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Cliff Despres

Cliff Despres, who has more than a decade of experience in journalism and public relations, is communications director for Salud America! and its home base, the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio.

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Articles by Cliff Despres

Latinos Live Longer than Whites. But Why?



U.S. Latinos have gained 2.6 years in life expectancy in the past 14 years, and live longer than whites and blacks, according to new CDC data, the Washington Post reports. Latinos have the highest life expectancy of the three groups: 81.8 years. This shows the "Hispanic paradox," in which Latinos have good longevity despite tending to have lower income, less education, less health coverage, and much higher rates of certain health conditions, including obesity, diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers. Reasons for Latino longevity are unclear. Some experts cite Latinos' lower rates of smoking and drinking alcohol, or that they work more physically demanding jobs and are more fit. Some credit the population's younger age, compared to the white and black populations. Some say ...

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How to Tackle Obesity in the Early Childhood Years



Nearly 1 in 3 Latino kids is already overweight or obese by ages 2-5, an alarming trend that often continues into youth and adulthood. How can we prevent early childhood obesity? It will take public-private partnerships, more effective interventions, and more, according to a new report on a recent meeting of the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The Roundtable, which engages leaders from multiple sectors to address obesity, includes Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of SaludToday, Salud America!, and the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. The Roundtable's new report covers lots of early childhood obesity questions. What's working to prevent early obesity? ...

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Health Crisis Surges in Puerto Rico


puerto-rico-health

Zika virus. A $73 billion debt crisis. Puerto Rico has been in the news a lot lately, but what's the truth about health in this unincorporated U.S. territory with a 99% Hispanic population? Our friends at the Kaiser Family Foundation put together a fantastic 8-part Q&A about Puerto Rico, including several health indicators. Here are some key takeaways: People are older. The percentage of adults age 65 and older rose 22% from 2006-2014. People have worse health overall. About 35% of adults in Puerto Rico report fair or poor general health, compared to 18% in the U.S. They also have higher HIV rates. More people have health insurance. Less people are uninsured in Puerto Rico (6%) than in the U.S. (12%). But almost half are covered by Medicaid due to high poverty, ...

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Latina Puts a Spanish Twist on Yoga


Latina Yoga Teacher

Bilingual yoga instructor Rina Jakubowicz is launching the first-ever Spanish-language yoga teacher training, Esther J. Cepeda reports. The new training program will be delivered completely in Spanish. The mission, as Cepeda reports, is "to break down barriers in the yoga community and bring the positive benefits of yoga to more diverse populations including Spanish-speaking communities that may have historically lacked access, or that may be underserved." Why Is This Needed? About 4 in 5 yoga participants are non-Latino whites. Experts say yoga can boost flexibility and muscle tone with other benefits like improved cardiovascular fitness. Jakubowicz hopes to make yoga and its benefits more inclusive of Latinos and Spanish speakers, who sometimes have the perception that ...

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If Cancer Is in Your Genes Healthy Living May Offset Risk, Study Suggests



Women with genes that are linked to breast cancer can significantly cut the risk for the disease by following a healthy lifestyle, according to a new study published in the Journal of American Medical Association, ABC News reports. The key lifestyle factors, researchers found to be the most important were: “Maintaining a healthy weight; not smoking; limiting alcohol; and not using hormone therapy after menopause.” “For women in the highest decile of risk owing to non-modifiable factors, those who had low BMI, did not drink or smoke, and did not use MHT [menopause hormone therapy] had risks comparable to an average woman in the general population,” the authors ...

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La hepatitis C mata a más personas que cualquier otra enfermedad infecciosa



Los datos de los Centros para el Control y Prevención de Enfermedades (CDC) revelan que, en 2014, la hepatitis C mató a más de 19,600 estadounidenses, y ahora es más letal que las 60 enfermedades infecciosas conocidas, incluyendo el VIH y la tuberculosis, informa The Daily Mail. "Debido a que la hepatitis C a menudo tiene pocos síntomas notorios, el número de nuevos casos es probablemente mucho mayor de lo que se informó," dijo John W. Ward, M. D., director de la División de Hepatitis Viral de la CDC. "Debido a la detección y el subregistro limitado, se estima que el número de nuevas infecciones está más cerca de 30,000 por año. Debemos actuar ahora para diagnosticar y tratar las infecciones ocultas antes de que sean mortales y para prevenir nuevas infecciones." La ...

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Niños indocumentados tendrán acceso a seguro médico en California



Más de 170,000 niños indocumentados se beneficiarán de una extensión de Medi-Cal (Cobertura de Salud de California) que les proporcionará un seguro médico completo que incluye los servicios de salud dental y mental, informa Univisión. "Tenemos que invertir en la próxima generación de californianos que también tiene que incluir a nuestros niños indocumentados", el senador Ricardo Lara le comento a CA Public Radio. Para ser elegible para  cobertura, los niños tienen que tener 19 años de edad o menos y una familia de cuatro miembros no deben ganar más de $ 65.505 al año. Actualmente, los legisladores estatales están trabajando en la ampliación de  cobertura de salud a adultos indocumentados. "La necesidad inmediata es asegurarse de que el gobierno federal, que ...

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El efecto positivo de la educación física en los niños latinos


Primary school kids run holding hands in corridor, close up

Según datos de Salud America! más del 39% de los niños latinos en EE.UU sufre de obesidad y sobrepeso. Un reciente informe de Voices for Healthy Kids, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation y SHAPE America subraya la importancia de la educación física en la lucha contra la obesidad infantil. Lee más sobre este informe y recomendaciones ...

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El refresco de dieta pudiera estar ligado a la obesidad y diabetes



Investigadores de la Universidad de Purdue han encontrado pruebas de que el refresco de dieta puede no ser la opción más saludable si usted está tratando de perder peso o mejorar su salud. De acuerdo con numerosos estudios revisados por el grupo de investigadores dirigido por la profesora Susan Swithers el refresco de dieta puede no ser la solución para combatir la obesidad, de hecho, puede conducir a la obesidad, diabetes y otras enfermedades "La preocupación de que estos endulzantes de pocas calorías pudieran no ser saludables es un mensaje que muchas personas no quieren oír, sobre todo porque la prevalencia de edulcorantes artificiales va en aumento", dijo Swithers. Si quiere mantenerse en forma y saludable la bebida saludable siempre será el ...

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