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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

Teachers In Texas Use New Mobile App To Teach Health & PE to Students



Teachers and youth groups in Texas now have access to a free mobile app to help them with teaching important nutrition and physical activity concepts. The new Teach Healthier mobile app, which was launched at the TAHPERD Convention in December 2014, was developed by It's Time Texas in partnership with: Snap-Ed, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, and The University of Texas School of Public Health Austin Regional Campus. In just one month over 1,000 individuals have downloaded the app. According to an It's Time Texas blog, coach Katie Harris at the Harmony Science Academy, a school located in Northwest in Houston, uses the app at least 2-3 times a week to teach PE and health to her 5th, 6th and 8th grade students. Wiithout the app Harris would not be able to teach important ...

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Resource: ‘Teach Healthier App’ (Free Nutrition & Physical Activity Lessons) By It’s Time Texas



If you're seeking new ideas for teaching your students about nutrition and physical activity,  checkout the It's Time Texas Teach Healthier app. This new app which was developed by It's Time Texas in partnership with Snap-Ed, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas, and The University of Texas School of Public Health Austin Regional Campus is available for free. Learn more about the app by watching the video below. https://youtu.be/5C9e7xG1OGU Learn how to download the app and by watching this video tutorial. https://youtu.be/C9H9CKoMZ8o Download the It's Time Texas Teach Healthier app here. Also, stay tuned for the February launch of the It's Time Texas Choose Healthier ...

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Parents In Florida Say Cutting Recess in Schools Should Not Be An Option



Every child deserves the right to play and be healthy. Yet many times when the school day gets busy, recess is the first thing to go. In light of recent cuts to recess, a group of parents in Orange County, Florida have now gained national attention for standing up for their children's right to recess. According to a news story from Today.com at least twenty-three elementary schools in Orange County have cut back on or even cancelled recess. "They have become machines that produce data as opposed to children,'' Amy Narvaez, a mother of two, told TODAY. A Think Progress blog reports that prior to bringing the matter before the school board parents collected over 1,200 signatures as part of a petition. At the meeting they also cited research on the benefits of having between ...

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Study: A Lack of Physician-Parent Communication & Language Barriers May Contribute to Obesity in Latino Kids



According to a recent study conducted out of  UT Southwestern Medical Center as many as 1 out of every 5 parents of Latino children were not informed that their child was overweight due to barriers in patient-physician communication, such as language. “During primary care visits with overweight children in which there is a language barrier, it is incredibly important to provide a trained medical interpreter or bilingual provider, and use a growth chart to communicate that the child is overweight,” said lead investigator, Dr. Christy Turer, in a news release from the UT Southwestern Medical Center. Turner's research team found that out of 26 Latino children between the ages of 6 and 12 years old, 81% were classified as obese and 19% were overweight. Due to language barriers, ...

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Webinar: Race & Ethnicity Matter–Understanding Childhood Obesity Through The Lens of Health Equity & Justice



Despite signs of improvement in national childhood obesity rates, Latino youth as well as minority children of African-American, American Indian, and Asian & Pacific Islander American backgrounds are disproportionately impacted by high obesity rates. Many families still lack access to affordable, nutritious foods and safe opportunities to be active. To learn more about this topic and the changes needed to ensure healthier lives for all kids, tune in to the  Race & Ethnicity Matter--Understanding Childhood Obesity Through The Lens of Health Equity & Justice webinar.  The webinar is scheduled for Tuesday, January 27, 2015, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. ET Experts on the panel will include: Maya Rockeymoore, PhD, Director, Leadership for Healthy ...

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Upcoming Webinar: Maximizing Out-of-School Time–Empowering Afterschool Providers to Create Healthier Communities via Dialogue4Health



How can we provide our kids with opportunities to stay fit once the school day ends? One way is by learning how to improve health standards in after school care programs. Find out the latest on out-of-school health from experts at the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, the YMCA of the USA, and RTI International during the upcoming webinar:  Maximizing Out-of-School Time--Empowering Afterschool Providers to Create Healthier Communities The webinar is scheduled to take place on Thursday, January 29th, 2015 at 11:00AM – 12:30PM PST. Some examples of topics to be discussed include: Present childhood obesity statistics as well as recent AfterSchool Alliance data on the number of youth in afterschool programs The history and development of the National AfterSchool ...

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Study: Recess Before Lunch Policy May Increase Fruit and Vegetable Consumption



Thanks to the enactment of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act nutrition standards in schools are changing. Students are now required to take at least one serving of fruit or vegetables. Yet often with such changes comes the challenge of implementation. Although students are provided with more fruits and veggies as part of their school lunch, they don't always eat them. According to a study recently published in the Journal of Preventative Medicine, students who had lunch after recess were more likely to eat their fruits and veggies. The study which was conducted at seven Utah elementary schools, with students in grades 1st-6th, found that lunch after recess increased fruit and vegetable consumption by up to 54%. To learn more about the fruit and vegetable consumption ...

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Non-Profit Partners with the New York City Department of Education to Launch ‘Phyt for Life’ Program in East Harlem Middle School 



Gym owner and president of Phyt Cares,  Jonas Serrano of East Harlem has partnered with the New York City Department of Education to launch the Phyt for Life program at Issac Newton Middle School in East Harlem. The program will educate youth ages 2-18 on how to make healthy decisions, and empower them to incorporate fitness into their everyday lives by borrowing a combination of techniques from mixed martial arts, conditioning, and weight training.  Additionally they will learn valuable team building and leadership skills in a fun a safe environment. "Given that I was born in East Harlem and my parents migrated there from Puerto Rico in the 1940s, I wanted to give back to my community to empower the students through fitness at Issac Newton Middle School, helping them ...

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New Website & Video Support Policy Change For Reversing Childhood Obesity via The Leadership for Healthy Communities



Want to learn more about how to advance policy changes for improving the health of children? Check out the new look of The Leadership for Healthy Communities (LHC) website which is aimed at providing the latest resources to do this. The new site is designed to be accessed by desktop computer, mobile phone, or a tablet and to provide web users with: The latest critical issues related to childhood obesity prevention; A searchable database of valuable resources from LHC and partner organizations; Profiles of policymaker leaders who are making a difference in their communities; and the Ability to sign up for the LHC newsletter and connect via Twitter and Facebook. Along with the launch of the new website, the LHC has also released an animated video entitled Cause & ...

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