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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

VIDEOS: ‘Feeding Minds’ Tackles Hunger, Obesity Across Texas



Check out the new TV series, “Feeding Minds: Texas Takes on Hunger and Obesity,” which premiered on Texas PBS stations Feb. 23, 2012. The series aims to bring awareness to these overlapping issues and to share what government, community organizations and individuals are doing to combat them. For more information, follow this effort on Facebook. Different video segments tackle the following issues: Hunger in the South Plains Statewide Efforts to Help Those in Need San Antonio's Effort to Increase Access to Health Food Dallas Combats Obesity Combining Education with Good Nutrition Growing Healthy in El Paso Houston Deals with Hunger, Obesity Watch the full program English or Spanish or below. Watch Feeding Minds on PBS. See more from Feeding Minds: Texas ...

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Overweight/Obese Latino Youth More Likely to Have Asthma



Youth who are overweight or obese—especially Hispanics—are more likely to have asthma than their healthy weight counterparts, according to a new Kaiser Permanente Southern California study published in the online edition of Obesity. The study, which included more than 681,000 children between ages 6 and 19, found that the association between asthma and body mass index (BMI) varied by race and ethnicity. The association between BMI and asthma was strongest among Hispanic youth and weaker for African Americans, a group that was previously known to have the highest prevalence of asthma. “This research contributes to the growing evidence that there is a relationship between childhood obesity and asthma, and suggests that factors related to race and ethnicity, particularly for ...

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New TV Series: ‘Feeding Minds: Texas Takes on Hunger and Obesity’



Check out a 30-second promo video in English or Spanish for a new TV series, "Feeding Minds: Texas Takes on Hunger and Obesity," which premieres on Texas PBS stations Feb. 23, 2012. The series aims to bring awareness to these overlapping issues and to share what government, community organizations and individuals are doing to combat them. Check your local listings for the series. For more information, follow this effort on ...

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VIDEOS: Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities



Watch new videos from Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, showcasing how the program is helping dozens of communities across the country to reshape their environments to support healthy living and prevent childhood obesity. The videos below feature program achievements in Chicago, and Central Valley, ...

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Study: Young Latino Children More Likely to Be Obese


Claudia Galindo

Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 17 is Dr. Claudia Galindo. Find all briefs here. Claudia Galindo “Obesity Among Young Latino Children: Disparities and Changes Over Time” In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Claudia Galindo of the University of Maryland studied factors and behaviors that may affect weight, nutrition and physical activity among Latino youth. Key preliminary findings include: Latino children are more likely to be obese than White and Asian children at all points of observation; among Latino children from different countries and regions of origin, Central American, Puerto Rican and Mexican ...

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Study: Teaching Latinos How to Buy Healthier Foods



Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 16 is Dr. Dharma Cortes. Find all briefs here. Dr. Dharma Cortes “Improving Food Purchasing Selection among Low-Income Latinos” In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Dharma Cortes of the University of Massachusetts Boston used an educational intervention (i.e., guidelines geared to ease understanding of nutrition) to try to improve food purchasing behaviors and thus increase healthy eating among low-income Spanish-speaking Latino families with children under age 18. Key preliminary findings include: low-income Latino families spent one-third of their income on food; much of ...

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Study: Exposure to Recreation Center Increases Use by Latino Families with Young Children



Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 15 is Dr. Shari Barkin. Find all briefs here. Dr. Shari Barkin “Exposure to Recreation Center Increases Use by Latino Families with Young Children” In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Shari Barkin of Vanderbilt University Medical Center assessed how exposure to a community recreation center affects whether Latino families with young children use the center for physical activity. This assessment was conducted one year after families participated in a culturally-relevant healthy-lifestyles program at the center. Key preliminary findings include: programmed exposure to a ...

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Study: Latino Children Face Many Barriers to Healthy Eating, Physical Activity



Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 14 is Dr. Myriam Torres. Find all briefs here. Dr. Myriam Torres “Voices of Latina Mothers and School Staff on Childhood Obesity” In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Myriam Torres of the University of South Carolina brought together public health researchers, community leaders and Latino families to study and develop effective policy recommendations regarding physical activity among Latino children from a growing immigrant settlement in West Columbia, S.C. Key preliminary findings include: main barriers to healthy eating and physical activity among Latino children include ...

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The Importance of Culture in Childhood Obesity Prevention, Management



Efforts to provide culturally and linguistically appropriate care, family-based treatment programs, and support services could improve obesity care for racial/ethnic minority children, according to a new article in the journal Childhood Obesity. The article, "Are You Talking to ME? The Importance of Ethnicity and Culture in Childhood Obesity Prevention and Management," points out disparities in obesity rates among children ages 2-19: a 15.3% rate among whites, 20% among blacks, and 20.8% among Hispanics. Reasons for these obesity disparities are complex—ranging from differences in cultural beliefs and practices, level of acculturation, ethnicity-based differences in body image, and perceptions of media, sleep, physical activity and the socio- and environmental context in which ...

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