title: Assessing Child Obesity and Physical Activity in a Hard-to-Reach Population in California's Central Valley, 2012-2013.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In California's agricultural Central Valley, the rate of childhood obesity is higher than the national average. Adequate physical activity contributes to obesity prevention and its assessment is useful to evaluate the impact of interventions.
  
  
  METHODS
  Niños Sanos, Familia Sana (Healthy Children, Healthy Family [NSFS]) uses community-based participatory research to implement an intervention program to reduce childhood obesity among people of Mexican origin in the Central Valley. Anthropometric measurements were conducted on more than 650 children enrolled in NSFS. Physical activity data from a subgroup of children aged 4 to 7 years (n = 134) were collected via a wearable accelerometer.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children were classified on the basis of age and sex-adjusted body mass index as healthy weight (57.7%); overweight (19.3%), or obese (23%). Logistic regression showed that moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) was associated with a child's likelihood of having a healthy BMI (odds ratio: 1.03; 95% CI, 1.01-1.05; P = .017).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NSFS's community-based participatory approach resulted in successful use of a commercial electronic device to measure physical activity quantity and quality in this hard-to-reach population. Promotion of adequate daily MVPA is an appropriate and necessary component of NSFS's childhood obesity prevention strategy.
authors.affiliation: Foods for Health Institute, 2141 Robert Mondavi Institute, One Shields Ave, Davis, CA 95616. Email: seschaefer@ucdavis.edu.
authors.forename: Sara E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Schaefer
authors.affiliation: Center for Transnational Health, University of California, Davis, Californi.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Camacho-Gomez
authors.affiliation: Center for Transnational Health, University of California, Davis, Californi.
authors.forename: Banefsheh
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sadeghi
authors.affiliation: Department of Nutrition, University of California, Davis.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Kaiser
authors.affiliation: Foods for Health Institute, University of California, Davis, California.
authors.forename: J Bruce
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: German
authors.affiliation: Center for Transnational Health, University of California, Davis, Californi.
authors.forename: Adela
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: de la Torre
mesh_terms: D061725:Accelerometry; D015992:Body Mass Index; D002140:California / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D055812:Community-Based Participatory Research; D004734:Energy Metabolism / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000208:ethnology; D018670:Monitoring, Ambulatory; D009043:Motor Activity / Q000502:physiology*; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D063766:Pediatric Obesity / Q000453:epidemiology*; D010865:Pilot Projects; D011159:Population Surveillance; D012424:Rural Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D057185:Sedentary Behavior / Q000208:ethnology; D012737:Sex Factors