An Evaluation of a Culturally- and Linguistically-Appropriate eHealth Portal to Facilitate Improved Diets, Increased Fitness-Levels, and Weight-Loss Among U.S. Hispanics

Obesity is a major and growing problem among U.S. Hispanics with serious implications for diabetes and other chronic disease risks. Current trends among youth suggest that disparities in obesity between minorities and non-Hispanic whites will amplify. Reducing such health disparities is a priority for federal, state and local governmental bodies and communities. Attaining these objectives will require interventions that are culturally- and linguistically appropriate. U.S. healthcare providers, however, have few culturally-appropriate tools and inadequate numbers of bilingual, trained healthcare professionals to address these challenges.

A culturally-appropriate weight-management portal, supported by bilingual Latina dietitians available for remote email counseling, offers an attractive mechanism for efficiently serving the underserved. MiDieta/MyDiet is the leading online diet, fitness and weight management portal for U.S. Hispanic/Latinos. MiDieta is bilingual (Spanish/English), based on Latino foods & habits and already available through dozens of media, hospital, and health plan websites. Thousands of Hispanics access MiDieta each week. Tommy Thompson recently selected MiDieta as one of the "20 most innovative health promotion and disease prevention applications" in the U.S.