Get to Know Us!

We are students and faculty from the Kinesiology Department at Occidental College who want the best for ourselves, our families, and our community. That is why we developed the Get Fit Together Los Angeles website.

History of our team and its commitment to a healthier Los Angeles

In June 2009, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (LADPH) reported that 22.9% of children and 22.2% of adults in Los Angeles County were obese (BMI ≥30) and an additional 35.9% of adults were overweight as a result of a rise in poor diets and sedentary lifestyles. That same year, our team partnered with LADPH, the Network for a Healthy California and California State University Northridge to develop the Power Up in 10 resource.  Power Up in 10 is an exercise workbook, which provides written and pictorial instructions on how to perform 10 fun strength training exercises that can easily be performed daily in the home.  If performed regularly, Power Up in 10 exercises have the potential to improve muscular strength and muscular endurance. In addition to the workbook, we host regular Power Up in 10 and Nutrition workshops for community members.  Surveys and interest group discussions over the past four years have been used to evaluate Power Up in 10 and its impact in the community.  Based on the results of these evaluations and the success of the resource in increasing exercise knowledge and participation, Power Up in 10 was adopted as a California statewide resource in the spring of 2010.

In the fall of 2011, our research team started to develop the public school resource called 1-Minute Energizers. 1-Minute Energizers is a physical activity toolkit for introducing the human body to elementary school students. All 10 lessons are tied to the California Content Curriculum Standards in the areas of physical education, health, science, and nutrition. A longitudinal study was conducted in the Spring of 2013 which demonstrated that brief physical activity breaks combined with academic content are an effective way to increase student knowledge and classroom behavior.

The research team finalized Get Fit Together Los Angeles, a comprehensive and easy-to-use website in the fall of 2013. The purpose of this website is to provide Los Angeles community members with additional exercise, nutrition, and wellness resources.   We believe that change is good and recognize that it isn’t always easy.  Our resources can help your family successfully overcome many obstacles that stand in the way of a healthier Los Angeles lifestyle.  Our team is here to show you that you do not have to be a health expert to inspire healthy change in your family or community; all you need is a commitment to adopting a healthy diet and exercising regularly.  We are asking LA neighborhoods to take the first step towards a better life and to join us in the effort to stop the rise in chronic diseases such as obesity, Type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and various forms of cancer.