About the Author

Author Picture

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.

Connect with Amanda:
Twitter Link

Articles by Amanda Merck

Report: Hispanics Suffer More Diabetes, Work-Related Deaths, and Uncontrolled Blood Pressure



Hispanics suffer a heavier burden of health conditions like diabetes, uncontrolled blood pressure, and work-related deaths, according to a new federal report. The Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Supplement, released on Nov. 21 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), highlights differences in mortality and disease risk for multiple conditions related to behaviors, access to health care, and social determinants of health—the conditions in which people are born, grow, live, age, and work. The report highlights several Hispanic-oriented issues or conditions: Preventable hospitalization rates were highest for Hispanics and blacks. Diabetes rates were highest among Hispanics and blacks. Rates of uncontrolled blood pressure were highest among Mexican ...

Read More

Junk Food Marketing’s Contribution to Latino Childhood Obesity



Editor's note: This editorial by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez was part of a MomsRising blog carnival on Oct. 30, 2013. Food marketing to kids is a huge piece of the U.S. obesity puzzle. Latino kids are a prime target for food marketers, largely because of their large population numbers—they comprise 22% of all U.S. youth and will rise to 30% by 2025. But there are other reasons they are such a target. Latino kids have higher rates of exposure to media—TV, computers, video games, etc.—in a typical day than do their white peers, about 13 hours compared with 8.36 hours. And Latino teens have been called “superconsumers” of soda, candy, and snacks spending 4% more than non-Latino teens. The result? About 84% of kid-targeted food and drinks ads on Spanish-language TV ...

Read More

Report: ‘Food Stamp Diet’ is Making South Texans Obese, But Leaving Them Hungry



Check out this excellent story by Eli Saslow of the Washington Post about how the food stamp diet is making people obese—but also leaving them hungry—in the largely Latino region of South Texas. Here's a little insight into the situation in Hidalgo County, Texas: “El Futuro” is what some residents had begun calling the area, and here the future was unfolding in a cycle of cascading extremes: Hidalgo County has one of the highest poverty rates in the nation . . . which has led almost 40 percent of residents to enroll in the food-stamp program . . . which means a widespread reliance on cheap, processed foods . . . which results in rates of diabetes and obesity that double the national average . . . which fuels the country’s highest per-capita spending on ...

Read More

Latino Health in Focus: Surviving Cancer, Reducing Obesity



Find the latest advances in Latino health—from a new support group for young cancer survivors to obesity prevention—in IHPR Noticias, the newsletter from the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. IHPR Noticias has these stories and more: Story: "Breast Friends Forever" Support Group for Young Cancer Survivors in San Antonio (Pg 1) Profile: Inspired by Grandparents...The Story of the IHPR's Rosalie Aguilar (Pg 2) Study: Obesity, Diabetes Biggest South Texas Health Threats (Pg 3) Video: Dr. Amelie Ramirez on the Future of Latino Health Care (Pg 4) Study: Síclovía Events Encourage Healthy Behaviors (Pg 6) Study: Racial/Ethnic Disparities Remain in Breast Cancer Rates ...

Read More

Now En Español: 6 Videos on Latino Childhood Obesity Solutions



Salud America! today released six Spanish-language animated videos that shed light on the causes of solutions to Latino childhood obesity. The videos, which are also available in English, explore the latest research into how six critical topics—marketing, school snacks, sugary drinks, neighborhood food environments, active play and access to active spaces—impact Latino child health. The videos also feature evidence-based recommendations on how to address the problem. The child-narrated videos are part of a six new packages of research materials produced by Salud America!, a national research network on Latino childhood obesity that is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and based at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science ...

Read More

‘Sugar Lowdown’ Campaign Shines Light on Added Sugar Content in Drinks



One sugary drink a day for a year is equal to 7,300 sugar cubes—the length of four blue whales—according to a new online campaign to promote more water and fewer sugary drinks from the Alliance for a Healthier Generation and Brita USA. Sugar-sweetened beverages are the largest source of added sugar in the diets of US youth. Parents, caregivers, and role models for the next generation can set the right example and relay the right message about sugar consumption to kids, according to the Alliance for a Healthier Generation blog post. "It’s easy to overlook the amount of sugar we consume in a single day when we look at it as just flavor. Remove that sugar from the drink and give it a physical form, and it turns into something that we would not as quickly put into our bodies. ...

Read More

Fast Food Companies Increasingly Target Latino, Black Kids with Marketing for Unhealthy Foods



Fast-food restaurants continued to target black and Hispanic youth, populations at high risk for obesity and related diseases, according to a new report. Spanish-language fast-food advertising to Hispanic preschoolers increased by 16%, according to Fast Food FACTS 2013. The report, by the Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, examines the nutritional quality of fast food and how 18 top chain restaurants market their foods and drinks to kids. In 2012 the fast food industry spent $4.6 billion to advertise mostly unhealthy products, and children and teens remained key audiences for that advertising. The report highlights a few positive developments, such as healthier sides and drinks in most restaurants’ kids’ meals, but also shows that restaurants still have a long ...

Read More

Study: Food Marketing Pushes Junk Food to Kids in Guatamala



Junk foods are frequently marketed to children around urban schools in Guatamala, which has a growing obesity problem, according to a new study. The study, published in BioMed Central Public Health, examined the nutritional value and marketing tactics of all child-oriented snacks in 55 stores immediately surrounding four public schools. Researchers identified 826 child-oriented snack foods, at least one in each of the 55 stores. They further analyzed 106 of the snacks. The most common method of marketing to children was placing characters to promote snacks (92.5% of the products), including brand-specific characters, cartoon characters, and creatures/animals. Most character branding was prominently displayed on the front of products, and covered a quarter of the package's ...

Read More

Latinos on a Mission to Increase Healthier Lifestyles



How can... ...research build a case for addressing Latino childhood obesity? (Pg 1) ...a Latina get more Latinos into national parks for culture, physical activity? (Pg 3) ...schools give kids healthier choices during and after class? (Pg 5) Find out in the latest Salud America! E-newsletter. Salud America! The RWJF Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children is a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The program aims to unite and increase the number of Latino stakeholders engaged in community change and research on environmental and policy solutions to the epidemic. The network is directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. Don't forget to share your "healthy change" stories with ...

Read More