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Leveraging social media to promote body positivity among Latino adolescents

Award Number: K01MD019721
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CENTER ON MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/07/2024
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2029

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Leveraging social media to promote body positivity among Latino adolescents - The Mentored Research Scientist Development Award (K01) will support my long-term career goal of testing whether the mental and physical health of youth, particularly those from communities with social and economic challenges, improves when social norms encourage widespread promotion of body positive messages. Negative attitudes/behaviors towards specific groups has been identified as a fundamental cause of health problems, but weight-related negative attitudes/behaviors has received relatively less attention. For larger bodied people, negative attitudes/behaviors because of weight are associated with suboptimal mental and physical outcomes (e.g., depression, disordered eating). High rates of adolescent obesity disproportionately impact Latino youth in the U.S. putting them at increased risk for poor health outcomes. Social media offers untapped potential to promote healthy norms around body size and shape. To leverage youth’s heavy engagement with social media and its ability to shape norms, I am proposing a social media intervention designed to positively influence adolescents’ views of those living in larger bodies, increase the likelihood that adolescents promote positive content about body size and shape, and discourage adolescents from engaging in harmful actions towards others because of their weight. The limited research on social media interventions to promote body positivity (positive feelings about body size and shape) has involved a one-time intervention exposure and has largely been done with White, female adult samples. My proposed research will address these gaps by studying male and female Latino youth who will receive multiple exposures to body positive messages via Instagram. The specific aims of this proposal are to (1) use qualitative methods to understand Latino youth’s view on body positive messages to inform the development of an Instagram body positivity campaign, (2) develop an Instagram body positivity campaign to increase body positivity among Latino adolescents, and (3) conduct a pilot RCT to assess the impact of a body positivity Instagram campaign tailored to Latino youth on weight-related attitudes and mental health. For Aim 1, I will conduct 20 interviews with youth about body positivity to identify key themes that will inform development of a campaign to promote body positivity among Latino youth. In Aim 2, I will develop 20 campaign messages and pre-test those messages with 100 Latino adolescents to select messages for use in the pilot RTC. In Aim 3, 114 Latino adolescents will engage with a study campaign (intervention or control) for 4 weeks and complete baseline and follow-up surveys. My training goals will support my research efforts including the development of expertise in (1) negative attitudes/behaviors about weight and evidence-based strategies to promote body positivity, (2) applying principles of community-engaged participatory research to develop culturally relevant interventions, (3) developing health communication interventions using social media, and (4) designing and analyzing longitudinal randomized-controlled trials. My training will be enhanced with professional development opportunities, institutional resources, and exceptional mentorship. This K01 will allow me to establish an independent research program aimed at diminishing the toll of negative weight-based attitudes/behaviors


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $135,702 )
2026	2026	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	550 1ST AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10016	NEW YORK	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	000	3	2/15/2026	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$135,702
														Subtotal = $135,702

Issue Date FY: 2025 ( Subtotal = $135,702 )
2025	2025	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	550 1ST AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10016	NEW YORK	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	001	2	4/24/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$13,570
2025	2025	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	550 1ST AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10016	NEW YORK	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	000	2	2/18/2025	NON-COMPETING CONTINUATION	$122,132
														Subtotal = $135,702

Issue Date FY: 2024 ( Subtotal = $135,701 )
2024	2024	NEW YORK UNIVERSITY	550 1ST AVE	NEW YORK	NY	10016	NEW YORK	USA	Minority Health and Health Disparities Research	000	1	8/7/2024	NEW	$135,701
														Subtotal = $135,701

Grand Total All Awards = $407,105

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Leveraging social media to promote body positivity among Latino adolescents

Award Number: K01MD019721

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL CENTER ON MINORITY HEALTH AND HEALTH DISPARITIES

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: TRAINING/TRAINEESHIP

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 08/07/2024

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/28/2029

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