Journal Article

Developing a Culturally Responsive Lifestyle Intervention for Overweight/Obese U.S. Mexicans

González, Javier, Lynch, Kathleen, Puebla, Leslie, Gany, Francesca, Leng, Jennifer, Lui, Florence, Narang, Bharat

2022

Overview

Introduction Hispanics are the largest minority group in the United States, constituting 18 % of the population. Mexicans are the largest Hispanic subgroup and are at disproportionate risk for overweight/obesity. Lifestyle interventions targeting dietary change and physical activity have resulted in significant weight loss in several large randomized clinical trials in the general population, but few studies have tailored interventions to Mexican Americans. We conducted a community needs assessment from 2018 to 2020 in accordance with Domenech-Rodriguez and Wieling’s Cultural Adaptation Process (CAP) model to inform the development of SANOS (SAlud y Nutrición para todOS) (Health and Nutrition for All), a culturally-tailored, community-based diet and lifestyle education and counseling program that addresses overweight/obesity among U.S. Mexicans. Methods Five Spanish-language focus groups were conducted until thematic saturation with 31 overweight/obese Mexicans in New York City about their knowledge, priorities, and preferences regarding diet, exercise, and evidence-based strategies for behavioral change. A grounded theory approach was used to analyze the data. Results Five themes were identified: (1) A strong desire for tangible information related to diet and health, (2) Family as a primary motivator for behavior change, (3) Desire for group-based motivation and accountability to sustain intervention participation, (4) Belief in short-term goal setting to prevent loss of motivation, and (5) Time and workplace-related barriers to intervention adoption. Conclusions Ecological factors such as the effect of acculturation on diet, family members’ role in behavior change, and socioenvironmental barriers to healthy dietary practices and physical activity should be considered when adapting evidence-based treatments for Mexican Americans.

• Publisher: Springer US,Springer Nature B.V
• Subject: Accountability / Acculturation / Behavior change / Behavior modification / Body weight / Body weight loss / Change agents / Changes / Clinical research / Clinical trials / Community and Environmental Psychology / Counselors / Cultural sensitivity / Desire / Diet / Ecological effects / Ecological Factors / Ecology / Educational programs / Environmental aspects / Ethics / Evidence-based medicine / Exercise / Families & family life / Family roles / Focus Groups / Goal Orientation / Goal setting / Grounded theory / Health behavior / Health Promotion and Disease Prevention / Hispanic Americans / Humans / Intervention / Latin American cultural groups / Life Style / Lifestyles / Medicine / Medicine & Public Health / Mental health / Mexican Americans / Mexicans / Minority & ethnic groups / Minority groups / Motivation / Needs assessment / Nutrition / Obesity / Obesity - prevention & control / Original Paper / Overweight / Overweight - prevention & control / Overweight - psychology / Physical activity / Physical fitness / Population studies / Relatives / Saturation / Subgroups / Treatment methods / United States / Weight control / Weight loss / Workplaces