Within Latin America, Chile has one of the highest prevalence of obesity. Public health efforts are centered on preventing obesity early in life. Preschool-aged children are developing eating habits that can last up to several years and they are becoming more receptive to their immediate social environment (particularly parents). Parents and children feeding interactions —either parent or child-centered— have been associated with child weight status and most of the research has been conducted in developed countries. Since feeding styles and practices are influenced by culture and context, little is known about the contextual and sociocultural aspects that affect how parents interact with their children during meals and other food-related contexts in Chile and other countries of Latin America. Most of the studies in Chile have focused on school age children and what children eat, but not how parents feed their children in early childhood and its influences. The objective of this study is to explore influences on feeding styles of parents with 3-to-5-year-old children residing in low-income neighborhoods in Santiago, Chile. A convenience sample of parents recruited in child care centers from low-middle income families will be interviewed using photo-elicitation. Understanding why parents feed their children in preschool years the way they do is key for developing culturally relevant programs.  Learning about the sociocultural and context factors behind parents’ feeding patterns may inform further research and ultimately lead to culturally-competent programs to prevent obesity early in life.

Health knowledge, and habits are known to begin during early childhood by vicarious learning from parents, siblings, caregivers, and peers. Thus, approaches that aim to modify behaviors of young Mexican children, need to understand children and caregivers’ knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions, as well as the factors that influence them. Considering this, the goal of the HOPS study is to document knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions about stress, obesity, diabetes, and yoga across three groups of preschool age children and their mothers. This qualitative study aims to document the attitudes and perceptions towards factors associated with early obesity development from three different groups: Mexicans in Mexico, first generation Mexican immigrants, and second generation Mexican descent. Data from this study will inform early childhood obesity prevention efforts interested in addressing the physical and mental health of families of Mexican descent in Mexico and the U.S.

In the United States, the known associations between social disadvantage, stress, and impaired health have been called into question by the Hispanic-Health-Paradox. The Hispanic-Health-Paradox posits that immigrants and their children have better health, exhibit higher resilience, and have longer life-expectancy than their native-born counterparts, despite greater exposure to environmental stressors including high levels of poverty, lower education, language barriers, marginalization, isolation, and other socioeconomic disadvantages. Accordingly the FIESTA study is being done to gain better understanding about the relationship between psychosocial stress, and acculturation on measurements of cellular aging of Mexican mothers, mothers of Mexican descent, and preschool age children. Information from this study will help us understand the impact on obesity risk and other related health problems as well as improving the physical and mental health of families of Mexican descent. By elucidating biological processes confound within the Hispanic-Health-Paradox, we hope to identify the social and biological processes that buffer the health effects of social disadvantage and stress.

Gardening is one of the most popular home-based leisure activities among American adults. However, the relationship between gardening and specific health behaviors (i.e., diet, physical activity, and sleep) remains unclear. Further, there is a paucity of data examining the familial factors (e.g., gardening with grand children or children) that increase the likelihood of gardening among adults.

This project aims to determine the interrelationships between specific markers of health behaviors and gardening among adults. This aim will be accomplished by the administration a short survey/questionnaire (administered online or during an in-person interview). The survey questions are directed towards characterizing the gardening experience (e.g., frequency, types of foods grown), demographics, (e.g., ethnicity/heritage, level of education and income), health behavior history (e.g., smoking status, self-reported height and weight), health behaviors (e.g. family meal frequency, leisure time activity, sleep). The resultant data will provide vital information that will be used to develop future gardening interventions targeted at improving health behaviors.

To take the survey, please click here.

“Illinois Pathways to Health” is a two year project aimed to ensure statewide access to and sustainability of chronic disease self-management education for older adults and adults with disabilities, with a focus on underserved populations. This project will build upon the existing infrastructure to create a sustainable, integrated statewide evidence based health promotion network.

The Abriendo Caminos-Promotora project aims to recruit, train, and support community volunteers to educate Latino families about health lifestyles, with the long-term objective of decreasing obesity and related health problems.

Abriendo Caminos-Promotora places a strong emphasis on program sustainability and cultural relevance – which are the strengths of the promotora-model.

This project builds on Abriendo Caminos (or “Clearing the Path for Strong and Healthy Families), conceived in 2010, when it was offered at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign as a nutrition education program for Spanish-speaking families. The six-week long program includes nutrition education and cooking activities that focus on preparing heathier versions of traditional Mexican foods.