According to new research from the American Journal of Public Health, Latino majority schools are more likely to be located near fast food and tobacco outlets than their white peers. In fact, researchers found that every 10 percent increase in the proportion of a school’s Hispanic students was associated with a five percent higher likelihood the school was within walking distance of places to buy both tobacco and fast food, researchers told Reuters. According to researchers, this is the first study to consider the availability of fast food and tobacco in regards to students' socioeconomic and racial characteristics. They also found that lower income students had a three percent higher likelihood that the school was in walking distance to both fast food and tobacco. To ...
The Advocate Sherman Hospital in the city of Elgin, Ill. (43.6% Latino) is the only hospital in the area that is offering the community healthier options, and now they are also taking a step forward to educate the community about the health risks of drinking sugary beverages. Since 2015, Advocate Sherman Hospital joined all hospitals in the Advocate Health Care system to offer healthier drinks in their hospitals giving patients, visitors and employees more low-sugar or no-sugar options. As part of the efforts to reduce consumption of sugary beverages like soda, energy drinks, and sports drinks, community outreach efforts to educate the public on the amount of sugar in beverages have also taken effect. People like Luis Villalobos, a nursing assistant with Advocate Sherman Hospital ...
A new city ordinance for healthier vending machines was approved by the Fayetteville mayor, requiring all city vending machines to comply with nutrition standards and label calories. The calorie content will be displayed on all products in vending machines across all buildings and property owned or operated by the city. According to Voices for Healthy Kids, the city of Springdale, Ark., was the first city to implement changes towards healthier vending machines on city property. In 2014, Arkansas was the number one state in the top ten most overweight states with (35.9%) being overweight, and nearly 760,000 adults being obese in 2013, costing the state millions in obesity-attributable expenditures. Universities, Hospitals, and businesses have also been working across the state to ...
How can your curiosity make you healthier? Researchers from the American Psychological Association (APA) found that when people's curiosity was piqued, they were more enticed to take the healthier action required to find out missing information. Multiple experiments were tested using the same strategies websites creators employ, like "clickbait". Where the strategy uses catchy titles or headlines on a website to encourage users to take an action, like "click this link" to learn more and find the answers.
Experiment 1: Fortune Cookies
In one experiment, participants were given a choice to pick between two fortune cookies: one plain and one chocolate dipped with sprinkles. The plain cookie had a fortune note of something personal that the researchers knew about the person being ...
According to a local news article, Boulder, Colo. two new council-initiated proposals may become a part of three different proposals set for voters to decide on in November's ballot. Back in July, advocates for the soda tax were supported with over the amount of signatures required for the tax to be put on November's ballot. However, language was debated as to how the tax would be implemented without having a taxpayer bill of rights provision, required to allow the city to raise local government tax. After working with local City Attorney Tom Carr, a single ballot title was created with implementation guidelines of the tax and legally defensible language to help defend against naysayers of the tax. The council has recommended placing the tax proposal on the November ...
Registered nurse Derek Dimas learned kids need to eat healthier to help decrease the high rates of obesity in his hometown of Corpus Christi, Texas (50.7 % Latino). By starting a program to help kids see fruits and vegetables as delicious works of art, students in schools across the city are having fun learning how to create and enjoy healthier snacks.
The Obesity Problem
In spring 2014, Derek Dimas, a nursing student at the time, was certain he wanted to make a huge impact on the overall health of his community of Corpus Christi in Nueces County. While taking an epidemiology class, Dimas reviewed data and learned that the city had record-high levels of obesity, hypertension, and heart disease. About 42% of local Latinos and blacks are overweight or obese, he said. “For ...
Since 2007, Oregon became a beacon of healthy school food, as a state bill helped remove unhealthy foods like candy and soda in vending machines and give the school standards on serving healthier school meals. Now new standards from the US Department of Agriculture will not be a big surprise to students in Oregon. The Oregon Smart Snacks Standard, also helped to implement the Federal Smart Snack program into schools across the state since 2014. The Oregon schools that have 50% or more of the population on free and reduced lunches, will also help serve free lunches to students over the summer months, helping all students have access to healthier meals and be more likely to grow up a healthy weight. Studies show that many Latino schools often offer less access to healthy vending, ...
A new released Toolkit on Sugary Advocacy from Healthy Food America helps explain the need to reduce sugar in our diets, why it's important to know amounts of sugar in foods and drinks and the latest on sugar reduction policies. According to the research from Healthy Food America, 68% of packaged foods include some type of sugar. Studies from Harvard T.H. Chan School of public health also reveal that regular consumers of sweet beverages like soda, sweet teas, not 100% juices had a 26% higher risk of type 2 diabetes. Latino kids, unfortunately, are already more likely to grow up with unhealthy weights and be more likely to develop type 2 diabetes, as they consume higher amounts of juices, and other sweetened drinks, studies show. For parents, teachers, health advocates and ...
The Colorado Health Foundation and the Colorado HeaIth Institute have issued new Data Spotlight, Where Health Happens. The report, to be released on Wednesday, July 27, at the Colorado Health Symposium, builds on the local Symposium event theme, “Health is Everyone’s Business."
The report highlights five nontraditional drivers of health, along with disparities and opportunities for improvement across the state in education and child care, financial security and safety, food access, housing, and transportation.
The report also features three stories of Colorado communities taking action to improve health including two Denver neighborhoods and the city of Walsenburg.
To learn more and view the report here.
The speakers and conversations will be broadcast live July 27-29th. To make ...
