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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 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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Study: Crime, Fear Keep Latino Children from Seeking 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 13 is Dr. Monika Stodolska. Find all briefs here. Dr. Monika Stodolska “Crime, Physical Activity and Outdoor Recreation among Latino Adolescents” In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Monika Stodolska of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign examined the relationship between crime and physical activity among Latino youths. She and her team evaluated the behavior of Latino youth ages 11-14 in three environments: school yards and grounds; community parks; and neighborhood streets, sidewalks, alleys and yards in a Chicago neighborhood. Key preliminary findings ...

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Study: After-School Fitness Programs Can Improve Children’s Health



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 12 is Dr. Rebecca London. Find all briefs here. Dr. Rebecca London “Community-Based After-School Programs and Youth Physical Fitness” In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Rebecca London of Stanford University examined the fitness and overweight status of 1,105 5th and 7th grade students in California. It followed the same students over four years to analyze whether participating in after-school programs had an effect on whether a student was physically fit, and on whether he or she was overweight two years later, when they were in 7th and 9th grades, respectively Key ...

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Study: ‘Photovoice’ Empowers Latino Youth to Spark Health Policy Change



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 11 is Dr. Robert Dudley. Find all briefs here. Dr. Robert Dudley “Healthy Tomorrows for Latina Teens” In his Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Robert Dudley of Community Health Center, Inc., evaluated Health Tomorrows for Latina Teens, a five-year, federally-funded obesity prevention and advocacy training program for adolescent girls in New Britain, Conn. To identify factors that promote or prevent physical activity among Latina teens, Dr. Dudley’s team taught girls Photovoice—a research method that puts cameras in people’s hands to assess community problems and assets, and then ...

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VIDEO: The Risks of Consuming Sugary Drinks



Check out this new Spanish video from the "Life's Sweeter" campaign, which provides information and tools for the reduction of sugary drink consumption. Visit the campaign, led by the Center for Science in the Public Interest, here in English or ...

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Advances in Latino Cancer Screening, Liver Cancer, Obesity & More



Find the latest in Latino health—from helping underserved Latinos get cancer screening, to exploring reasons why liver cancer is on the rise among Latinos, to helping Latinos pursue doctoral degrees—in the new E-newsletter from the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. The IHPR E-newsletter has these stories: Story and Video: A New Way to Help Underserved Local Latinos Get Cancer Screens (Pg 1) Story: How Did an IHPR Employee Get a Coveted Internship Using His Christmas Present? (Pg 2) Story: New Research Briefs Examine Obesity in Latino Youths (Pg 3) Videos: New Training Videos on Patient Navigation (Pg 4) Story: Apply by 3/1/12 for Éxito to Get Help Pursuing a Doctoral Degree (Pg 5) Story: Latino Liver Cancer ...

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Study: School Compliance with P.E. Policies Matters for Latino Children’s Fitness



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 10 is Dr. Emma Sanchez. Find all briefs here. Dr. Emma Sanchez “The Role of Physical Education Policies in California” In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Emma Sanchez of San Francisco State University used existing data to investigate whether school district compliance with California physical education (P.E.) requirements influences fitness among the state’s Latino children. Key preliminary findings include: most Latino students attended school in districts that did not comply with P.E. policies; compared with Latino children in non-policy compliant districts, those in ...

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Telenovelas: Are Spanish-Language Soap Operas Good for Your Health?



The latest in Spanish-language soap operas, or telenovelas, are more than just about romance and personal scandal, they're debuting some very clear messages on health care for Latinos in the U.S., specifically Colorado, PBS Newshour reports. Read more about the new telenovelas here or watch this video. Watch Are Spanish-Language Soap Operas Good for Your Health? on PBS. See more from PBS ...

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Study: Doctors Give Less Attention to Latino Children Who Are Overweight But Not Obese



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 9 is Dr. Javier Rosado. Find all briefs here. Dr. Javier Rosado “Paying Attention to Children’s Weight in Pediatric Primary Care” In his Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Javier Rosado of Florida State University assessed how much weight-related medical attention children get during well-child checkups at a pediatric community health center in a rural, largely Latino migrant farm-worker community in Florida. Key preliminary findings include: some parents are not concerned about their child’s weight; obesity among girls raised the highest concern. The child’s gender also ...

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