BACKGROUND - Obesity and physical inactivity are major risk factors in the development and progression of type 2 diabetes mellitus. Hispanic patients face barriers with language and culture in dealing with diabetes. At a Utah Community Health Center (CHC), patients needed a successful way to overcome these barriers in order to implement an exercise routine. METHODS - We prepared a Spanish language exercise DVD and distributed it free of charge to 40 overweight Hispanic patients with diabetes. Patients were given the exercise DVD as a part of a nutrition and exercise program in a 6-week study. Patients were contacted by telephone after 1 to 3 weeks to determine whether they were using the DVD. After 5-8 weeks the patients returned to clinic to be re-weighed. Patients were asked how often and how long they exercised and whether they found the Spanish language exercise DVD was helpful. RESULTS -Forty patients were evaluated. Six patients were lost to follow-up due to lost DVD, broken DVD player, or disconnected phone number. Thirty-four patients were included in the analysis. Thirteen patients showed an increase in the frequency of physical activity, 6 patients had a decrease, and 15 patients had no change in the frequency of physical activity. Fourteen patients showed an increase in the amount of time dedicated to physical activity, 2 patients showed a decrease. Eighteen patients did not change the time dedicated to physical activity and 25 patients showed a reduction in weight from baseline. CONCLUSION - Use of a Spanish language exercise DVD in a Hispanic population moderately improves frequency of physical activity, time dedicated to physical activity, and weight control
