Intervention to Promote Weight Loss in Latinas At-risk for Diabetes

Promotora-led Intervention to Promote Weight Loss in Latinas At-risk for Diabetes

The overarching goal of this project is to develop and test a behavioral intervention delivered by promotoras to help at-risk Latinas lose weight and prevent diabetes.

The goal of the proposed research is to compare two evidence-based strategies for preventing type 2 diabetes - promotora-led lifestyle intervention and metformin - vs. usual care (UC) among Latinas in a "real world" setting. The aims of this study are to 1) develop a protocol-based, promotora-led lifestyle intervention (PLI) to promote weight loss in at-risk Latinas, and assess its feasibility; 2) compare changes in weight and cardiometabolic markers-hemoglobin A1C, fasting lipids, blood pressure-from baseline to 1 year between at-risk Latinas randomly assigned to the PLI group versus metformin and usual care (UC) groups; and 3) understand the social and cultural context surrounding weight-related behaviors among Latinas at-risk for diabetes. The investigators hypothesize that Latinas assigned to PLI and metformin will have greater weight loss (primary outcome) and greater improvements in cardiometabolic markers from baseline to 1 year than those randomized to UC

Inclusion Criteria:

• Female gender
• Latino ethnicity
• Spanish fluency
• Age ≥20 years
• BMI ≥25 kg/m2
• And "increased risk of diabetes" (ADA Diabetes Risk Score ≥4 as determine by 7-item questionnaire and hemoglobin A1C ≥ 5.6%)

Exclusion Criteria:

• Hemoglobin A1C ≥ 6.5%
• Current or planned pregnancy during the study period
• Chronic conditions that could affect potential participants' ability to participate (osteoarthritis, heart disease, pulmonary disease requiring oxygen or daily bronchodilator use, and severe psychiatric disease)
• Medical comorbidities that could influence weight loss or weight gain (thyroid disease, cancer, and HIV)
• Medications that could affect weight or glucose metabolism (thiazide diuretics, β-blockers, and systemic glucocorticoids).