Use of Adolescent "Community Researchers" to Address Obesity Among Mexican Immigrant Families.

Mexican-American immigrants have a disparate prevalence of overweight/obesity, and obesogenic illness. One approach is to train immigrant adolescents as "community researchers." (1) Design a program to train community researchers to address obesity among Mexican immigrant families and (2) identify the key components of a successful program. The content included an overview of community research/citizen science; obesity and food insecurity; study design and data collection and analysis for nutrition and physical activity. The students concluded by analyzing the results of group concept mapping (GCM) activities. Post-session class discussions reflected an increased understanding of weekly topics. Analysis of GCM data suggests that members of the Mexican immigrant community may use emotional eating as a way to manage structural stigma, eventually leading to truncal obesity, T2DM and increased cardiovascular risk. Adolescents of Mexican heritage can have a major impact in promoting healthy lifestyles in their communities.