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Improving the health, safety, and well-being of America	Frequent Questions Search

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The campaign encourages tweens to find a verb (such as run, paint, sing, dance, jump, skate, etc.) or several verbs that fit their personality and interests. The campaign then encourages tweens to use "their verb" as launching pad to better health and make regular physical activity and community involvement a lifetime pursuit.

BACKGROUND

The VERB campaign is for American tweens of all cultures and ethnicities because kids who are engaged in positive goal-directed activities are less likely to engage in risky behaviors. The campaign recognizes the unique interests and perspectives of children of different cultures and ethnicities. It includes major multicultural elements that make the VERB media communications truly universal for all kinds of tweens from all kinds of backgrounds. Advertising, marketing and public relations professionals from ethnic companies will spearhead all ethnic elements of the VERB campaign, including development and placement of electronic and print media components.

The campaign will focus on getting children excited about increasing the amount of physical and "prosocial" activity in their lives, while helping parents, coaches and teachers see the importance of physical and prosocial activity to the overall health of tweens. Prosocial activity is defined by the campaign as getting kids involved with positive organizations or groups, such as school clubs, community groups or religious organizations.

Following are statistics about tween health issues as related to the four major ethnic groups targeted by the VERB campaign's multicultural components.

AMERICAN INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE FACTS AND STATS:

• American Indians and Alaska Natives experience type 2 diabetes and its complications 4-6 times more often than the general population.
• 34 percent of American Indians and Alaska Natives were current smokers.
• American Indians and Alaska Natives have relatively high rates of alcohol use and other substance abuse associated with serious social problems.

For more information on American Indian and Alaska Native outreach:
Gwenda Hansen
G&G
Phone: (505) 843-8113
ghansen@gng.net

AFRICAN AMERICAN FACTS AND STATS:

• The percentage of African American tweens who are overweight has more than doubled in the past 30 years.
• African Americans have one of the highest rates of adolescent obesity at 30.9 percent.
• The emergence of type 2 diabetes as well as various heart diseases has increased among obese, African American teens.

For more information on African American outreach:
Adrianne C. Smith
PFI
Phone: (212) 862-6634
smithadrianne@prodigy.net

ASIAN AMERICAN AND PACIFIC ISLANDER FACTS AND STATS:

• The number of overweight kids has nearly tripled in the past two decades to 13 percent for ages 6-11 and to 14 percent for ages 12 to 19.
• According to the recent U.S. Census report, the Asian American population has grown 73 percent within the past decade. It is the second fastest growing ethnic population in the U.S., only outpaced by Hispanics. Also of note is that 66 percent of Asians in the U.S. were born in another country.
• According to a recent study, Asian Americans as a whole have a lower rate of obesity (20.6 percent) than African Americans (30.9 percent), Latinos (30.4 percent) and Caucasians (24.2 percent). However, Asian American adolescents born in the U.S. to immigrant parents are more than twice as likely to be overweight as foreign-born adolescents.
• 10 percent of Asian Americans have diabetes, double the rate of the Caucasian population in the U.S. The emergence of type 2 diabetes correlates to diet and lifestyle and is being seen for the first time in young children and adolescents.

For more information on Asian American outreach:
Suzanne Chung Park
A Partnership
Phone: (212) 685-8388, ext 128
spark@apartnership.com

HISPANIC/LATINO FACTS AND STATS:

• Barriers to Hispanic/Latino prosocial and physical activity include trust, lack of resources and safety.
• According to an article in the Journal of American Medical Association (1998) children who watched four or more hours of TV per day had greater body fat and greater BMI than those who watched less than two hours per day.
• Children who watch more TV were less likely to engage in vigorous physical activity. Children with TV in their bedroom watched an additional 4.6 hours per week; more Hispanic/Latino children (50 percent) had TV in their bedrooms than white (20 percent) children.
• 30.4 percent of all Hispanic/Latino children in the U.S. are overweight, according to the American Obesity Association.

For more information on Hispanic/Latino outreach:
Robert Ch�vez
Magnet Communications
Phone: (909) 272-1888
Rchevez@magnetcom.com

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