La alimentacion de tus hijos, tu mejor inversión. (Healthy living is an investment in your child's future). Obesity Prevention Program for Hispanic Children and Parents in Central Mississippi

Introduction

Obesity in the United States is officially epidemic and has been declared a national priority by the IOM. Overweight and obese children are at great risk for physical and mental health problems such as diabetes, hypertension, orthopedic, endocrine and psychological disorders. This epidemic affects minorities disproportionably, with Hispanics having the highest incidence for adolescents and toddlers. Psychosocial and language barriers, low SES, and inadequate nutritional knowledge make this group more vulnerable and increase their health risks.

Program Components

This self-contained multi-media program focuses on building nutrition and physical activity knowledge, risk identification , and provision of practical tools to maintain healthy practices. Once parents understand how to identify childhood obesity and its problems, the second step is for the parents to acquire the tools to recognize and prevent the development of obesity.

Components include: Epidemiology of obesity in Latino community, significance / Relationship to health outcomes, Healthy Eating (Variety, Cost-Effectiveness and Shopping/eating out) and Culturally acceptable advice

Preliminary Findings

Preliminary interviews with parents of Hispanic children have shown that lack of awareness about the obesity and overweight health risks, parental misperceptions, unwillingness or inability to change behaviors, and Low nutritional knowledge are barriers, and that parents can influence either negative or positive children eating behavior.

Conclusions

Family practices are key in the development of healthy lifestyle and behavior in children. Focusing on parental education, particularly mothers as primary caretakers, will increase the understanding about key factors in obesity development and will improve health outcomes in the target population.