Parents in 12-week 'Y Living Program' may be setting good example for kids.

Latino adults enrolled in a 12-week family-based lifestyle program lost weight, had less body fat, and reduced their waist size but children enrolled in the program showed no improvements, University of Texas Health Sciences Center researchers report.

The Y Living lifestyle intervention program, designed in partnership with the YMCA of Greater San Antonio, aimed at preventing excess weight gain in Latino families by increasing physical activity and healthy dietary behaviors. The program, provided to study participants at no cost, included twice weekly group sessions and physical activity three times per week.

The study focused on U.S. Latinos as this population has disproportionately higher rates of obesity and physical inactivity than the general U.S. population. Researchers conducted the study from January 2012 - June 2013, implementing the 12-week Y Living program and following up after three months. The program ran 11 times in three facilities and enrolled about 16 families per program; 242 adults and 106 children age 7 and older participated.

Overall, adults lost an average of 1.6 pounds. Other results varied across subgroups. Women and adult participants who were obese at the start of the program improved more than children who were obese at baseline or who lived in families with a household income of $15,000 or more. Women had a greater decrease in BMI than men.

Despite these mixed results, the researchers suggest that the good habits adults learn from the program could be a model for children.

"Although weight outcomes for children in our program were mixed, weight improvements among adults may portend weight improvements among children when parents adopt healthy behaviors and become healthy role models," they suggest.

Article: Weight Outcomes of Latino Adults and Children Participating in the Y Living Program, a Family-Focused Lifestyle Intervention, San Antonio, 2012-2013, Deborah Parra-Medina et al., Preventing Chronic Disease, published 10 December 2015.