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'The North Carolina Tienda Project' Principal Investigator:
Guadalupe X. 'Suchi' Ayala. PhD, MPH Years: 2006-2008 The goal of this study is to test the feasibility and short-term efficacy of a diet-based energy balance intervention for immigrant Latinos. In the Southeastern U.S., tiendas (Latino grocery stores) are fast becoming an important place where Latinos go for information and resources. This study proposes to capitalize on this natural source of support by working with tiendas to promote healthy dietary behaviors. The "Marketing health to Latinos through tiendas" study consists of two phases: phase One involves formative research with food suppliers to identify the best strategies for making healthy food products more available in tiendas. Phase Two will assess the feasibility and short-term efficacy of a food marketing and environmental change intervention compared with a delayed-treatment control condition. The environmental change component will involve creating a healthy product section in the store that promotes sales of fruits, vegetables, low-fat products, and alternatives to sugary beverages. The food marketing component will employ various food marketing strategies to promote sales of healthy foods. The main study outcome is to increase fruit and vegetable consumption among tienda customers. This project has the potential to lead to larger programs targeting dietary behavior change and obesity among Latinos, as well as other cancer prevention behaviors (i.e., increased physical activity, reduction in tobacco use) in a novel setting.
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