Loma Linda University: Supporting Healthy Weight in Times of Crisis
Ardmore Institute of Health (AIH) is delighted to feature the outcomes of a Community Health Worker (CHW)-led study which assessed the effectiveness of an adapted Full Plate Living intervention for low-income, overweight or obese Latinas in Southern California.
This project, facilitated by Loma Linda University with grant support from AIH, was successfully implemented during the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study focused on a population that historically faces significant health disadvantages and was disproportionately affected by the pandemic and related food insecurity.
Despite the immense challenges associated with the pandemic, participants in the program showed significant improvement in weight and waist circumference over the one-year follow-up period. “While most of their fellow community-members gained weight, obese and overweight low-income, food insecure Latinas enrolled in a CHW-led intervention were able to lose weight and reduce their risk of obesity related chronic diseases during the peak of the pandemic.”
Notably, participants experiencing food insecurity benefited as much as those who were food secure, demonstrating that the intervention did not exacerbate, and may have reduced, the health disparity gap. The success was largely attributed by participants to the emotional and social support received, affirming that Whole Person Care – person-centered, relationship-based care that takes into account the social, spiritual, emotional, and behavioral aspects of health – is critical for achieving positive health outcomes.
Read the full study here: Supporting healthy weight in times of crisis: results of a one-year community health worker-led intervention among food (in) secure low-income Latinas.
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