title: Reach-out: a family-based diabetes prevention program for African American youth.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To pilot test and assess the feasibility of a culturally grounded approach to adolescent overweight and diabetes prevention.
  
  
  METHODS
  Reach-Out, a family-based nutrition and exercise program for overweight African American youth aged 9 to 12 years and their families, is led by lay health leaders and conducted in a community setting on Chicago's south side (Illinois). Age-appropriate interactive sessions focus on skills building, problem solving, and setting goals during 14 weekly sessions, with monthly meetings thereafter. Pre-post comparisons were made for 29 families (62 subjects) using physical (body mass index [BMI], blood pressure, waist circumference), biochemical (glucose, insulin, lipid levels) and behavioral data. Statistical analyses included mixed-effects linear models and logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Children's mean BMI z score fell from 2.46 at baseline to 2.38 at 14 weeks and 2.39 at 1 year (p=.02), while parents' BMI remained stable. Children reported increased walking (p=0.07) and exhibited a corresponding rise in mean serum high-density lipoprotein cholesterol from 49.4 to 54.2 (p<.001). Qualitative assessment showed that participants enjoyed the program but felt the program could be improved by making the sessions even more interactive.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A community-based program for overweight minority youth and families can successfully address overweight, with the potential to decrease diabetes risk in youth.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA. dburnet@medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu
authors.forename: Deborah L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Burnet
authors.forename: Andrea J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Plaut
authors.forename: Sarah A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Wolf
authors.forename: Dezheng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Huo
authors.forename: Marla C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Solomon
authors.forename: Gameli
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dekayie
authors.forename: Michael T
authors.initials: MT
authors.lastname: Quinn
authors.forename: Rebecca
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Lipton
authors.forename: Marshall H
authors.initials: MH
authors.lastname: Chin
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001741:Black or African American; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D002641:Chicago; D002648:Child; D002662:Child Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003153:Community Health Services / Q000458:organization & administration*; D003924:Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 / Q000208:ethnology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005192:Family Health; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D050177:Overweight / Q000150:complications*; D010865:Pilot Projects