October 2014 - Parks & Recreation - 63

Dr. Rockeymoore: Building a park or
new recreational facility is fantastic, but
we can't expect that all residents will use
these facilities without a little encouragement. I think park and recreation
agencies can help promote physical
activity through innovative, culturally-aware programming and community
engagement. Local partnerships with
schools, faith-based groups and farmers'
markets are also great opportunities to
bring in youths (and parents) and show
them how they can use their parks and
facilities to be healthy.
Mullins-Cohen: Can you explain the
cycle of health issues that overtake
lower-income communities and
how those issues can negatively impact an entire city, county or state?
Dr. Rockeymoore: Poverty has a direct impact on health disparities today.
Lower-income families are more likely
to have limited access to nutritious, affordable foods and fewer opportunities
and time to be physically active. Additionally, lower-income residents often
have less access to quality healthcare
services. All of these factors often lead
to higher obesity rates and prevalence
of chronic diseases such as diabetes
or heart disease. Breaking the cycle of
poverty is critical for both the economy
and health of our nation, and policy
makers at all levels of government, including park and recreation agencies,
should play a role.
Mullins-Cohen: A recent blog entry
you wrote for The Huffington Post acknowledges the inequity of a wealth
gap that continues to shape the future of Latinos and African-Americans. This gap increased during the
recent recession. How does such an
ongoing financial disparity impact
the overall health of these communities in the short and long term?
Dr. Rockeymoore: Census data
shows that for every dollar of wealth

held by the typical white family, African-Americans and Latinos own
only six and seven cents, respectively.
Furthermore, these families are cashpoor with relatively little to fall back
on in the case of emergencies. This
lack of financial flexibility directly
affects the ability of these families
to pay for quality health services,
nutritious food or even paid recreational opportunities such as gym or
athletic league memberships. With
the nation's demographics dramatically shifting, it is important to understand that the financially tenuous
situation of African-Americans and
Latinos has an effect on the entire
country. What will it mean for our
nation's overall economic and physical health if the majority population
is unhealthy and mired in poverty? If
decision makers at every level of society fail to prioritize strategies to close
economic and health disparities, it
will certainly mean that these disparities are likely to grow, not lessen, given today's prevailing trends. We all
have a responsibility to do everything
in our power to make sure that this
does not happen.
Mullins-Cohen: Our country is celebrating the 50th anniversary of the
Civil Rights Act, yet a lack of equity
still exists in many areas of our society in regard to low-income people
and people of color. Research shows
the two groups of people still fall
prey to socioeconomic and industrialized bullying through advertising
and propagandist media - both
strong economic forces. What can
we do, as park and recreation professionals or even as individuals, to
stop this trend that denies justice
and opportunity to so many?
Dr. Rockeymoore: The marketing
of unhealthy foods and beverages
throughout our communities is a
serious public health concern. Research shows that food and beverage

companies continue to target African-American and Latino youths
more and more through both traditional and digital media, such as
cellphone games. While changing
corporate marketing practices is a
complicated process, I think park
and recreation agencies can help
limit their influence by ensuring
only healthy foods and beverages are
sold in their vending machines and
stores, as well as limiting junk food
advertising in their space.
Mullins-Cohen: NRPA's Three Pillars
of Conservation, Health and Wellness, and Social Equity represent
areas in which park and recreation
agencies can create and achieve
positive change within the community. How do you think park and
recreation agencies can build a better future for our children and our
communities by using the pillars as
a strategy?
Dr. Rockeymoore: As public areas
and facilities designed for activity
and recreation, parks and recreational facilities play an obvious role in
encouraging physical activity among
all residents, especially in low-income
communities and communities of
color. But, these public areas can also
help increase access to healthy foods
through farmers' markets, healthy
vending and other opportunities.
There's no silver bullet when it comes
to reversing the childhood obesity
epidemic. We need comprehensive
strategies that will help increase physical activity among residents as well
as improve access to healthy foods
for all residents. Park and recreation
agencies are in a great position to do
both, which is why I see them as key
partners in helping address health disparities and reversing the childhood
obesity epidemic.
Gina Mullins-Cohen is NRPA's Vice
President of Marketing, Communications
and Publications (gcohen@nrpa.org).

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Parks & Recreation

October 2014 - Parks & Recreation

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