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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

Research: Latino Neighborhoods Badly Need Healthier, Affordable Food Options



Latino neighborhoods tend to have more fast-food restaurants and snack vendors and fewer supermarkets and farmers' markets. This makes it hard for Latino families do not have access to healthy, affordable foods. However, policies that introduce supermarkets or farmers' markets in Latino communities, expand healthy offerings in corner stores like bodegas, or reduce costs of healthy foods can improve Latino families' access to and purchase of healthier foods and set the stage for better diets, according to a new package of research materials from Salud America! The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children. The "Better Food in the Neighborhood" package highlights how healthy food financing initiatives—tax credits, zoning ...

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Infographic: Better Food in Latino Neighborhoods



Check out this new infographic on how Latino families need healthier food options in their neighborhoods. The infographic, which is part of a new Salud America! “Better Food in the Neighborhood” package of research, which also contains a research review, issue brief and animated video, can be found ...

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Video: Better Food in Latino Neighborhoods



Check out this cool new animated video on how Latino families need healthier food options in their neighborhoods. The video, which is part of a new Salud America! “Better Food in the Neighborhood” package of research, which also contains a research review, issue brief and infographic, can be found ...

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Texas School District Working to Improve Students’ Physical Activity



With the high rates of Latino childhood obesity, a Latino-majority school district in South Texas is working to improve students' physical activity. The McAllen Independent School District, as shown in this KGBT-TV video, has "adopted" the Peaceful Playgrounds program. The goals of the Peaceful Playgrounds program are are to: improve physical activity; decrease negative behavior: implement a consistent "district-wide" conflict resolution for students; and, beautify playgrounds with new floor ...

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Story: How a Latino Family is Eating Healthier



Check out these videos about how a Latino family—the Eguez Hopkins family—is planting their own produce garden and eating healthy on a budget. The videos are from Manantial de Salud, a federally funded Latino grassroots health network sponsored by the Latino Healthcare Forum in the Dove Springs neighborhood in Austin, ...

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Study: Fast-Food Chains Near Urban Schools Affect Obesity More among Blacks, Hispanics



When their schools are near fast-food restaurants, black and Hispanic adolescents are more likely to be overweight and receive less benefit from exercise than Asian or white students, according to new study. The study, published in the Journal of Public Policy & Marketing, found that for all students, having a fast-food restaurant a mile nearer to school almost entirely cancels the body weight benefits of exercising one day per week. However, for black and Hispanic students in lower-income urban neighborhoods, having a fast-food restaurant a mile nearer to school may cancel the benefits of up to three days of exercise per week. The study underscores the importance of understanding how adolescents respond to fast-food availability near school, researchers said. "Our ...

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Study: Targeting Obesity Control in Latin America and the United States



A new pubcast, "Obesity Control in Latin American and United States Latinos: A Systematic Review," examines research programs that combined physical activity and healthy eating to address obesity can help guide efforts to tackle the epidemic in the United States and Latin America. The pubcast, published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, is from the Institute for Behavioral and Community Health at San Diego State University. Read more about this research ...

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Initiative Challenges Latino Familes to Go a ‘Day Without Sugar’



Unhealthy diets are a big contributor to the Latino childhood obesity epidemic. A new initiative is calling for Latino children and their families to embrace a healthier diet by limiting their sugar intake. For the Day Without Sugar Challenge, launched by Arte Público Press, the nation’s largest and oldest publisher of U.S. Hispanic literature, participants are encouraged to complete one full day without any sugary drinks, candies, cookies, or sweet baked goods, and avoid foods with added sugars. The initiative encourages community organizations, educators and families to address the issue of high sugar consumption, which can contribute to the risks of obesity, diabetes and heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends no more than 9 teaspoons of sugar per ...

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Latino Family Will be Featured in Diabetes Documentary



San Antonio residents Myra Martinez and her 17-year-old son, both diabetics, will be featured in a documentary about the health condition, WOAI-TV reports. Filming is taking place at the Texas Diabetes ...

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