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Rosalie Aguilar-Santos

Rosalie Aguilar Santos, MS, is Salud America!'s national project coordinator. She is passionate about nutrition, physical activity, and opportunities to engage communities in advocacy actions to promote Latino childhood health.

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Articles by Rosalie Aguilar-Santos

At Kansas Corner Store, Bilingual Ads Help People Pick Healthy Foods



In a heavily Latino part of Kansas that struggled with obesity, one coalition stepped up to find new ways to help the Latino community make healthier food choices. How’d they try to do it? They started to change the local food environment by increasing the availability and marketing of healthy foods in local stores—and it worked. EMERGENCE Awareness: Wyandotte County, Kan., which is 27.1% Hispanic and is home to Kansas City, had a growing problem of obesity, with 41% of school children listed as overweight or obese. Officials with the Latino Health for All Coalition (funded in 2008 by the National Center for Minority Health and Health Disparities), were increasingly aware that many residents shop at corner stores or small grocery stores, which do not always offer fresh ...

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Houston’s ‘Sawyer Street’ May Soon Get A Complete Streets Makeover



Cities can often find themselves challenged when it comes to designing streets that meet the needs of all road users--however complete streets policies are one way to help change that. By working to make streets friendlier for bicyclists, pedestrians, and public transit users communities become more vibrant and healthy. According to a blog post by Houston's Asakura Robinson Company, the city of Houston, which has no zoning code faces a unique challenge in designing complete streets. Nonetheless, a 2013 Complete Streets executive order issued by Mayor Anise Parker, is guiding the city in finding ways to improve street conditions for all. By seeking community input from local stakeholders who live and work in the area, planners are helping shape the Washington Avenue ...

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New Toolkit to Stop Junk Food Marketing To Kids in Schools (via Voices for Healthy Kids)



Companies spend over $150 million a year marketing mostly junk food to kids in schools.  Thorough corporate sponsorships, posters/signs, vending machines, ads on buses and scoreboards, these companies constantly target Latino kids and minority youth. However, it doesn't have to be this way. Parents can take a stand again junk food ads by using new Growing Healthy Change marketing resources and tips from the new Voices For Healthy Kids "Don’t Sell Us Short" healthier food marketing toolkit. Access the toolkit ...

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Iowa’s Shared Use Policy Makes Its Way to the Governor



A coalition of over 25 local organizations and community advocates in the state of Iowa are celebrating a recent victory in shared-use policy. On March 23, 2015, the Iowa state legislature passed a bill which removes the burden of liability concerns from schools and community organizations, allowing them keep schoolyards open during non-school hours. Now the bill awaits signature from the state's governor Terry Branstad. Schoolyards are a widely untapped resource which can be used to provide communities with additional greenspace. When school playgrounds are left open to the community, research shows that 84% of kids are more likely to be physically active outside; yet in many communities school playgrounds are locked during non-school hours. Additional studies show that ...

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New ‘Bite Size’ Documentary Sheds Light on the Challenges Kids Face In Conquering Obesity



A new documentary, Bite Size is sure to shed light on some of the issues that so many children and families in the U.S. today face as a result of childhood obesity. The film takes us into the lives of four children including 11-year old Moises "Moy" Gutierrez, 13 year old Keanna, 13 year old Emily, and 12 year old Davion and the day to day challenges they face such as dealing with bullies, social stigma, and diabetes as a result of their weight status. According to an article about the movie, the film's producer Eric Gallegos grew up with a type 2 diabetic father himself, that's why he joined forces with director Corbin Billings to raise awareness of the challenges that kids, parents, teachers, schools and communities face from living in an environment laden with junk food ...

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New ‘Bite Size’ Documentary Sheds Light on the Challenges Kids Face In Conquering Obesity



A new documentary, Bite Size is sure to shed light on some of the issues that so many children and families in the U.S. today face as a result of childhood obesity. The film takes us into the lives of four children including 11-year old Moises "Moy" Gutierrez, 13 year old Keanna, 13 year old Emily, and 12 year old Davion and the day to day challenges they face such as dealing with bullies, social stigma, and diabetes as a result of their weight status. According to an article about the movie, the film's producer Eric Gallegos grew up with a type 2 diabetic father himself, that's why he joined forces with director Corbin Billings to raise awareness of the challenges that kids, parents, teachers, schools and communities face from living in an environment laden with junk food ...

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How Latino Parents Helped Make Recess A Priority For Children in Chicago Public Schools



In 2011, two years after Latino parents in Chicago began working to raise awareness of the need for recess in schools, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) finally announced they would be working to reincorporate recess back into the school day. According to a blog post from the Healthy Schools Campaign a group of parents from the Parents United For Healthy Schools organization gathered over 4,000 signatures as part of a petition in support of recess. This helped ultimately get the attention of the district's Office of Student Health and Wellness (OSHW), who's mission is to oversee the well being of students and the implementation of health promoting policies for the district. Research shows that schools with mostly Latino students are less likely to offer students at least 20 minutes ...

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Is Big Soda Misleading Latino Teens?



According to a recent editorial by the Alameda County Public Health Department's Nutrition Services Director, Diane Woloshin, MS, RD, while overall soda consumption has gone down among the general population, one key demographic---minority teens (i.e. Latino and African American youth) continue to be a prime target for the beverage industry. If trends continue, Woloshin believes that half of Latino and African American children will develop diabetes at some point in their lifetime. "For Big Soda, the bottom line is profit," Woloshin writes. "For the youth they are targeting, it's a matter of life and death." The Alameda County Public Health Department is part of the Open Truth Campaign, a public health marketing campaign led by youth, which seeks to inform the same communities ...

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Parents & Students At Sam Houston Elementary Celebrate Wellness Day



Students and parents at Sam Houston Elementary got a taste of what P.E. should look like on a day-to day basis for Latino kids during the annual Student/Parent Wellness Day. During the event, attendees had the opportunity to join their children in fun activities such as aerobics and weight bearing exercises. They also got to see some of the fitness tests their children do as part of annual Fitnessgram testing and learn some basic tips for eating a balanced meal and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Watch the video to learn what parents had to say about the importance of exercise and the quality of physical education offered to their children during the school day. Learn more about how McAllen ISD became the first Let's Move District in the nation. Visit Salud America!‘s ...

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