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Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 8 is Dr. Norma Olvera. Find all briefs here.
Dr. Norma Olvera
“Combating Obesity and Inactivity in Latina Girls”
In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Norma Olvera of the University of Houston assessed the immediate and long-term impact of a program—Behavior Opportunities Uniting in Nutrition, Counseling, and Exercise (BOUNCE)—on indicators of obesity.
Mother-daughter pairs enrolled in BOUNCE participated in a four-week healthy lifestyle summer program, followed by a 12-week, family-based aerobic program.
Key preliminary findings include:
- a family-centered exercise program successfully reduced obesity and increased physical activity levels in Latina girls; and
- Latina girls steadily increased their daily minutes of moderate-to-vigorous activity per week, with an average of 84.5 minutes.
Study finding suggest that Latina girls who participate in a family-centered exercise program during the summer are likely to reduce weight, body mass index, waist circumference and body fat percentage. Similarly, they are also likely to increase their moderate-to-vigorous activity.
Read more here.
Salud America! is an RWJF national program directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.
Explore More:
Maternal & Child HealthBy The Numbers
20.7
percent
of Latino kids have obesity (compared to 11.7% of white kids)
