# Improving Family Functioning in Obesity Treatment for Mexican American Women

> **NIH NIH R01** · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO · 2022 · $671,907

## Abstract

SUMMARY
Mexican American women are disproportionately affected by obesity and obesity-related conditions, such as
type 2 diabetes. Obesity and diabetes are highly concordant in Mexican American families. Given the younger
age of onset of diabetes in women with familial history, targeting mothers and their adult daughters for obesity
treatment is warranted. From a family systems perspective, family-level approaches to obesity treatment can
improve the adoption and maintenance of weight management behaviors. Including family members in
treatment may also serve as a culturally salient intervention strategy as Mexican Americans endorse high level
of familism. In contrast to traditional individual-level approaches to obesity treatment, a family-level approach
grounded in familism would promote shared goals, collaborative problem solving, and communal coping when
treating family members alongside each other. An important construct to consider when working with
intergenerational Mexican American families is differences in acculturation, which may translate into
differences in attitudes and behaviors. A wider gap in acculturation between parent and child has previously
been associated with lower family functioning (e.g., poor communication, high conflict, low cohesion).
However, interventions that promote bicultural competence by changing interactional patterns have been
effective at improving family functioning. Hence, this study will conduct a randomized control trial testing the
efficacy of a behavioral weight management intervention with brief and structured counseling on family
functioning. Mexican American mothers and adult daughters (n=118 dyads) will be randomly assigned to
receive standard behavioral treatment (SBT) or standard behavioral treatment plus relationship skills training
(SBTR). Dyads participating in SBT or SBTR will attend 24 weekly sessions focused on nutrition and physical
activity education along with behavior modification techniques. Dyads participating in SBTR will also receive
experiential-based relationship skills training that draws from both general family systems concepts and
behavioral family/couples therapy approaches to support familism, biculturalism, and communication
competencies. The 12-month trial will consist of an intervention phase (1-6 months) and a maintenance phase
(7-12 months). Assessments will be conducted at baseline and at the end of the intervention and maintenance
phases. The primary outcome is weight loss. Secondary outcomes include treatment adherence (session
attendance and self-monitoring records), physiological indicators of diabetes risk (hemoglobin A1c, waist
circumference, and body fat percentage), health behaviors (eating and physical activity), psychological well-
being (depression and perceived stress), and family functioning (subjective self-report and objective behavioral
coding). Dyads in the SBTR group are expected to achieve greater improvements in primary and secondary
outcomes than th...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10470321
- **Project number:** 5R01DK129682-02
- **Recipient organization:** UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, SAN DIEGO
- **Principal Investigator:** BECKY MARQUEZ
- **Activity code:** R01 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2022
- **Award amount:** $671,907
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2021-08-17 → 2026-07-31

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10470321

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10470321, Improving Family Functioning in Obesity Treatment for Mexican American Women (5R01DK129682-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-22 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10470321. Licensed CC0.

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