Soccer for Success
This project's parent organization is U.S. Soccer Foundation
It operates in United States
It uses Football (Soccer)
Shortlisted for the Sport for Health Award
More about Soccer for Success
According to the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity, 1 in 3 U.S. children are overweight or obese – a figure that is attributed to a declining emphasis on nutrition education and physical activity among youth. This “obesity epidemic” costs the U.S. over $3 billion annually and is jeopardizing the health of millions of children. Children who are overweight or obese are more likely to develop high blood pressure, high cholesterol and diabetes.
According to the Children’s Defense Fund, rates of childhood obesity are higher in low-income neighborhoods. Recognizing the need to impede the spread of the childhood obesity epidemic, the U.S. Soccer Foundation designed Soccer for Success. Our program, which serves children in under-resourced urban communities, was designed with the help of health, fitness and childhood development experts and integrates nutrition education into an afterschool soccer curriculum that engages children in 60 minutes of physical activity three days per week for an entire academic year. In our Fall 2012 season, 77% of participants maintained or improved their BMI percentile category and 76% maintained or improved their aerobic capacity.