Childhood obesity and cardiometabolic health in Latino youth from low-income families
Official title: Childhood Obesity and Cardiometabolic Health among Impoverished Mexican Americans
Funded at Arizona State University-Tempe Campus · NIH-11369846 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project follows Mexican American kids from birth through mid-adolescence to understand how weight and heart health develop over time.
Quick facts
| Grant type | R01 grant |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Arizona State University-Tempe Campus NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Scottsdale, United States) |
| Project start | August 7, 2017 |
| Project end | May 31, 2027 |
| Funding year | 2026 |
| Award (this year) | $575,636 |
| NIH project number | 5R01MD011599-10 |
| Project ID | NIH-11369846 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal participants are Mexican American youth from low-income families who were enrolled from birth and up to early adolescence in the LMN study.
✕Less likely to help
Children not represented in the LMN cohort or outside the defined age range may not directly benefit from these findings.
What this research studies
Researchers will use existing long-term data from a study of very low income Mexican American mothers and their children to track weight gain and heart-related health indicators from birth to ages 12–16. They will look at how factors in the home, environment, and biology relate to changes in weight and cardiometabolic risk like blood pressure and cholesterol. The study will map trajectories of weight and health, and identify key risk and resilience factors that influence these outcomes over time. By analyzing this longitudinal data, the team aims to pinpoint moments where preventive public health actions could have the biggest impact.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, findings could help shape early prevention strategies to reduce obesity and improve cardiometabolic health in Mexican American children.
How similar studies have gone: Longitudinal studies have shown that early-life factors strongly influence obesity and cardiometabolic risk later in childhood and adolescence.
Where this research is happening
-
Arizona State University-Tempe Campus
Scottsdale, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Perez, Marisol — Arizona State University-Tempe Campus
- Study coordinator: Perez, Marisol
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Understanding Childhood Obesity and Heart Health in Mexican American Youth
This project looks at existing information to understand why obesity and heart-related health issues are common in Mexican American children and teenagers from low-income families.
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Understanding how where you live and personal factors during pregnancy affect a child’s risk for obesity and metabolic problems
This project looks at how neighborhood conditions and individual factors during pregnancy may influence a child’s risk of obesity and metabolic health as they grow.
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A hybrid mobile-family program to prevent obesity in preschoolers
A neighborhood-friendly program uses in-person meetings plus mobile phone support to help Latino families with 2- to 5-year-olds adopt healthier eating, less screen time, and more activity to prevent obesity.
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Adapting a proven kids’ lifestyle program to boost reach and impact
A study from Stanford aims to spread and improve a well-proven healthy-lifestyle program for children with obesity so more families can use it effectively.
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Strengthening obesity risk screening and referrals in early childhood
A 3-year study in New York aims to make it easier to find and connect families with social supports to prevent obesity from infancy into later childhood.
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Prenatal exercise modes and how they affect child obesity risk
This study tests which exercise type during pregnancy best protects children from obesity and metabolic problems later in life for women who are overweight or obese.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.