196589 Salud con Sabor Latino: A culturally sensitive obesity prevention curriculum in an underserved Latino community

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Christina Araiza, MPH , Esperança, Inc., Phoenix, AZ
Maria Valenzuela , Golden Gate Community Center, Phoenix, AZ
Bonnie Gance-Cleveland, PhD , College of Nursing and Healthcare Innovation, Arizona State University, Phoenix, AZ
Salsa con Sabor Latino is an obesity prevention curriculum that incorporates the traditions and values of the Latino community, recognizing that the family functions as a unit. The four-week curriculum meets twice a week, and includes education and cooking. Key components of the curriculum include: portion size, reading food labels, taking small steps, eating a variety of foods, and the importance of physical activity. Program graduates play a leadership role by co-facilitating the cooking segment, allowing it to be more culturally appropriate. Participants take ownership of the course by getting actively involved in influencing the health status of their community. The final week includes a supermarket tour and celebration potluck. Assets of this program are the transferred learning with participants modifying their lifestyles and modeling this for others in their community network. Goals of the program are to increase: 1) awareness of fitness and nutrition, 2) levels of physical activity, and 3) healthy eating habits. This study was a quasi-experimental pre- and post- test evaluation of nutrition, physical activity and anthropometrics after the intervention with Latinas (n=27). Results indicated an increase in physical activity (t(27) = -5.03, p < .01), and increase in knowledge regarding weight loss t(26) = 2.13, p < .05). Forty-six percent of participants increased their vegetable intake and 22% decreased milk fat consumption. Body Mass Index (BMI) decreased overall, and was approaching statistical significance (t(26) = 1.99, p = .057). Sixty-three percent of participants showed a decrease in BMI.

Learning Objectives:
Upon completion of this presentation, attendees will be able to: - Identify key elements of a successful obesity prevention curriculum targeting a Latino population

Keywords: Latino Health, Obesity

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: Masters in Public Health that developed and implemented the curriculum; extensive experience in presenting to a broad range of audiences including community groups, funders, health care professionals, etc.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.