BodyWorks: An Obesity Prevention Toolkit for Latino Families

The BodyWorks Toolkit on obesity prevention for adolescents was adapted from English into Spanish for Latino families by the Office on Women's Health (OWH), DHHS. This toolkit, targeted to parents and caregivers of adolescent girls and boys, was designed to promote healthy eating and increased physical activity for all family members. The toolkit is distributed using a train-the-trainer (TOT) approach within communities. Among the components of the kit are: a handbook for parents in Spanish; a bilingual and English-language recipe book; a meal planner; shopping list; food diary; and DVD in Spanish; materials for boys and girls in English. Training both for families and trainers are conducted in Spanish. Challenges in developing the kit include: 1) adapting, rather than translating the print materials and DVD; 2) conducing focus groups and formative research to address the specific needs of Latino parents and adolescents; 3) targeting a broad range of Latino sub-cultures, including South and Central American, Mexican, Puerto Rican, Caribbean, and Cuban; 4) producing a video that would appeal to a spectrum of Latino families; 5) Using behavior change models as a foundation for the 10-week session with Latino families; and 6) training appropriate trainers to reach families in community-based programs. The toolkit is provided free to families and trainers. The training manuals, also supplied by OWH, are supplemented by an OWH listserv for trainers, training and marketing resources, and a range of training tools online.