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Background: Obesity and type 2 diabetes have emerged as critical public health issues in the Latino population. Although both conditions manifest early in life, very few diabetes prevention programs have been conducted in Latino youth. Therefore, the purpose of this report is to describe the foundations and clinical characteristics of a culturally grounded, community-based diabetes prevention program for overweight Latino youth. Methods: 109 youth were referred to a community-based medical clinic in Phoenix, Arizona. Height, weight and body mass index (BMI) were determined by a physical exam and metabolic risk factors were obtained from fasting blood samples. HDL-Cholesterol, Triglycerides, Glucose, and Insulin were compared to published reference values. Results: Youth were significantly overweight (BMI=30.4±4.9 kg/m2) and exhibited the following fasting metabolic characteristics: mean HDL-Cholesterol = 37.9 ± 8.5 mg/dl, Triglycerides = 140.0 ± 82.2 mg/dl, Glucose = 91.0 ± 8.3 mg/dl, and Insulin = 24.2 ± 17.6 µU/ml. When individual levels were compared to reference standards, 68.4 % of youth had low HDL, 33.8 % had elevated Triglycerides, 11.4 % had fasting hyperglycemia, and 64.1% were hyperinsulinemic