Viability of Neighborhood Walking Groups for Diabetes Prevention and Management in a Low-Income Latino Community of Los Angeles

With exercise being integral to the prevention and management of diabetes, inexpensive, culturally-acceptable exercise programs targeting low-income, diabetes-prone Latino communities are greatly needed. To assess the level of interest by Latinos in joining community-based walking groups, a 12-question, cross-sectional survey was conducted with a randomized sample of 200 adults from 1600 living units in a 40-block area in the primarily Latino community of Sun Valley, California. 74% of respondents were native Spanish speakers, and 71% were female. When questioned regarding frequency of exercise, 38% of native Spanish speakers reported exercising fewer than one day per week and only 16% report engaging in moderate physical activity between four and six days per week. Nevertheless, when queried regarding their level of interest in joining walking groups comprised of their neighbors walking around their blocks, 83% of the native Spanish speakers expressed interest in participating with only 3% reporting “not interested”. The primary motive reported by women for joining walking groups was “to keep my health”, although a strong secondary motive was “to get to know my neighbors”, which was the primary motive reported by men. This community orientation of the primarily immigrant population was incorporated into the program design which resulted in over 1,600 persons voluntarily participating in walking groups during the first year of the program. Emphasizing the social benefits for walking group members (meeting neighbors, quality time with family) over health benefits (decreasing blood glucose or blood pressure) appears to motivate participation in the program.