Athletes for life: Rationale and methodology of a community- and family-based randomized controlled trial to promote cardiovascular fitness among primarily Latino families

Abstract

Background: Community-based programs have had modest success in combating obesity in Latino populations. Latino families' norms and beliefs about weight often hold larger body sizes to be normal, leading to lower engagement in weight-focused programs. Because improvements in cardiorespiratory fitness confer health benefits, regardless of weight, they offer an alternative to obesity-focused approaches. We describe the rationale and design of Athletes for Life (AFL), a community- and family-based intervention for Latino families.

Methods/design: This two-group randomized controlled trial will test the efficacy of AFL for improving cardiorespiratory fitness and diet in 6- to 11-year-old children (N = 160) and their parents, relative to a wait-list control group. Children will participate in 12 weeks of semiweekly sports skill programing and nutrition sessions. Concurrently, parents will participate in sports-focused activity and behavior change sessions that focus on nutrition, chronic disease prevention, and healthy eating. Cardiovascular fitness will be measured by the 1-mile run and 3-min step-test for both parents and children. Secondary outcomes include changes in objectively measured physical activity, dietary measures, body composition, and cardiometabolic risk (waist circumference, blood pressure, blood lipids, glucose, insulin, and C-reactive protein).

Discussion: AFL, implemented with a strong community partnership, will provide a test of the efficacy of culturally tailored intervention programming to promote positive health behaviors and improve health outcomes in Latino families. Intervention content, structure, and messaging will provide guidance for future methods to engage Latino families in health promotion programs that highlight their cultural norms, and beliefs.

Trial registration: Clinicaltrials.gov Identifier NCT03761589 (12/3/2018).

Keywords: Body mass index; Dietary sugars; Exercise; Fitness center; Hispanic; Pediatric obesity; Physical activity.

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Copyright © 2020 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Figures

Fig. 1.

Operant learning theory embedded in a socioecological context.