Longitudinal Examination of Food Insecurity and Cardiometabolic Health Risk in Hispanic/Latino Adolescents

/ABSTRACT Food insecurity is a demonstrated risk factor for disordered eating (e.g., loss of control eating) and cardiometabolic health concerns, and Hispanic/Latino adolescents experience disproportionate risk. The proposed project aims to understand the mechanisms underlying the relationships amongst food insecurity, loss of control eating, and cardiometabolic health using longitudinal data capture over a 6-month study period (i.e., data collection at Baseline, 3-months, 6-months) in Hispanic/Latino adolescents. This will occur in conjunction with qualitative interviews with their caregivers (inclusive of Spanish-speaking caregivers) regarding intergenerational factors affecting eating behavior, experiences of community food access, and perceived needs pertaining to food insecurity and healthful eating. Fasting labs to assess each adolescent’s cardiometabolic health indicators will occur at Baseline and 6-month follow-up visits. These data will inform intervention development with planned steps to define modifiable targets of the intervention, adapt evidence-based intervention components tailored to participant needs, and refine intervention content based on focus group feedback (ORBIT Phase Ia and Ib). The career development plan will provide the K23 PI, Dr. Bejarano, with necessary training in community-engaged research strategies with Hispanic/Latino populations, ORBIT intervention development and clinical trials, and prevention science with mentorship from interdisciplinary experts in these areas (Drs. Zeller, Shah, Shomaker, and Jacquez). Upon completion of the K23 career development and research plan with the support of her mentorship team, Dr. Bejarano will be prepared to test an adapted intervention designed to be preventive to disordered eating and cardiometabolic health risk. This study is novel in its assessment of individual experience and qualitative perspectives of food insecurity and loss of control eating in Hispanic/Latino adolescents, in relation to longitudinal cardiometabolic health outcomes, with the inclusion of perspectives of Spanish-speaking caregivers. Dr. Bejarano’s K23 aligns with priorities stated by the National Institute of Health (NIH) and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to investigate multi- level impacts of food insecurity, develop novel interventions, and sustain a scientific workforce prepared to contribute to the institutes’ missions to promote cardiometabolic health and prevent disease. Project Number: 1K23HL179415-01A1 | Fiscal Year: 2026 | NIH Institute/Center: National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) | Principal Investigator: Carolina Bejarano | Institution: CINCINNATI CHILDRENS HOSP MED CTR, CINCINNATI, OH | Award Amount: $191,636 | Activity Code: K23 | Study Section: Special Emphasis Panel[ZRG1 RCCS-U (94)] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/1K23HL17941501A1