How I Spent My SUMR

FED-UP & SOPARC Projects

By Elena BlebeaMentor: Dr. Amy Hillier

August 13, 2009

Urban Nutrition in Philadelphia:

FED-UP

Snacking in Philadelphia

• 70% of Philadelphia 5-7th graders stopped to buy food on the way to or from school (SNAKs study)

• Elementary Feeder Area in 5 Philadelphia Schools (1 square mile)– Food Opportunities= 10-35 – Average= 21

Purchases

• Avg. daily expenditure= $2.00

• Profitable for Stores– $2 Million/Week

Contributing to Obesity?

Calories: 310

Cal from Fat: 120

Sugars: 30g

Calories: 330

Cal from Fat: 90

Sugars: 39g

Calories: 650

Cal from Fat: 380

Sugars: 30g

Problem• What exactly are children buying?

• Where are they acquiring their food?

• Where are the junk food hotspots? Healthy alternatives?

• Basically, how can we model a local geography of nutrition and determine how neighborhood stores contribute to obesity?

FED-UP Overview• Food and Exercise Diaries For Urban

Places• Blend GIS and Video Game

Technology

What We Have Done• $30,000 Grant from University of

Pennsylvania Research Foundation (2009)

• Digital Media Design Program

• Food database

• Corner Store Surveys

• Food Puppet

ITEM LIL’ ROMEO BBQ HONEY RAP SNACKS

BAR CODE 781231000013

INGREDIENTS Vegetable Oil, Salt, Sugar, Dried Honey, Dextrose, Autolyzed Yeast, Dehydrated Tomato, Dehydrated Onion, Annatto and Turmeric Extract, Dehydrated Garlic, Dehydrated Horseradish, Paprika and Spice Extractives, Natural Hickory Smoke Flavor, BHA and BHT

SERVING SIZE 1 bag (28g)

CALORIES 150

CALORIES FROM FAT 90

TOTAL FAT 10g

SATURATED FAT 3g

TRANS FAT 0g

CHOLESTEROL 0mg

SODIUM 14g

TOTAL CARBOHYDRATES 1g

DIETARY FIBER 1g

SUGARS 2g

PROTEIN 0g

Food Database

Corner Store Surveys• Main food distributor is Jetro• Children and adolescents predominantly

buy snacks and soda• Customer preference and Profit

Food Puppet

The Future of FED-UP• Short Term Goals

– Program the prototype device– Set up a website

How do you usually get to school?Show on the map below the route you usually take:

Name your character__________________________Create your character:

WalkRide bicycleGet a ride in a carSEPTA busSEPTA trolleySEPTA subway School bus

Who do you usually go to school with? Select all: Younger sibling(s) oOlder sibling(s) oparent ofriend oother

Do you usually stop at a store to purchase food?

o yes o no

What do you usually purchase?o fruit ochips o soda o candy ocookies osandwich

The Future of FED-UP• Long-term Goals:

– Research Interventions

Yo taste these baked potato chips!

http://www.esri.com/events/uc/images/sandiego_foodmap.jpg

Lessons Learned• Complexity of Nutrition• The Importance of Multi-Faceted Interventions• Technology as a facilitator of research and

interventions

Child Buys a Snickers

Budget/IncomeFood Culture

Taste

Habit

Convenience of Location

Advertising

Ease of PreparationMore

Calories/Dollar

FED-UP Conclusion

o

SOPARC

System for Observing Play and Recreation

in Communities

Project OverviewRand Corporation

Thomas L. McKenzie, Ph.D., Deborah A. Cohen, MD, MPH (2006)

Funding: NIH

“SOPARC is a validated direct observation tool for assessing physical activity and associated people and environmental characteristics in park and recreation settings.”

Project OverviewHow do people use parks?What influences the level of physical

activity of park users?Examine:

Physical Activity LevelGenderAgeEthnicityPark Area Characteristics

SignificanceTest the universality of SOPARCFind out which aspects of parks

(facilities, equipment, programming) encourage physical activity

Improve ParksCombat the obesity epidemic

5-City Study of Physical Activity

Cleveland, OHLos Angeles, CAAlbuquerque, NMDurham, NCPhiladelphia, PA

Photo courtesy of Jana Hirsch

Our ParksParks Researched this summer:

Myers Recreation Center (58th and Chestnut)

Markward Playground (25th and Pine)

Capitolo Playground (9th and Federal)

Parks for next summer:Cruz Recreation Center (6th and Master)

Lee Cultural Center (43rd and Haverford)

Monkiewicz Playground (32nd and Richmond)

MethodsThree Two-week Periods, 14

Hours/Day

2 Parts:Park ScanSurveys

Park ScanFirst Part: Mapping

Parks We MappedCruz Recreation Center (6th and

Master)Lee Cultural Center (43rd and

Haverford)Monkiewicz Playground (32nd and

Richmond)

Park ScanSecond Part: The ScanRotate through target areasUse iPAQ PDACount park users and note their

characteristicsNote characteristics of target areasReliability Checks

Park SurveysTypes of Surveys:

Park UserHousehold (¼ Mile & ½ Mile)Station (¼ Mile & ½ Mile)

Questions:HealthPark UsageOpinion regarding the park

Example of FindingsMarkward Activity Level

62.6%

22.5%

14.9%

Sedentary

Walking

Vigorous

Graph courtesy of Jana Hirsch

Lessons LearnedImproved interview skills

Learned about physical activity decisions

Gained better understanding of neighborhood dynamics in Philadelphia

Thank you!Dr. Amy HillierSchool of Design Team 324

SUMR Staff:Dr. Joanne LevyShanta LaytonTina Palumbo