Individualized Tailor-Made Dietetic Intervention Program at Schools Enhances Eating Behaviors and Dietary Habits in Obese Hispanic Children of Low Socioeconomic Status

Hispanic children and those from low-socioeconomic status are predisposed to unhealthy eating habits and obesity. Aim. to implement an individualized, face-to-face, parent supported, and school-partnership dietetic intervention to promote healthy eating habits and decrease body mass index. Prospective school year dietetic intervention of 101 obese, Hispanic, low-socioeconomic school-age children representative of Monterrey, Mexico, consisted of anthropometrics, dietetic assessment, energy-restriction tailor-made daily menus, and parental education every three weeks. Student's t-test was used for means comparison. A significant decrease was found in body mass index percentile (96.43 +/- 3.32 to 93.42 +/- 8.12/P = 0.00) and energy intake/day of -755.7 kcal/day (P = 0.00). Among other energy dense foods with significant decline in servings/day and servings/week were processed meats (3.13 +/- 1.43 to 2.19 +/- 1.04/P = 0.00 and 5.60 +/- 1.75 to 4.37 +/- 2.10/P = 0.00, resp.), saturated fat (1.47 +/- 1.08 to 0.78 +/- 0.79/P = 0.00 and 2.19 +/- 2.18 to 1.1 +/- 1.36/P = 0.00), sweetened beverages (2.79 +/- 1.99 to 1.42 +/- 1.21 and 6.21 +/- 1.72 to 3.89 +/- 2.80/P = 0.00), and desserts and refined-grain bakery (1.99 +/- 1.54 to 1.32 +/- 1.59 and 2.85 +/- 2.54 to 1.57 +/- 2.20/P = 0.00). There was a significant increase in servings/day and servings/week of water (2.98 +/- 2.02 to 4.91 +/- 2.37 and 6.62 +/- 2.03 to 6.87 +/- 0.91/P = 0.00, resp.) and nutrient dense foods such as fruits (1.31 +/- 0.89 to 1.66 +/- 0.96 and 3.34 +/- 2.24 to 4.28 +/- 2.43/P = 0.00) and fish and poultry (3.76 +/- 2.15 to 4.54 +/- 2.25/P = 0.00). This intervention created healthy eating habits and decreased body mass index in a high risk population.