Office of External Communications

Houston, TX 77204-5017 Fax: 713.743.8199

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 12, 2006

Contact: Marisa Ramirez
713.743.8152 (office)
713.204.9798 (cell)
mrcannon@uh.edu

HOUSTON, April 12, 2006—A University of Houston summer camp program that focuses on exercise and nutrition for middle school girls has been recognized by the Texas Public Health Association as a 2006 Nutrition and Physical Activity Best Practices program. The award will be presented to UH organizers of BOUNCE-Lite at the association’s annual conference on April 24 in Plano, Texas.

“The idea behind this program was to teach young girls about positive body image and healthy food and exercise choices,” Norma Olvera, associate professor in the UH Department of Health and Human Performance and director of BOUNCE-Lite, said. “We were encouraged by the response to the program and thrilled to have this honor.”

The one-week summer program debuted last year. It takes its name and activities from a study called BOUNCE, Behavior Opportunities Uniting Nutrition, Counseling and Exercise. Using salsa dancing, kick boxing, counseling and nutritious food buffets, the program works with Latina middle school girls and their mothers to determine if there are cultural factors that contribute to obesity.

“What I’ve found is that parents usually believe that if a child is eating, she’s healthy, even if the child is overweight, even if the child is making poor food choices,” said Olvera. “The act of eating is equated to healthy living.” Olvera studies how family, environment and culture affect diet and physical activity. She said there is a great need for research to learn about Latino families’ perception about obesity and physical activity. She said her studies have found that more than 40 percent of Hispanic children in Houston are overweight, which far outpaces the national average of 11percent of all children.

Ten programs were selected for the Texas Public Health Association’s best practices list. Each was judged, among other things, by the amount of participation in the program, if the program was replicable and if it was practical. The list includes programs from Texas Children’s Hospital and the Houston Parks Department.

For more information on the Department of Health and Human Performance, please visit www.hhp.uh.edu/.

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