Investigators then expanded the research to include Hispanics. Three programs focused on low-income women and one on women of all income levels nationwide. The results equaled or bettered the original study findings. Successful health promotion interventions must start early in childhood, when risk factors, such as high blood pressure, become evident. NINR-funded investigators have shown that risks for cardiovascular disease in a large population of elementary school children were reduced significantly in just eight weeks by a special school health program that emphasized health information and physical activities.
Research testing similar interventions is now ongoing involving children through adolescence.
They speculate that these children will probably develop type 2 diabetes within 10 years, with obesity predicting which children are at risk. They also indicate that a national epidemic of type 2 diabetes may follow the current epidemic of obesity in U.S. children as well. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that obesity continues to increase in the younger population, with 13 percent of children and 14 percent of adolescents being overweight. Research is currently underway with this high risk group. Another emphasis of NINR is to prevent or manage illnesses that affect the life span, including helping people manage their own disease symptoms.