Addressing childhood obesity and physical inactivity through a health curriculum designed for and by a community soccer league

The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention report that 12.5 million or 17% of American children are obese. In resource-poor San Bernardino County, California (SBC), children ages 2-11 and 12-17 demonstrate high overweight percentages of 14.6% and 28.6% respectively. In 2009, the Loma Linda University (LLU) Community-Academic Partners in Service (CAPS) sponsored the Goal 4 Health Soccer League (G4H) in SBC as an attempt to combat the obesity epidemic through physical exercise and friendly competition. G4H's goal is to create a safe, fun environment for families of mixed socio-economic strata. In order to understand and prioritize parents' and coaches' health concerns and solutions for their children, LLU School of Public Health students conducted qualitative assessments (key informant interviews and focus groups) guided by constructs of the Health Belief Model and community-based participatory methodologies. Primary health concerns identified by parents and coaches included: 1) Active Lifestyle; 2) Sportsmanship; 3) Water; 4) Healthy Snacks; 5) Sugary Drinks; 6) Bullying; and 7) Asthma. These results and inspired by the success of other health promotion soccer leagues, such as the Federation Internationale de Futbol Association's (FIFA) 11 for Health model, led the league to develop and implement an interactive soccer health curriculum with 300 G4H children, ages 3-12, throughout the eight week G4H season. G4H hopes this health curriculum will serve as a model for sports leagues; especially in communities where academic and medical support is scarce or unavailable.