OBJECTIVE: This study examined the short- and long-term effects of a community-based lifestyle intervention among Latino youth with obesity. METHODS: Latino adolescents (14 to 16 years old) were randomized to a 3-month lifestyle intervention (n = 67) or comparison control (n = 69) and followed for 12 months. The intervention included weekly nutrition and health classes delivered to groups of families and exercise sessions (3 days/week) delivered to groups of adolescents. Comparison youth received laboratory results and general health information. Primary outcomes included insulin sensitivity and weight-specific quality of life (QoL) with secondary outcomes of BMI percentile (BMI%), waist circumference, and percent body fat. RESULTS: At 3 months, youth in the intervention group exhibited significant increases in insulin sensitivity (p < 0.05) and weight-specific QoL (p < 0.001), as well as reductions in BMI%, waist circumference, and percent body fat compared with controls. Increases in weight-specific QoL and reductions in BMI% and percent body fat remained significant at 12 months (p < 0.001), while changes in insulin sensitivity did not. In a subsample of youth with prediabetes at baseline, insulin sensitivity (p = 0.01), weight-specific QoL (p < 0.001), and BMI% (p < 0.001) significantly improved at 3 months. CONCLUSIONS: Lifestyle intervention can improve cardiometabolic and psychosocial health in a vulnerable population of Latino adolescents at high risk for developing type 2 diabetes.

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