening. Students also were given vouchers by the Old L.A. Farmers Market and traveled monthly to the market to buy fresh fruits and vegetables for their families.
Students’ dietary habits, weight, blood pressure, attitudes toward food and classroom engagement were measured at the beginning and end of the 12 weeks. Compared to controls, the L.A. Sprouts children charted a 5 percent decrease in diastolic blood pressure and a 22 percent increase in consumption of dietary fiber. Participating overweight children saw a 1 percent decrease in body mass index compared to a 1 percent increase in body mass index in the control group, while overweight L.A. Sprouts participants only gained two pounds compared to an average of more than four pounds by children in the control group.
L.A. Sprouts participants also showed a 16 percent increase in overall preference for vegetables. Participants’ view of their ability to cook and garden changed, and most children believed fruits and vegetables from the garden tasted better than store-bought fruits and vegetables.
“Kids feel more invested when they know where the food comes from,” Davis said. “They find that vegetables taste better if they grow them, pick them, cook them and eat them. Being more involved in processes makes them feel proud of themselves.”
On the horizon is a USC Childhood Obesity Research Center study involving four Northeast Los Angeles elementary schools that will measure the effect of a gardening intervention on school performance, dietary intake, body mass index, type 2 diabetes risk factors and metabolic syndrome, Davis said.
The study was supported by the USC Childhood Obesity Research Center and the Kaiser Permanente Foundation, as well as volunteer efforts by USC and UCLA preventive health and public health students, the Milagro Allegro Community Garden, South Central Farmers, Whole Foods Arroyo Parkway (Pasadena), Old L.A. Farmers Market, Homegirl Café, Slow Food Los Angeles and L.A.’s BEST.
TAGS: community top story, health, research
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