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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

Cuídate, Corazón: Misleading Food Marketing Campaign Tugs at Heartstrings



Editor’s Note: This post is part of an ongoing series that will highlight the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s work in Latino communities across the country. SaludToday Guest Blogger: Dr. Jennifer Harris Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity Obesity continues to hit the Latino community the hardest. About 39% of Hispanic adults are overweight compared with 33% of non-Hispanic whites. As obesity increases, so does the risk for chronic diseases like diabetes and congestive heart failure. Food marketers see the Latino community as an important target because it is a large, young and growing segment that is sure to yield lots of future sales. The barrage of food marketing to Latinos—particularly when the pitch is for unhealthy cereals, fast foods and sugary ...

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Video: Preventing Obesity among Latino Children



As the percentage of Latinos among U.S. children ages 18 or younger surges (rising from 17% in 1998 to 22% today to a projected 30% by 2025), Mexican-American children ages 2-19 have strikingly higher obesity rates than their white counterparts. Evidence-based, culturally adapted approaches are critically needed to spur policy changes and reverse the obesity epidemic among Latino children. In response, Salud America! The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children has developed an online network of nearly 2,000 Latino childhood obesity researchers, academics, community leaders, etc. The network is led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. The ...

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Bilingual Fotonovela Teaches Latinas How to Reduce Their Diabetes Risk



The National Diabetes Education Program's new bilingual fotonovela, Do it for them! But also for yourself (Hazlo por ellos! Pero por ti también), helps Latinas at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The fotonovela uses role models to demonstrate how women can reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes through increased physical activity, healthy food choices, and weight loss. The fotonovela tells the story of three friends, Elisa, Raquel, and Lourdes, who work at a local dry cleaners/laundry facility. All of them have children. Elisa is Mexican, married, and has two small children. Her wise and humorous mother, Doña Emma, gives her lots of advice about how to be healthy. Raquel is from Puerto Rico. She is single and raising her 13-year-old sister. Lourdes is from ...

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Videos: Latino Families Make Healthy Lifestyle Changes



Check out these videos of a few Latino families who are improving their healthy lifestyle habits. A healthy change in her family's eating habits has influenced eleven-year-old Alejandra to dream of being a chef when she grows up: When Maya, age 7, learned of her high triglyceride levels, she and her family changed their eating habits to better manage her cholesterol: The videos are from Be Smart. Be ...

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‘Adelante Chicas’ Summer Camp Promotes Healthy Lifestyle, Education for Young Latinas



Latina girls are learning about fitness, nutrition, healthy body image and other valuable lessons at a new summer day camp called Adelante Chicas at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore. The camp, a three-week event for Latina girls from third grade to high school, is a youth development arm of Oregon nonprofit Adelante Mujeres, which provides holistic education, career development and support services for low-income Latinas and their families, OregonLive.com reports. Girls at the camp participate in yoga, historic walks, nutrition lessons and even get to transform Spinach into a fruit ...

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Study: Latinas at Higher Risk for Metablic Syndrome



High incidence of heart disease among Latinas is directly related to a higher risk for metabolic syndrome, according to a study by Dr. Fatima Rodriguez of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Voxxi reports. Metabolic syndrome is a combination of factors—high blood pressure, increased levels of blood sugar, excessive body fat, and abnormal cholesterol levels—that lead to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Rodriguez' study, published in Family Practice News, collected information from the health screenings of 18,000 women and complete medical histories for 7,000 women. Her findings, according to the report, include: Researchers found an overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome for 35 percent of evaluated women; however, Rodriguez states “there was ...

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The Latest Advancements in Tackling Latino Child Obesity



How can... a videonovela teach about diabetes? (Pg 1) a non-exerciser become a promoter? (Pg 3) activity breaks keep kids fit? (Pg 5) new policy tools aid your work? (Pg 6) Find out in the latest E-newsletter from Salud America!, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) network to prevent obesity among Latino kids. Also find lots more news, research and funding inside the E-newsletter, and discover the preliminary research results of a quartet of Salud America! grantees working in Latino after-school programs, community recreational centers and more. Salud America! is funded by RWJF and directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, which developed SaludToday. To sign up to receive Salud America! E-newsletters, ...

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Poll: Hispanics Among Most Severely Obese Populations



Blacks and Hispanics are among the most likely in the United States to be very obese, according to a new Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. About 6% of blacks and 3.4% of Hispanics fall into the highest Body Mass Index (BMI) category ...

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VIDEO: Why Is P.E. Important?



Check out this cool new video from Active Living Research, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation national program, about characteristics of quality physical education and barriers to its delivery and the relationship between physical education and academic achievement. The video is in English or Spanish or ...

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