SABOR: A Nutrition and Lifestyle Program for Healthy Aging

AMOUNT: $15,000 US

PROJECT LEADERS: Elena Bastida and Luz Natalia Barrón

INSTITUTIONS: The University of Texas Pan American and Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León

The purpose of this project was to implement a healthy lifestyle program for seniors in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV) of South Texas and Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. The University of Texas Pan American Center on Aging and Health established a partnership with the Facultad de Salud Pública y Nutrición from the Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León in Monterrey. The program represented Phase II, or the dissemination phase, of a nutrition and healthy lifestyle behavioral intervention known as SABOR. Based on the promising scientific results of Phase I, this program extended the benefits yielded by the SABOR program to seniors in the LRGV of Texas and in Monterrey, Nuevo Leon. The SABOR Phase II program was implemented through a 12-week forum series with participants aged 55 and older. In order to diversify the dissemination efforts of SABOR Phase II, they included a student forum series. An estimated 1,000 persons—seniors and students—participated in the educational forum series. In addition the program was featured by the printed media to reach a wider audience. Faculty and students from both universities were involved in all phases of the project.