Diverse Population Materials, Tools & Resources, NHLBI, NIH
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock ( ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Materials for Ethnically Diverse Populations

Four girls jumping rope

Childhood obesity rates have increased dramatically over the past 30 years, particularly among African Americans and Hispanics, who are affected by overweight and obesity at higher rates than other populations. The following resources may be useful for community organizations that are working to prevent obesity among ethnically diverse populations.

This page also includes resources for organizations that focus on reducing the risk of heart disease�one of the major health problems linked to obesity.

African American Population

The following materials have been developed for African American audiences. You can find additional resources for African American audiences on the NHLBI website.

Childhood Obesity

We Can!® Parent Poster: A Lesson for Raising a Healthy Child

This poster encourage parents to help their children maintain a healthy weight by providing nutritious foods, helping kids be more active, and reducing screen time.

Overweight in African American Youthpdf document icon (173 KB)

This fact sheet provides an overview of obesity in America's children, as well as statistics about overweight in African American youth. It also offers an overview of how We Can! is making a difference in ethnically diverse communities and tips for your community to do the same.

Heart Health

On the Move to Better Heart Health for African Americanspdf document icon (3.8 MB)

This resource from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) is a culturally appropriate educational booklet for African Americans on heart healthy living. In an easy-to-read format, the booklet provides concise information on heart disease and its risk factors. It explains heart attack signs and how to respond to them, as well as how to reduce risk factors for heart disease, prevent and control high blood pressure, lower blood cholesterol, prevent and control diabetes, manage weight, and stop smoking. Includes an action plan and tip sheet.

Heart Healthy Home Cooking African American Style�with Every Heartbeat is Lifepdf document icon (3.35 MB)

Prepare your favorite African American dishes in ways that protect you and your family from heart disease and stroke. This NHLBI cookbook provides recipes for 26 tested and tasty favorite African American dishes.

Every Heartbeat is Life: Community Health Worker's Manual for African Americans

A 12-lesson course on heart health education specifically created  by the NHLBI for the African American community. Complete with activities, group idea starters, and reproducible handouts. Ready to assemble in a binder, with dividers for each section.

Back to Top

Latino/Hispanic Population

The following resources have been developed for Latino/Hispanic audiences. You can find additional resources for Latino/Hispanic audiences on the NHLBI website, as well as We Can! resources in Spanish in the Spanish-language section of this website.

Childhood Obesity

We Can! Parent Posters

These posters encourage parents to help their children maintain a healthy weight by providing nutritious foods, helping kids be more active, and reducing screen time.

Overweight in Hispanic/Latino Youthpdf document icon (162 KB)

This fact sheet provides an overview of obesity in America's children, as well as statistics about overweight in Hispanic/Latino youth. It also offers an overview of how We Can! is making a difference in ethnically diverse communities and tips for your community to do the same.

Heart Health

Healthy Hearts, Healthy Homes�Do You Need to Lose Weight?/Corazones sanos, hogares saludables��Necesita bajar de peso?pdf document icon (4.4 MB)

This booklet from the NHLBI-created series called "Healthy Hearts, Healthy Homes." deals with overweight and obesity. It explains how to know if you need to lose weight for your health and steps to help you lose weight. In English and Spanish. / Este folleto forma parte de una serie llamada "Corazones sanos, hogares saludables." El folleto se refiere al sobrepeso y la obesidad. Le explica Cómo saber si necesita bajar de peso por razones de salud y le ayuda a lograrlo. En ingl�s y Español.

Healthy Hearts, Healthy Homes�Keep the Beat: Control Your High Blood Pressure/Corazones sanos, hogares saludables�Cuide su vida: Controle su presi�n arterial altapdf document icon (5 MB)

This booklet from the NHLBI-created series called "Healthy Hearts, Healthy Homes." deals with high blood pressure. It explains what blood pressure numbers mean, and what risk factors you need to monitor to prevent and treat this dangerous condition. In English and Spanish. / Este folleto forma parte de una serie llamada "Corazones sanos, hogares saludables." El folleto se refiere a la tensi�n arterial alta. Le explica qu� significan las cifras en que se mide la tensi�n arterial y los factores de riesgo que usted debe controlar para prevenir y tratar este peligroso problema de salud. En ingl�s y Español.

Your Heart, Your Life: A Community Health Worker�s Manual for the Hispanic Community

The Your Heart, Your Life: A Community Health Worker's Manual, available in English and Spanish, offers an 11-session course especially for the Latino community. This NHLBI manual is flexible; the choice is yours to either teach the course in its entirety or to focus on one or more individual sessions. Use the many exercises, handouts, and group activities to encourage understanding, skill-building, self-assessment, and goal-setting. The manual includes culturally appropriate teaching scripts and interactive activities such as telenovelas, photonovelas, role plays, problem-solving, and discussions. Latino role models and family contexts appear throughout.

Back to Top

American Indian and Alaskan Native Population

The following materials have been developed American Indian and Alaskan Native audiences. You can find additional resources for American Indian and Alaskan Native audiences on the NHLBI website.

Childhood Obesity

We Can! Parent Poster: A Lesson for Raising a Healthy Child

This poster encourage parents to help their children maintain a healthy weight by providing nutritious foods, helping kids be more active, and reducing screen time.

Heart Health

Honoring the Gift of Heart Health: A Heart Health Educator's Manual for American Indianspdf document icon (4.2 MB)

A comprehensive, culturally appropriate 10-lesson course on heart-health education for the American Indian community, produced by the NHLBI. Filled with skill-building activities, reproducible handouts, and idea starters. Two appendices cover activities for training Heart Health Educators to implement the program, and An American Indian Family's Journey to heart health, told with heart healthy recipes for each family member's favorite foods.

Honoring the Gift of Heart Health: A Heart Health Educator's Manual for Alaska Nativespdf document icon (4 MB)

A comprehensive, culturally appropriate 10-lesson course on heart-health education for the Alaskan Native community, from the NHLBI. Filled with skill-building activities, reproducible handouts, and idea starters. Two appendices cover activities for training Heart Health Educators to implement the program, and A Native Alaskan Family's Journey to heart health, told with heart healthy recipes for each family member's favorite foods.

Your Heart, Your Drum: Strengthening the Heartbeat of American Indians and Native Alaskans

This 10-minute motivational video focuses on the problem of cardiovascular disease in Native American and Alaska Native people and how they can deal with the major risk factors for it. Produced by the NHLBI, it is filmed with people from the tribal communities of the Laguna Pueblo in New Mexico, the Ponca in Oklahoma, and the Bristol Bay area in Alaska, but it is appropriate for use with all tribes.

Back to Top

Asian American/ Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander Population

The following material has been developed for Asian American/Native Hawaiian/Other Pacific Islander audiences. You can find additional resources for these audiences on the NHLBI website.

Healthy Heart, Healthy Family�Keep the Beat: Aim for a Healthy Weight/Malusog na Puso, Malusog na Pamilya�Sumabay sa Galaw: Gawing Hangarin ang Isang Malusog na Timbang

This NHLBI booklet is part of a series called "Healthy Heart, Healthy Family", that presents important information about a specific risk factor for heart disease in a user-friendly and clear manner for Filipinos. This booklet deals with overweight and obesity and explains how to know if you need to lose weight for your health, and steps to help you lose weight. Provides ideas on how your family work together to achieve healthy weights. In English and Tagalog.

Note: Documents in PDF format require the Adobe Acrobat Readerexternal disclaimer. If you experience problems with PDF documents, please download the latest version of the Readerexternal disclaimer.

Back to Top

Last Updated: February 13, 2013