Authors

  1. Linville, Deanna PhD
  2. Mintz, Brianna MS
  3. Martinez, Charles PhD
  4. Gau, Jeff M. MS
  5. Shune, Samantha PhD
  6. Stice, Eric PhD

Abstract

An obesity preventive intervention program for preschool families, Healthy Balance, was tested in 2 sequential pilot trials. The first pilot tested the original and translated group intervention in a heterogeneous population (65 families), and the second tested the feasibility of a culturally adapted version for Latinx immigrant families (27 families). No significant study 1 intervention effects were found. However, in study 2, there were significant improvements in parent body mass index, neck circumference, and blood pressure. These studies suggest that targeting family system change and tailoring the intervention for Latinx immigrant populations is feasible and has the potential to improve obesity-related biomarkers.