Healthy Frio: A Rural Community Partnership to Advance Latino Obesity Research

Summary

Much has been learned about the efficacy and effectiveness of comprehensive healthy lifestyle interventions to reduce obesity. Few studies have been translated into rural settings or among Latinos. Y Living is an evidence-based family-focused intervention (FI) designed for urban Latino families. The FI is a 12-week behavioral modification program grounded in social cognitive theory, designed to engage the whole family in lifestyle changes by developing knowledge and skills in physical activity and healthy eating, building skills in goal-setting and self-monitoring, and creating a supportive home environment. Researchers will engage community partners in formative research to adapt the current FI for rural Latino families. Two parallel delivery methods of the FI will be developed and tested: 1) in-person group setting at a community center (FI-IP) and 2) home-based delivered remotely with technology (FI-RT). Both will be designed to address the unique social, cultural and environmental factors facing rural Latino families. The FI-RT will take advantage of innovative modern technology and e-Learning to increase program availability, accessibility and participation in rural settings. Researchers will conduct a 3-arm randomized controlled trial (RCT) to compare effectiveness of the two delivery approaches on weight loss (primary outcome) and energy balance behaviors (secondary outcomes) among obese Latino parent-child pairs versus control. The researchers will recruit 270 obese Latino adults (ages 21-65) with a child (ages 8-17) from three primary care practices in rural South Texas. These parent-child pairs will be randomized to one of three arms stratified by clinic: 1) FI-IP (n=90); 2) FI-RT (n=90); or 3) control group (n=90). Primary specific aims are to: 1) Conduct community-engaged formative studies to transform the existing FI into two unique delivery methods (FI-IP and FI-RT) for use in a subsequent RCT in a rural Latino community; and 2) Conduct a RCT to evaluate the comparative effectiveness of FI-IP and FI-RT to address weight loss (primary outcome) and energy balance behaviors (secondary outcomes) among obese rural Latino adults compared with adult participants in control group at immediate post intervention (3 months), after a 3-month maintenance program (6 months post randomization) and a 6-month follow-up (12 months post randomization). A secondary aim is to examine the impact of FI-IP and FI-RT children's weight and energy balance behaviors.

Conditions

• Obesity
• Nutrition Poor
• Physical Activity
• Weight Loss

Interventions

BEHAVIORAL

Healthy Frio In-Person Family-focused Intervention

Participants learn about energy balance behaviors, skills to support health behavior change, managing personal wellness, and parenting strategies. Sessions use interactive learning strategies to elicit knowledge and experience of participating families to encourage families to learn from each other. YMCA staff members lead a 50-minute group exercise session after each health education session to help participants meet their commitment of engaging in PA at least 3 times/week.

BEHAVIORAL

Healthy Frio Remote Technology Family-focused Intervention

Tablet computers will be used as the platform to deliver the health education content for the FI-RT. Each session will present the class content and guide the participants to complete class activities. Videos of health education and class activities (e.g., cooking demonstrations, exercise demonstrations) will be embedded in the lesson. Interactive assessment questions with feedback will be presented throughout the session to check for understanding of the content. Viewing time and responses to the assessment questions will be recorded to evaluate progress and comprehension. Participants will view the health education sessions at home as a family and discuss the content as prompted by lesson instructions.

BEHAVIORAL

Control

Participants receive standard of care

Sponsors & Collaborators

• The University of Texas at San Antonio

  collaborator OTHER

• The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Maryland

  collaborator OTHER

• University of Texas at Austin

  lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

• Deborah Parra-Medina, PhD · The University of Texas at Austin

Study Design

Allocation

RANDOMIZED

Purpose

PREVENTION

Masking

DOUBLE

Model

PARALLEL

Eligibility

Min Age

8 Years

Sex

ALL

Healthy Volunteers

No

Timeline & Regulatory

Start

2017-11-01

Primary Completion

2022-12-31

Completion

2023-01-31

Countries

• United States

Study Locations