Latin-dance Exercise Action
Plan (LEAP)
Geethi Abraham
HPA 430
Content
 Quotes
 Background
 Physical Activity and Health of Hispanic
Youth
 Advantages of Dance Promotion
 Proposed Amendment
 Existing Latin Fitness Programs in Chicago
 Sponsors
 Stakeholders
 Messaging and Marketing
Quote
 “Overweight and obesity are among the most urgent health
challenges facing our country today. Excess weight contributes
to many of the leading causes of death in the United States,
including heart disease, stroke, diabetes, and some types of
cancer”4
- CDC's Winnable Battles, 2011
 "When done vigorously, dancing is up there with jogging and
cross country skiing for aerobic benefit. All the styles, ballroom,
salsa, funk, hip-hop, can burn up to 300 calories an hour if
you're really moving just like in an aerobic class.”5
- Meg Jordan, PhD, RN (Aerobics and Fitness Association of
America)
 ” People born and raised in a Latin American culture acquire
dance in a passive learning process; through constant
immersion.”10
- Tina Ramirez Founder of New York's Ballet Hispanico
Background
 More than 9% of total US health care spending is on
obesity related conditions3
 Childhood obesity alone adds $14 billion to annual
health care cost in the US6
 Children covered by Medicaid account for $3 billion of those
costs6
 Illinois ranks in the top ten states for obese/overweight
adolescents (ages 10-17)3
 Greater than one third (35%) prevalence of obesity among
Illinois children (10-17)11
Background
 Insufficient activity and sedentary lifestyle are
major contributors to childhood obesity
 Increase in physical activity among children
would significantly reduce U.S. healthcare
expenditures for the treatment of obesity-related
diseases
Physical activity and health
of youth
Table 1: 2003 Chicago Youth Risk Behavior Survey14
One or more sports team
Male
59.5%
Female
44.8%
Table 2: 2005 Chicago High School Students14
One or more
sports team
Sufficient vigorous
physical activity
Watch three or
more hours of
television
Risk of obesity
Chicago
female
44.8%
38.3%
52.5%
19%
National
average
51%
55%
37%
15.3%
Little Village, Chicago
Hispanic Presence and Health
Concerns
 Hispanics are now the state’s largest and fasted growing minority
group
 Hispanics living in the Midwest have the highest obesity rates
among Latinos in the U.S.15
 Percentage of obese Latino children 3-13 is 1 in 5 (26%)13
 Chicago Hispanics are disproportionately affected by obesityrelated chronic diseases including diabetes, heart disease, and
asthma relative to non-Hispanic whites15
Physical Activity among
Hispanic female youth
Table 3: 2003 Chicago Youth Risk Behavior Survey15
Likely Obese
Chicago Female
13.9%
Chicago White Female
5.7%
Chicago Hispanic Femaie
12.7%
Table 4: 2005 Chicago High School Students15
One or more sports
team
Sufficient vigorous
physical activity
Watch three or
more hours of
television
Hispanic female in
Chicago
45.7%
38.7%
47.2%
National average
51%
55%
37%
Why Dance Promotion?
 Need
 Chicago Hispanic community residents reported
knowledge of few weight loss-targeted programs12
 Tailored to at-risk population
 Hispanic girls are at greater risk relative to nonHispanic whites for physical inactivity and mental
health issues15
 Cultural ballroom and folk dances are highly
celebrated in Hispanic cultures10
 Effective
 Culturally-appropriate dance (Rumba fitness)
intervention found effective in promoting MVPA in
overweight Latino girls8
Proposed Amendment
 Afterschool Youth Development Project Act
(P.A. 96-1302) was created on July 27, 2010.1
 Project aims to provide all youth between the
ages of 6 and 19 with access to quality
afterschool programs statewide
 Support youth programs providing enrichment
services
 Proposed amendment aims to expand
targeted after school programs to include
Latin dance exercise programs
Proposed Amendment
Language
• Amends the Afterschool Youth Development Project Act
(P.A. 96-1302)
• Makes a technical change in section 20
• Section 20. Afterschool Demonstration Program.
– (b) Eligible activity areas. Afterschool programs created under
the Demonstration Program shall serve youths in Illinois by
promoting one or more of the following:
– (2) Arts, music, sports, recreation, and cultural enrichment,
including structured, ongoing activities such as theatre groups,
development of exhibits, graphic, cultural activities, sports and
athletic teams, and culturally-appropriate dance exercise
programs to promote physical activity.
Exisiting Latin Fitness Programs
 Chicago Latin Fitness
 TEAMiFIT (Zumba Fitness)
 SALSAerobics
 Chaturanga Holistic Fitness
(Zumba Fitness)
 Chicago Latin Dance
(Salsa-ton Fitness)
 MaZi Dance Fitness Centre
 Chicago Women's Fitness
(Zumba Fitness)
 Manitas Interactive Fitness
 YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago
(Zumba Fitness)
 Chicago Park District
(Salsa & Zumba Fitness)
 Boys and Girls Club Chicago
(Zumba Fitness)
 Girls in the Game (Zumba
Fitness)
Sponsor
 Senator Iris Y. Martinez of 20th Legislative
District
 Consistently sponsored and passed
legislation to promote family and children’s
health. Has a reputation of working with
community-based organizations.
 President of National Hispanic Caucus of
State Legislators
 Advisory board member of Ensemble
Español Dance Theater
 Large Latino constituency
Senator Iris Y. Martinez
Sponsor
 Senator William Delgado of 20th
Legislative District
 Illinois legislative Latino Caucus
Foundation member
 Passionate about youth
outreach and Latino rights
 Known as a “champion of
health and physical fitness
issues”
 Large Latino constituency
Senator William Delgado
Sponsor
 House Representative Maria Antonia “Toni”
Berrios
 Focused on issues that increase the wellbeing of children
 Strongly supports the value of after
school programs
 Co-chair for the Illinois Legislative Latino
Caucus
 Passionate about Latin Dance.
Sponsored bill for Ensemble Español Day.
Representative Toni Berrios
Additional Policy Paramours
 House Representative Elizabeth
Hernandez
 Current member of Children’s
Center of Cicero and Berwyn,
Cicero Youth Services, and
Pilsen-Little Village Mental
Health Agency
 Large Latino Constituency
Representative
Elizabeth Hernandez
 House Representative Cynthia
Soto
 Large Latino Constituency
Representative
Cynthia Soto
Stakeholders
Governmental

