Opportunities to Address Obesity Disparities Among High-Risk Latino Children and Adolescents

Authors

Erica G Soltero
Teresia M O'Connor
Deborah Thompson
Gabriel Q Shaibi

Publication Date

9-1-2021

Journal

Current Obesity Reports

DOI

10.1007/s13679-021-00445-x

PMID

34263434

PMCID

PMC9116051

PubMedCentral® Posted Date

9-1-2022

PubMedCentral® Full Text Version

Author MSS

Published Open-Access

yes

Keywords

Adolescent, Health Behavior, Hispanic or Latino, Humans, Obesity, Risk Factors, Obesity, Children, Adolescents, Social determinants of health, Prevention interventions

Abstract

Purpose of review: This review highlights obesity-related disparities among Latino children and adolescents, discusses the social determinants of health (SDoH) that drive disparities, and presents case studies of strategies for reducing disparities and promoting health equity.

Recent findings: Recommended strategies for reducing obesity-related disparities include the use of culturally grounded programming, multi-sector collaborations, and technology. We present two exemplar studies that demonstrate that integrating cultural values and enhancing the overall cultural fit of prevention programs can increase engagement among high-risk Latino families. We also examine the use of multi-sector collaborations to build community capacity and address key SDoH that impact health behaviors and outcomes. Our last example study demonstrates the utility of technology for engaging youth and extending the reach of prevention strategies in vulnerable communities. To address growing obesity-related disparities, there is an urgent need to develop and test these strategies among high-risk, vulnerable populations like Latino children and adolescents.