Family-Centered Interventions for Treatment and Prevention of Childhood Obesity in Hispanic Families: A Systematic Review

The recent increases in childhood obesity rate among the Hispanics living in the US is a major public health concern. To date, interventions seeking to reduce childhood obesity often target the youth or the parents; however, few engage both groups within the intervention. This systematic review explores current studies that aim to control obesity in Hispanic children through family-centered interventions and assesses the effects and outcomes of these interventions in Hispanic children (2-12 years old). Data bases (PubMed, Cochrane, and EBSCO) were used to search for articles published from 2013 to 2019 that used interventions to prevent or reduce childhood obesity in Hispanic populations. Out of the initial 110 articles, only nine articles met the inclusion criteria and were included in the analysis. The majority of the current interventions included in this systematic analysis were effective in controlling Hispanic childhood obesity. Shorter interventions (i.e. 8-36 weeks) found changes in health behaviors (e.g. sugary drink consumption, screen time) and health outcomes (e.g. health-related quality of life), but many did not see changes in anthropometric variables (e.g. body mass index [BMI], blood pressure). However, interventions measured over longer timeframes (i.e. 48-144 weeks) found some decreases in sustained behaviors (e.g. caloric intake) and anthropometric measures. There is a lack of literature pertaining to culturally relevant, family-centered interventions for Hispanic youth and their families. Future studies should use culturally tailored strategies to develop interventions specifically made for Hispanic youth and education to engage their families within the program.