Purpose and Specific Aims of the PROJECT. Mississippi has not developed any comprehensive programs to address CVD disparities even though many researchers have reported that overall mortality and cardiovascular disease mortality are higher in African Americans than whites. One important challenge for preventing the onset of cardiovascular disease is to decrease the number of people who are engaged in unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, such as sedentary lifestyle practices, inappropriate dietary practices, and the incidence of overweight among young people. Project HEALTH will provide intervention programs that are designed to increase intrinsic motivation for youth to participate in fitness activity, in achieving this goal the intervention also hopes to increase participant self-esteem, establish more harmonious relationships with peers and educate youth on the necessity of fitness to promote health and prevent debilitating diseases, which afflict minority populations at higher rates than the general population. Project HEALTH will design intervention programs to change the trends that currently exist relating to cardiovascular disease among African Americans in Mississippi. This study hopes to reduce overweight in children because it is well known that being overweight during childhood and adolescence has been associated with increased adult mortality 1. Weight in adolescence is considered to be a good measure of future adult weight status and is a good predictor of the occurrence of later adverse health reports, hence the importance of preventing obesity in children. Researchers conclude that school intervention, especially the case of classroom-based intervention, is effective for preventing future cardiovascular disease. It is predicted that there would be a reduction of 5% to 25% in the rate of coronary heart disease if all sedentary individuals could become physically active 2. One primary benefit of regular physical activity is protection against cardiovascular disease. A well designed exercise program can increase stamina and endurance, lower blood pressure, improve blood cholesterol levels, help with weight control, help lower abnormal blood sugar levels, reduce stress, improve sleep, and help prevent osteoporosis 3 Harshfield et al. (1990) found that less fit African American males and females had higher systolic and diastolic pressures than more fit adolescents 4 Danforth et al. (1990) found that in low socio-economic African American youth, a 12-week aerobic exercise program could decrease blood pressure readings significantly. Furthermore, exercise seemed to lower cholesterol and helped to maintain recommended weight, particularly when combined with good nutrition. Given the problem of health disparities in minority populations and its prevalence and acute nature in Mississippi, ways and means of successfully motivating youth to a fit, active lifestyle becomes a desired goal. The study also seeks to decrease the development of cardiovascular disease by decreasing the number of students who are engaged in unhealthy lifestyle behaviors, such as inappropriate dietary practices, and to increase students' self-esteem.
