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Amanda Merck

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.

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Articles by Amanda Merck

The Head to Toe Health Risks of Prolonged Sitting



A new article and infographic from The Washington Post shows all the ways that sitting is negatively affecting the health of the average U.S. adult. Whether it be working at a desk or sitting in front of the television, sitting contributes to many health issues that already plague Latinos such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Sitting causes the muscles to burn less fat and causes blood to flow at a slower pace, which allows more fatty acids to easily clog the heart. Long-term effects of prolonged sitting also include high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol. People with a sedentary lifestyle, that includes sitting a majority of their day, are more than twice as likely to have heart diseases and related issues than those who sit less frequently. Latinos are already at huge ...

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New Interactive Website from Bridging the Gap on State Laws for School Snack Foods and Beverages



Bridging the Gap, a Robert Wood Johnson funded national research program focused on understanding how policy and environmental factors affect the health of today's youth, has created the new interactive website about school snack foods and beverages State Laws for School Snack Foods and Beverages. The website covers laws in all fifty states over the course of seven school years and displays the information in colorful, easy to understand visuals. A map of a school is found on the website, which is interactive and allows users to click on each area where foods and beverages may be served at school. By clicking on an area the user gets an up to date summary on the current national status of laws for that topic, and is given links to more specific related issues. Bridging the Gap ...

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Commentary: Let’s Trim Obesity, Diabetes from Latino Lifestyles



Commentary by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez San Antonio is what the entire United States will look like in 40 years, some say. That’s good news, but not all good. San Antonio’s large Latino population contributes immeasurably to the diverse culture and vitality of our city, just as the continued growth of the Latino population benefits our nation as a whole. At the same time, some families in our heavily Latino neighborhoods increasingly lack access to the kinds of neighborhood amenities that Americans rely upon to stay healthy, and face some obstacles to good health. These are challenges to health in all Latino cities across the country. Research has found that, nationally, Latinos live in areas with more fast-food restaurants and unhealthy food advertising, and higher ...

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New Bilingual Cookbook: Latinas’ Tasty Recipes Get Cancer-Fighting Makeover



Eating the right food can help fight cancer. But what foods are right? Are there such things as healthy—and tasty—traditional Latino dishes? Check out a new bilingual cookbook, Nuestra Cocina Saludable: Recipes from Our Community Kitchen, to guide you and your family to eat healthy and help protect against cancer and other chronic diseases. The cookbook is from the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) and the Cancer Therapy and Research Center (CTRC) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. Download the free cookbook in English or Spanish. Inside are 46 recipes for healthy, delicious foods straight from real Latina kitchens. The cookbook originated when Latinas from across South Texas shared their mouth-watering recipes—like Aurora Rodriguez of Eagle ...

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Video: How a Latino Community ‘Heals Itself’



Check out this great video about a Latino community, East Salinas, Calif., which is mobilizing for change to address crime and violence to become a healthier community. The video, from the Health Happens Here campaign from the California Endowment, describes how a unique program La Cultura Cura (English: The Cultural Cure) is educating individuals, re-embracing traditional values of family, culture and community, and conducting community service to capitalize on resources that can promote healing and growth in a community traumatized by violence. Salinas, Calif., is 75% Latino. Read more about La Cultural Cura ...

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Study: ‘Promotores de Salud’ Help Diabetic Latinos Improve Health



When diabetic Hispanic seniors got education about the disease and how to manage it from community health workers, called promotores de salud in Latino communities, they positively changed their diabetes self-management behaviors and health outcomes, according to a recent pilot study. Now the study organizers, Humana Inc., are launching a larger study to test this effect of promotores and a culturally tailored diabetes self-management program. The new study, which partners with National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Mexican American Unity Council, and other partners, is a one-year test of the new model with 150 Hispanic seniors with type 2 diabetes in San Antonio, Texas. “We are very encouraged by the results of the pilot, which show that this approach to diabetes management ...

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Study: Overweight Latinas Are Less Aware of Increased Heart Disease Risk



Minority women, particularly Hispanic women, tend to be less aware of the increased risk of cardiovascular disease they face by being overweight or obese, according to a new study, Healio reports. The study, published in Journal of Women's Health, compared Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women based on their knowledge of heart disease risk factors and their perceptions of their own weight. Among the key findings, as reported by Healio: Hispanics (27%) were less likely than non-Hispanic whites (88%) to correctly identify the leading cause of death among women. Hispanic women were less likely to know the symptoms of a myocardial infarction or stroke (59% vs. 81%). Hispanics (69%) were less likely than non-Hispanic whites (83%) to correctly estimate weight. Specifically, in ...

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Study: Minority Patients Mostly Treated by Non-White Doctors



Doctors who are black, Hispanic and Asian provide the most care to minority patients, according to a study that suggests changes under Obamacare may increase the burden for these physicians, Bloomberg reports. According to the report: More than half of minority patients and about 70 percent of non-English-speaking patients, groups more likely to have Medicaid or be uninsured, are cared for by a nonwhite doctor, according to a research letter today in JAMA Internal Medicine. President Barack Obama’s 2010 Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, the biggest overhaul of the U.S. health-care system since the 1960s, is expected to insure millions of Americans who previously couldn’t afford health coverage. Though blacks and Hispanics represent 25 percent of the U.S. population, ...

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Latino Shoppers Learn about Healthy Grocery Options



Dignity Health and the American Heart Association organized a free grocery store tour in a Bakersfield, Calif., grocery store to give shoppers information about proper nutrition simple healthy shopping techniques for heart-healthy lives, according to reports by ABC-23 and PRLog. The tours gave tips on healthy grocery shopping and food label reading. Shoppers also learned from a bilingual nutritionist who highlighted the value of eating more fruits and vegetables, and high-fiber products. Check out the ABC-23 video ...

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