Healthy Latino Families: A Nutrition/Exercise Program to Reduce Obesity

Project Description Narrative:

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Overweight and obesity is a public health issue that disproportionally impacts ethnic minorities, including Latinos. More than 70% of Latino adults are overweight, and Latino children have shown similar increases in weight and obesity. At Bruce Guadalupe Charter Middle School on the Near South Side of Milwaukee, the student body is 97% Latino, with 27% currently at-risk or overweight. Most of the school’s students and families live in neighborhoods with limited outdoor opportunities for physical activity, and many adults speak little or no English.

This project aims to help Bruce Guadalupe Charter Middle School students and their families adopt and maintain healthier eating and lifestyle habits to prevent overweight and improve long-term health outcomes. This will be accomplished by updating the school’s meal program with a healthier Latino menu and incorporating more physical activity and health education into the curriculum. School staff will learn how to make effective changes in the school, and parents will be provided an early-evening educational program to reinforce the school-based intervention and sustain behavior changes.

Community partners: United Community Center, Bruce Guadalupe Charter Middle School