title: College mentors: a view from the inside of an intervention to promote health behaviors and prevent obesity among low-income, urban, African American adolescents.
abstract: This article examined the views of college mentors who administered Challenge!-a home- and community-based health promotion/overweight prevention intervention that effectively reduced the progression to overweight among African American adolescents. In-depth qualitative interviews among 17 mentors (81%) conducted 1 year following the intervention yielded four primary findings: (a) the importance of a strong mentor-mentee relationship often extending beyond the issues of diet and physical activity, (b) concern at the adversities the adolescents faced (e.g., poverty and household instability); (c) the personal impact of the mentoring process on the mentors' own dietary and physical activity behavior and career choices; and (d) recommendations regarding subsequent mentoring programs. In summary, college students are a valuable resource as mentors for low-income, African American adolescents and provide insights into the success of health promotion/overweight prevention interventions.
authors.affiliation: Division of Growth and Nutrition in the Department of Pediatrics, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21201, USA. mblack@peds.umaryland.edu
authors.forename: Maureen M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Black
authors.forename: S Sonia
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: Arteaga
authors.forename: JoAnn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sanders
authors.forename: Erin R
authors.initials: ER
authors.lastname: Hager
authors.forename: Jean A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Anliker
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Gittelsohn
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior / Q000208:ethnology*; D006293:Health Promotion / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D008611:Mentors / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D009765:Obesity / Q000208:ethnology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D011203:Poverty / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014481:United States; D014495:Universities; D014505:Urban Population / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D055815:Young Adult