$49K grant to help Pinoys battle obesity in LA

SAN FRANCISCO — The project called “Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Lives" will receive $49,040 to increase community awareness among Filipinos living in San Francisco about the causes of being overweight and obese, and to encourage community-led solutions to the problem, such as improved access to recreational facilities and access to high quality food.

Aimee Afable-Munsuz, PhD, UCSF research specialist in clinical pharmacy, who has been volunteering with the West Bay Pilipino Multi-Service Corporation for several years on breast cancer prevention issues, brought the program to the attention of the UCSF University Community Partnership Council.

She had learned, she says, about West Bay’s commitment to change not only in health, but in community strengthening and youth development.

“Our grant proposal grew out of West Bay’s strengths in affecting change in the community, and my research interest, which is behavioral change. I am interested in lifestyle choices; I look at factors of disease that focus on physical activity, diet, and substance abuse," she said.

“The broad goal of our project is to understand the causes of disease, particularly overweight and obesity at the neighborhood level – access to healthy food and recreational facilities – and to promote community-led solutions based on what we learn," added Munsuz.

Among the initiative the grant from UCSF will support is the purchase of cameras for West Bay children to give them the opportunity to document what they believe to be the causes within their community of being overweight and obese.

Healthy Neighborhoods, Healthy Lives will use “photo-voice" and participatory video film-making to investigate the neighborhood level causes of overweight and obesity among Filipinos living in the South of Market neighborhood of San Francisco.

The ultimate goal of the project is to increase the community’s capacity to identify their own culturally appropriate solutions to the problems of overweight and obesity. - Philippine News

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