Culturally-Appropriate Childhood Obesity Prevention Program for Hispanic Families

Childhood obesity has been ranked as a critical public health threat in the U.S. due to the increasing prevalence of obesity among children over the past three decades. Childhood obesity poses both intermediate and long-term health risks, as well as considerable economic costs. While this epidemic affects all socioeconomic levels, certain racial/ethnic groups are disproportionately affected, including Hispanics.The long-term goal of the current research is to contribute to the reduction of racial/ethnic disparities in obesity and obesity-related outcomes among Hispanics by testing a childhood obesity prevention program that has been culturally tailored for the Hispanic population through a participatory process. This developmental community-based participatory research (CBPR) project is a collaborative community-academic partnership between Meharry Medical College (MMC), Tennessee State University-Center for Health Research (TSU-CHR), and a grassroots community-based organization called Progreso Community Center (PCC). The Childhood Obesity Study is designed to evaluate two programs for Hispanic children ages 5 to 7 and their parents. One program focuses on nutrition and physical activity (based on NIH's "We Can!" program), and a parallel program focuses on oral health (developed by TSU's Dental Hygiene Program). Upon enrollment in the Study, parents and children will respond to an initial interview involving body measurement and questionnaire. Families will be given physical activity monitor to be worn for 7 days and randomly assigned to one of two groups. The families assigned to the Nutrition and Physical Activity Program will attend eight (8) bi-weekly classes (one every two weeks for four months) dealing with nutrition and physical activity. In the Oral Health Program families will attend 4 monthly classes (once a month for four months). These sessions deal with ways to take care of children's teeth and oral health. In addition, these families will have the opportunity to sign up for a free dental cleaning and assessment at the Dental Hygiene Clinic at Tennessee State University.