Two years after Mexico implemented a soda tax, sugary drink consumption has decreased shows a new study. According to the researchers at the University of North Carolina's Gillings School of Global Public Health and the Executive Director of the Center for Science in the Public Interest, Michael Jacobson, the taxes are decreasing soda purchases as much as 5% in the first year of the tax and 4% in the second year. Sugary beverages are a danger for Latino kids in America, where studies show 74% of Latinos have had a sugary drink by age 2 and Latino kids ages 0-5 years old consume more sugary drinks than the overall average. Experts warn that sugary drinks bring increased risks for children and teens, who often face higher risks for unhealthy weights, heart disease, high blood ...
There is undeniable link between attaining a quality education and living a healthier life. The more education someone attains, the better their chances of living longer lives. Attaining better education has become one of the most important topics for all Latinos. As their population grows, more and more Latinos are both enrolling in college and attaining degrees. However, there are still barriers preventing many Latinos from attaining two- and four-year degrees. According to a story in Inside Higher Ed, community colleges across the country have seen growing populations of Latino residents in their regions. That growth hasn’t often translated to increases in Latino enrollment on their campuses, especially as overall enrollments decline in a largely recovered economy. With that ...
After other cities like Santa Fe and Wisconsin across the country are looking towards cutting back on obesity and funding health or education programs with a sugary beverage tax, now Seattle's Mayor is looking towards the benefits a sugary beverage tax could bring to the city. What does the city think about it? Just from a picture on local news King 5's Facebook page, asking if Seattle should tax sugary drinks to help pay for education, there are already 142 shares, 2,016 likes, and 216 "loves", plus thousands of comments, some agreeing with the tax and some disapproving any more taxes of any kind. The debate is not uncommon, as many cities across the country are discussing the benefits that a sugary beverage tax could bring to low-income families that often deal with fewer ...
In the 1990s, the citizens of Mancelona, Mich. (1.16% Latino population), had limited access to healthcare, social services, and higher education. Employment opportunities were few and far between. The area had the lowest per capita income in the state, most families lived below the poverty line, and were underinsured or uninsured. The effects hit the area’s young the hardest and the rampant health risks affected academic performance. In the 1994-1995 school year, 39% of all Mancelona high school students dropped out and just 64% of high school seniors graduated. Something had to be done at a fundamental level to affect real change. Like all great changes, what happened in Mancelona started at a grass roots level. In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to ...
Smoking is a tough opponent to beat. Quitxt is a free texting service in English or Spanish that turns your mobile phone into a personal coach to help you quit smoking, using interactive and entertaining texts, online support, and music and videos from UT Health San Antonio researchers. The service’s bilingual texts help with motivation to quit, setting a quit date, finding things to do instead of smoking, handling stress, and more. Join in English: Text “iquit” to 57682. Join in Spanish: Text “lodejo” to 57682. “Text-message applications have scientifically proven to roughly double one’s odds of quitting smoking, so we developed Quitxt specifically for young adult Latinos to help them quit for good,” said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, study leader and director of ...
Walkable communities are safe and healthy communities. The Every Body Walk! Collaborative (EBWC) and partners developed the Social Justice Toolkit to identify key areas where walking and walkability can help address disparities within communities. The toolkit includes talking points and sample messages and resources that relate to the development of safe spaces for walking. One resource in this toolkit is the US Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration's A Resident's Guide for Creating Safer Communities for Walking and Biking, which includes facts, ideas, and resources to help residents learn about traffic problems that affect pedestrians and bicyclists and to find ways to help address these problems. Section One: What's the problem here?
Section Two: ...
Support is still growing strong for Santa Fe's city soda tax, where last week Mayor Javier Gonzales spoke about the benefits for pre-K funding the tax could bring in for the city. The sugary drink tax is estimated to bring in around $7 million dollars to help fund pre-kindergarten education. This week, the city committee meeting on Monday cleared the tax as the committee voted 3 to 1 to recommend approval. According to local Santa Fe New Mexican, nearly two dozen speakers urged the councilors to support the soda tax initiative and put it before voters for the special election in May, including Moms like Meredy Talbot-Zorn who told councilors while holding her young daughter that many kids who are poor are one average 18 months behind their peers in education. Chamber of ...
According to the Register-Herald, a poll was taken by the American Heart Association (AHA) recently showed that 60% of around 600 respondents favor taxing sugary drinks in West Virginia. From the same poll 53% West Virginians said they would support a 1 to cent per ounce tax on sugary drinks. But what could a sugary drink tax do for the community and its health? According to Harvard University School of Public Health study, not only would a 2 cent per ounce tax generate $128 million for the state, but also help decrease sugary drinks for the community in turn reducing type 2 diabetes by 2 % and over 10 years could save over $160 million dollars in health care costs. Many people in the survey fear that children will develop the diseases that are linked with daily consumption ...
An underground lab experiment in New York City (28.6% Latino) just successfully tested if solar panel skylights could sustain plant life to determine if an underground park could thrive. This lab experiment is the result of five years of discussions about transforming the Williamsburg Bridge Trolley Terminal, which stopped servicing passengers in 1948, into an underground park with a cultural center and area for concerts. The terminal has been out of operation longer that it was in operation. In 2011, two urbanist entrepreneurs proposed the idea for the Delancy Underground, which is now known as the Lowline. Reclaiming public space is at the heart of growing healthy communities and economics around the world, particularly when space has gone unused for decades. The ...
