The Que Sabrosa Vida (QSV) Community Nutrition Initiative is a 5-year program to change how border residents of the greater El Paso, Texas region make choices about eating. The goal is to promote a foundation for healthy daily living throughout the predominantly (72%) Mexican-American community. Culturally-appropriate strategies for individual-level behavior change are delivered through community-based educational courses and a community–wide public awareness campaign. A key educational component, the QSV Healthy Living Pyramid, was adapted from the USDA Food Guide Pyramid to promote nutrition guidelines, physical activity, water consumption, and local culture. Strong partnerships between the sponsoring private health foundation, academia, local community-based organizations, local work sites, and media agencies have been essential to the successful program. Analysis of weighted data from the pre-intervention, population-based telephone survey indicated that the majority of adults were not consuming a diet that met either the QSV or US dietary intake recommendations. For example, 92.4% did not meet the requirements for vitamin E. Additionally, 20-80% of adults were not considering making dietary changes to meet QSV recommendations (precontemplation stage). Behavioral and cognitive aspects of the nutritional status of this unique community and how they are addressed in the intervention will be discussed. To date, the program has been well-received by the community and stands poised to meet the challenge of changing the eating habits of a community.
Learning Objectives: 1. Describe strategies for individual and community level nutrition behavior change among Mexican-Americans. 2. Identify behavioral and cognitive indicators of the nutritional status of a community. 3. Describe the nutritional profile of a community of Mexican-American border residents.
Keywords: Nutrition, Hispanic
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.