A new study in the Journal of Community Health says community involvement can reduce obesity in Indian youth.

The Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board and the Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research studied 205 families from three tribes in Oregon and Washington. Families from one tribe received community interventions while the other two received interventions plus in-home visits and telephone call from healh workers.

The study found that Indian children from the first tribe saw a 30 percent rise in their body mass index. Children from other tribes only saw an 8 percent increase.

Across all three groups, breastfeeding rates increased. And all families said they were taking steps to curtail consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks.

A community intervention can come in many forms. One tribe, for example, passed a resolution against sugar-sweetened drinks at tribal events. Another started a breast-feeding room at its clinic.

Get the Story:
Kaiser studies youth obesity in N.W. tribes (The Columbian 6/3)
Press Release: Community Interventions and In-home Visits May Slow Excess Weight Gain in American Indian Children (Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board / Kaiser Permanente 6/2)

Get the Study:
The TOTS Community Intervention to Prevent Overweight in American Indian Toddlers Beginning at Birth: A Feasibility and Efficacy Study (Journal of Community Health