Preventing diabetes in Latino families: A protocol for a randomized control trial.

BACKGROUND: Latino families are disproportionately affected by type 2 diabetes (T2D) and lifestyle intervention is the first-line approach for preventing T2D. The purpose of this study is to test the efficacy of a culturally-grounded lifestyle intervention that prioritizes health promotion and diabetes prevention for Latino families. The intervention is guided by a novel Family Diabetes Prevention Model, leveraging the family processes of engagement, empowerment, resilience, and cohesion to orient the family system towards health. METHOD: Latino families (N = 132) will be recruited and assessed for glucose tolerance as measured by an Oral Glucose Tolerance Test (OGTT) and General and Weight-Specific Quality of Life (QoL) at baseline, four months, and 12 months. All members of the household age 10 and over will be invited to participate. Families will be randomized to the intervention group or a control group (2:1). The 16-week intervention includes weekly nutrition and wellness classes delivered by bilingual, bicultural Registered Dietitians and community health educators at a local YMCA along with two days/week of supervised physical activity classes and a third day of unsupervised physical activity. Control families will meet with a physician and a Registered Dietitian to discuss the results of their metabolic testing and recommend lifestyle changes. We will test the efficacy of a family-focused diabetes prevention intervention for improving glucose tolerance and increasing QoL and test for mediators and moderators of long-term changes. CONCLUSION: This study will provide much needed data on the efficacy of a family-focused Diabetes Prevention Program among high-risk Latino families.

University of Louisville finds group walking programs help increase faculty and staff activity.

A self-insured institution, the University of Louisville implemented a faculty and staff wellness program in 2005 to help control the cost of health insurance to the university and to its employees by addressing the three primary lifestyle drivers of health care cost: stress, physical inactivity, and obesity. The program, Get Healthy Now, provides resources to help employees understand their health status and take corrective action where needed. One successful initiative within Get Healthy Now has been "Trek the Trail." Faculty and staff teams collectively walked the length of the Appalachian Trail over a 6-month period. After 19 weeks, and with 9 weeks to go, the 655 trek participants had walked more than 170,000 miles. Teams that had completed the trek continued to walk and to log their activity.