With obesity levels in the US continually on the rise and mainstream sports coverage plastered with unhealthy adverts, grassroots football is being used to kick-start a defence against the phenomenon. Alex Lawson caught up with Chicago-based organisation Urban Initiatives for an insight into the situation.

Barack Obama’s term in post so far has been characterised by continual struggles over economic policy and controversial plans for the US health system. But while the president has struggled to find a model that keeps American’s fit and well, his wife, First Lady Michelle Obama has enjoyed positive recognition for her Let’s Move campaign.

With the goal of achieving dreams through being fit, information gleaned from the initiative will be fed into the White House Task Force on Childhood Obesity while its website gives practical advice for everyday life. Football has been pinpointed as a specific area to make gains and in Chicago its well-supported MLS team, Chicago Fire, is providing inspiration for those with an interest in the game.

Urban Initiatives (UI) works in under-served communities in Chicago, serving 2,800 students in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS) from a dedicated team of 10 staff and 60 part timers. Chicago itself harbours some startling facts. The CPS has one of the shortest school days at 5.45 hours and one of the shortest school years at just 174 days, limiting PE to one lesson a week at 80 per cent of schools.

Some 32 per cent of children and adolescents — 25 million kids — were obese or overweight in 2010, according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. And data from the Consortium to Lower Obesity in Chicago Children shows the prevalence of childhood obesity can reach up to 51 per cent in Chicago communities with similar demographics to those UI serves.

So what are UI doing about it?

“Our teams play against the other schools in our network. Although we have many talented teams and players, we measure success as achievement in the classroom, an increase in the likelihood to live a healthy lifestyle and character development,” says executive director Daniel Isherwood.

“We also offer opportunities for student’s to play with youths from outside clubs through special events such as our Crosstown Classics and Interfaith Cups. The focus is on mixing diverse kids from different clubs, programs, and communities to play the sport they love together and build friendships.”

The organisation’s Work to Play Program motivates young people to reach their full potential and creates a formal structure to work with parents and a model for other bodies in other states to follow. Football-wise, Isherwood explains that the sport can create an unrivalled outlet for frustrated kids.

“Often times the kids we serve do not see the value of what they are being taught in school,” he said.

“They may not be able to see why working hard in math and committing to work hard in the classroom is important. Being involved with soccer, the kids get to see their hard work and dedication pay off in tangible ways on a regular basis. Kids that could not successfully do a stepover may be able to do one by the end of the year that positions them for scoring a goal. They witness first hand that hard work pays off.”

And the organisation is going from strength to strength. Morton School of Excellence coach Faye Stevens-Jett, a member of the UI Coaches Corps has been named Coach of the Year by Up2Us, an organisation that supports youth development programs that use sports to improve the lives of kids across the country and collected her award from skating legend Tony Hawk.

According to the US Prevention Institute, investing $10 per person per year in programmes to increase physical activity and improve nutrition could save the country more than $16 billion in annual health care costs within five years. With the help of organisations like UI that gargantuan task might just have got a little bit easier.

Urban Initiatives is looking to extend into two new schools this winter with the help of public donations. See the UI website here for more.