Merck completed her MPH with a concentration in Physical Activity and Health. She curates content for Salud America! (@SaludAmerica), a Latino childhood obesity prevention project based at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio. She focuses on the latest research, resources, and stories related to policy, systems, and environmental changes to enhance equitable access to safe places for kids and families to walk, bike, and play.
Martín and Alejandro are new additions to the top-10 most popular boy names chosen by Latino parents in 2014, BabyCenter en Español reports. The top girl and boy baby names remained Sofía and Santiago. For boys, Martín debuted on the top-10 most popular boys’ names, and Alejandro returned to No. 4 after falling out of the top-10. For girls, Emma climbed a few spots and Luciana dropped. Here's the top-10 (see the top-100 girls and boys): Girls: Sofía, Isabella, Valentina, Emma, Camila, Valeria, Victoria, Martina, Ximena, Luciana Boys: Santiago, Mateo, Sebastián, Alejandro, Matías, Diego, Samuel, Nicolás, Daniel, Martín What inspired Latino parents to choose these baby names? Most parents said, according to a survey, they "just liked the name," its ...
Healthy kids need to move it, move it. That’s that focus of six new #SaludHeroes who helped give Latino kids more physical activity. Watch them all and vote for your favorite play-promoting #SaludHeroes by Jan. 27, 2015, and be entered in a random drawing to win a free T-shirt and jump rope from Salud America!, a Latino childhood obesity research network funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. The six #SaludHeroes are: Mud Run for Kids. Elementary teachers Fred Bailon and John Soto started mud runs for students to help fight obesity in San Antonio, Texas, which is mostly Latino.
Taking a “Brain Break” in Class. A principal launched brain breaks and new physical ...
Mexicans are guzzling fewer sugary drinks since a national sugary drink tax took effect one year ago, and U.S. health proponents say they hope this can help sway local voters to adopt similar measures, the International Business Times reports. Studies indicate raising the price of sugary drinks can reduce consumption and potentially lower obesity and health risks. U.S. Latino kids consume an above-average amount of sugary drinks (soft drinks, sports drinks, fruit-flavored drinks, and flavored milk), which contributes to increased rates of obesity, diabetes, and other health issues that disproportionately affect the Latino community. Mexico's sugary drink tax, a reaction to the country's large sugary drink intake (3.6 million cans of soda each day) and high diabetes rates ...
Did you know only a small percentage of U.S. Latinos are blood donors? Experts say Latinos have an extremely important blood type. But Latinos hesitate to give blood due to weight gain, age, diabetes, fear of infection. Are these worries warranted or just plain myths? For January's National Blood Donor Month, it’s time to get the facts about Latino blood donors and learn how you can be a hero for someone in need, especially during winter, a typically down time for donations due to holidays, bad weather, and illness. Join us to get the truth about donating blood as well as learn why Latinos specifically need to donate at the next #SaludTues Tweetchat. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Latinos Blood Donors: Get the Facts”
DATE: Tuesday, Jan. 13, 2015
TIME: Noon CST ...
Hispanics consume fewer fruits/veggies and more sugary sodas, are less likely to have a usual source of health care, and worry more about care costs than blacks or whites, according to a new survey. The new bilingual survey, from the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, polled 846 Americans. Key findings include: Soda Consumption. About half (53%) of Hispanics and blacks (51%) report drinking sugary soda daily or weekly compared to 37% of whites. Fruits and Vegetables. Hispanics (7%) and blacks (8%) are significantly less likely than whites (18%) to report eating 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables on average each day. Usual Source of Care. About one in four (27%) of Hispanics report not having a usual place to go to when they are sick or need advice about health ...
Older Latinos who perceive their neighborhoods as safer and more walkable are less likely to develop severe depressive symptoms, according to a new study, Healio reports. The study, published in the Journal of Aging and Health, examined 570 Latinos in Los Angeles and found that 27.7% of the 570 Latinos in the study had elevated depressive symptoms. After adjustments, those with lower perceived crime and greater walkability had a 0.9 times lower likelihood of elevated depressive symptoms. Older adults may be "especially sensitive to neighborhood climate issues because their limited mobility and physical frailty exacerbate feelings of vulnerability to negative forces in their environments," said study author Dr. Rosalba Hernandez, a professor of social work at the University of ...
Self-reported daily exercise—like a brisk walk—is associated with lower blood pressure and blood glucose levels, according to a new study with 33% Latino participants. The study by Kaiser Permanente reviewed electronic health records of 622,897 of the health care provider's members in Southern California who were asked how many days per week they engage in moderate to strenuous exercise, and for how many minutes. The study found that women who were consistently or even irregularly active had lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure than inactive women. Active men also had lower diastolic blood pressure. Also, consistently and irregularly active male and female patients had fasting glucose levels lower than the consistently inactive patients. Study results should ...
Christmas and Hanukkah may have come and gone, but the holiday season is still in full swing; iconic holiday ads by companies like Coca-Cola can still be seen on TV and around cities worldwide. Earlier this month, Alianza por la Salud Alimentaria (Nutritional Health Alliance), a Mexican health advocacy coalition, decided to take a stand against holiday advertising by Coca-Cola by producing their own "anti-advertisements" about the dangers of drinking too many sugary drinks. Mexico has the highest death rate associated with the consumption of soda and sugary drinks, 24,100 deaths per year, according to a press release by lianza por la Salud Alimentaria. The coalition's new video ads in both English and Spanish encourage Mexican families to take sodas off their tables this ...
Happy holidays from the Salud America! team at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio! We feel so blessed to be able to deliver to you the latest news and advances in Latino health. We encourage you to email us at saludamerica@uthscsa.edu and submit guest blog posts to continue spreading the word about how Latinos (and everyone!) can make their health a bigger priority in 2015 and beyond. If you need some inspiration for a healthy New Year, watch this ...
