Madres para la Salud
Study Purpose
The purpose of “Madres Para la Salud” [Mothers for Their Health] is to see how support and encouragement can help women to make positive changes in their health. This program will test if supportive information, encouragement, and walking as a group will increase physical activity and health benefits, such as weight loss, and if the program is attractive and easy to participate in.
We will do this by having a support group who participates in supportive information and walking sessions, both alone and with study personnel, and an information group who receives health information in the mail, but who do not participate in the support program. Study Flyer (PDF)
Group Activities
Support Group:
The support group will meet weekly. We will give you a pedometer to record the number of steps you take each day.
We will ask you to meet 1 time each week with our study staff. We ask that you walk on 4 other days per week on your own, or with other group members. We will measure your body fat, waist, and hip at the beginning of the study, at the end of 3, 6, and 9 months, and at the end of the study at 12 months.
Information Group:
The information group will receive a weekly mailed newsletter about health issues.
What To Expect
We will ask you to gather to meet with us up to 5 times to gather information about:
- Your current level of physical activity
- Your physical readiness for activity with a brief questionnaire
- Your weight and amount of body fat
- Your support from others to become physically active
- Your food intake for the past 24 hours
- Your assessment of your neighborhood