Sustainability of a Culturally Informed Community-Based Diabetes Prevention Program for Obese Latino Youth

Latino youth are disproportionately impacted by obesity and type 2 diabetes; however, few lifestyle interventions have targeted this population. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to assess the impact of a culturally informed lifestyle education program on nutrition and physical activity behaviors among obese Latino youth. A retrospective chart review of 67 youths was conducted with self-reported nutrition and physical activity assessed both immediately following the program and after long-term follow-up. Body mass index (BMI) was evaluated to determine the impact of behavior changes on adiposity. Healthy nutrition and physical activity changes were reported by 20%-59% of youths immediately following the program. However, most of these changes were attenuated over the 261 ± 49 day follow-up with reported walking (25.4%) and sports participation (34.3%) sustained to a greater extent than dietary changes (3.4–14.9%). Nonetheless, children who continued walking at follow-up exhibited significantly larger reductions in BMI compared with those who did not (−1.63 ± 0.56 vs. 0.44 ± 0.30 kg/m², P <.05). Based on our pilot study, we conclude that community-based lifestyle education programs can support behavior modification and weight management in obese Latino youth. Ongoing support may be necessary to encourage sustained behavior change to facilitate greater weight loss.