A University of San Diego project that targets Latino men for being overweight by sending them texts telling them to exercise was approved by the National Institutes of Health and has already spent $406,875, the Washington Free Beacon notes.
The grant for the project, which was titled “Developing a text message enhanced physical intervention for Latino men,” stated:
Mexican-American men report high rates of inactivity and related health conditions. The proposed study seeks to promote physical activity among this at-risk, understudied population by developing interactive and tailored text-messages to enhance a print-based physical activity intervention for Spanish- speaking [Mexican American] MA men … The proposed high-reach, low-cost strategy for increasing physical activity has great potential for adoption on a larger scale and thereby positively impacting public health and eliminating health disparities.
The grant continued that Latino men “may have limited access to public health interventions promoting physical activity … To address these rising health disparities, effective interventions that leverage state-of-the-art technology, theory, and methods are needed for [Mexican-American] MA men.”
Results from the study showed 40 percent of the participants reaching the suggested 150 minutes per week of physical activity, while 30 percent entirely eschewed exercising even after perusing the materials, according to the Free Beacon.