<i>Salud con Sabor Latino</i>: a culturally sensitive obesity prevention curriculum in an underserved Latino community

Resumen

Salud con Sabor Latino is a culturally sensitive obesity prevention curriculum that incorporates the traditions and values of the Latino community and family. The 4-week curriculum meets twice a week and includes an education and cooking component. Key components of the curriculum are portion size, reading food labels, taking small steps, eating a variety of foods, and the importance of physical activity. The curriculum is taught in English and Spanish by a bicultural promotora. Participants are primarily low income and uninsured. Goals of the program are to improve (a) knowledge of fitness and nutrition, (b) physical activity, (c) healthy eating, and (d) body fat measures. This study was a pretest and posttest evaluation of nutrition, physical activity, and body fat after the obesity prevention intervention with Latinos (n = 82). Results indicated a significant increase in physical activity (t[75] = − 6.35, p < 0.01). For nutrition, there was a significant increase in knowledge (t[59] = − 2.58, p = 0.01) and improved behavior (t[71] = − 5.33, p < 0.01). In addition, there were decreases in waist circumference (t[73] = 5.66, p < 0.01), percentage of body fat (t[71] = 2.50; p = 0.02), and body mass index (t[75] = 3.31, p < 0.01).