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

Project Overview

3rd Funding Cycle Impact Award
     Project Start Date: 7/1/2007
     Project End Date: 6/30/2010

Project Goal Statement: This program will modify the middle school meal program to be healthier and infuse more physical activity and targeted health education messages into the curriculum. A family-based early evening education program will help children and parents incorporate these changes into their lives.

Original Award Amount: $450,000
Adjusted Award Amount: $395,414*

Community Partners:
Primary Community Partner: University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee
Additional community partner organization name: Centro de la Comunidad Unida - United Community Center (UCC)

Academic Partner:
Primary Academic Partner: Chrisitine Cronk, ScD, Department of Pediatrics

Project Progress Summary Reports:
     Project Progress Report Summary July 2007 - June 2008
     Project Progress Report Summary July 2008 - June 2009
     Project Progress Report Summary July 2009 - December 2009
     Project Final Report Summary 

Affiliated Web Pages:
     Centro de la Comunidad Unida - United Community Center (UCC)
     University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee

Project Dissemination Efforts (as reported by project partners)

• Outreach Materials/Events
  • Participating family featured in UCC report. 2008.
  • Featured in two community forums – Community Discussion about physical environmental factors that affect the risk of childhood obesity (August 18, 2009) and Town Hall Meeting sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Science led by the NIEHS-funded UWM/Children’s Research Institute’s Children’s Environmental Health Sciences Core Center and the UWM Institute of Environmental Health (October 1, 2009)
  • Promoted program with parents and students at the Exhibition Open House at Bruce Guadalupe Middle School. April 28, 2010.
  • Featured in CNN Health Web News story – An uphill battle to combat Latino childhood obesity.
  • Featured in Third Coast Digest titled – UCC’s Healthy Latino Families initiative targets childhood obesity.
  • Featured in the TV program ‘Adelante,’ a Spanish-speaking show on MPTV aimed at the Milwaukee Latino population. 2010.
• Presentations
  • Panel Presentation at the Nutrition in Health and Healing-Nutrition in Action! A Panel Discussion of Community-based Programs. Madison, WI. September 2009.
  • Presentation at the Next Step Conference. Milwaukee, WI. October 2, 2009.
  • Presentation at the National Council of La Raza Annual Conference. Chicago, Illinois. July 25, 2009.
  • Presentation at the WiPOD WIPAN Conference – Linking Research, Community Action and Policy to Prevent Obesity. June 2, 2010.

*In 2009 award amounts, based on the remaining budget, were adjusted to reflect the decline in endowment asset value due to the downturn in the economy.