Chicago Department of Public
Health

Cook County Department of Public
Health


Chicago Department of Children
and Youth Services

American Diabetes Association

Boy and Girls Club of Chicago

American Heart Association

Chaturanga Holistic Fitness

American Stroke Association

Chicago Latin Fitness

Consortium to Lower Obesity in
Chicago Children

Chicago Latin Dance

Chicago Childhood Diabetes
Registry at the University of
Chicago

Chicago Women's Fitness

Ensemble Español Center for
Spanish Dance

Girls in the Game

MaZi Dance Fitness Centre
Illinois Chapter of the American
Academy of Pediatrics

Manitas Interactive Fitness

Illinois Association of Park Districts

SALSAerobics

Latino Health

TEAMiFIT

Sinai Children’s Hospital

YMCA of Metropolitan Chicago

YMCA Alliance of Illinois
Chicago Public Schools

Chicago Park District

Children’s Memorial Hospital

Illinois Department of Human
Services

Illinois Association for Health,
Physical Education, Recreation,
and Dance

Illinois Department of Public Health



University of Illinois at Chicago
School of Public Health
University of Illinois College of
Medicine
Non-Governmental

American Academy of Family
Physicians
Marketing and Messaging:
My Designs
References:
1.
Afterschool Youth Development Project Act. 7/27/2010 Illinois General Assembly .
<http://www.ilga.gov/legislation/ilcs/ilcs3.asp?ActID=3262&ChapterID=32>.
2.
CLOCC. (2010). Pilsen community nutrition & physical activity survey. Available from
http://www.clocc.net/coc/project/coop-pilsen/Pilsen_Full_Data_Report.pdf
3.
“F as in Fat Report” Trust for America’s Health. July 2009. http://healthyamericans.org/reports/obesity2009/
4.
Frieden, T. (2011, January 14). CDC-Winnable Battles. Retrieved from
http://www.cdc.gov/WinnableBattles/Obesity/index.html
5.
Health benefits of dancing. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.the-ibenefits.com/health-benefits-of-dancing.html
6.
Mobilizing Healthcare Professionals in the Fight Against Childhood Obesity . May 2010 National Initiative for
Children’s
Healthcare. <http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=5&sqi=2&ved=0CEQQFjAE&url=
http%3A%2F%2Fwww.nichq.org%2Fadvocacy%2Fadvocacy%2520documents%2FAdvocacy%2520Resource%2520G
uide.pdf&ei=YPuhT43RJqHa0QGQ88DVDA&usg=AFQjCNEkXPlSbCaBCex1OcYz8y656V47w&sig2=mBiP0WeKV8xo8k9vb2lKhg>.
7.
Ogden, C.L., Carroll, M.D., Curtin, L.R., Lamb, M.M., & Flegal, K.M. (2010). Prevalence of high body mass index in US
children and adolescents, 2007-2008. The Journal of the American Medical Association, 303(3), 242-249.
References Continued:
8) Olvera, Norma Ph.D.; Kellam, Stephanie F.; Menefee, Kara; Lee, Jay; and Smith, Dennis W. (2010) "Physical Activity in
Latino Children: Research and Its Implications," Journal of Applied Research on Children: Informing Policy for
Children at Risk: Vol. 1: Iss. 1, Article 3
9) Prevalence of Childhood Overweight and Obesity in Chicago. 2010 Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children
. <http://www.clocc.net/coc/prevalence.html>.
10) Salsa: The Dance. 1999 Salsa & Merengue Society. <http://www.salsa-merengue.co.uk/revealit/dancesal.html>.
11) Trust for America’s Health, State Data Illinois. (2009). Retrieved June 16, 2010 from
http://healthyamericans.org/states/?stateid=IL
12) Quinn, Michael and McNabb, Wylie (2000) “Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Programs for Chicago
Hispanics: A Community-Based Needs Assessment 11.” Illinois Morbidity and Mortality Review, 4(2).
13) Whitman, S., Williams, C., & Shah, A.M. (2004). Sinai Health System’s community health survey: Report 1. Chicago,
Illinois: Sinai Health System.
14) Zurn, L. (2005). The Women’s Sports Foundation Report: The Status of Female Youth Health and Physical Activity in the
Chicago Metropolitan Area. East Meadow, NY: Women’s Sports Foundation.
15) Zurn, L. (2005). The Women’s Sports Foundation Report: The Status of Health and Physical Activity in Chicago Hispanic
Girls. East Meadow, NY: Women’s Sports Foundation.