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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

Latino Health Disparities: Improving, But More Needs to be Done



The latest annual report on the nation’s health by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) shows Latinos are living longer than whites and blacks and health disparities are narrowing. Despite the latest improvements in health disparities, Latinos still have the highest incidence of high blood pressure and childhood obesity, The American Heart Association News (AHA) reports. “High blood pressure remains much more common among black Americans, and Hispanic children and teens are still more likely to be obese than their black, white and Asian counterparts.,” AHA said in a written statement. The CDC’s annual health report is a “snapshot” of the nation’s health “highlighting recent successes and challenges in fighting critical health problems in the United ...

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Bike Alliance of Minnesota Teaches Kids Walking and Biking Safety



The Bike Club at Brooklyn Center Secondary in Minneapolis, Minnesota (10.5% Latino) started in the Summer of 2014 during LEAP Program and transitioned into a two day a week program during the following school year to fix brakes, replace rusty chains, and align frames, with funding from a 21st Century Community Learning Center grant and Hennepin County Statewide Health Improvement Program. Brooklyn Center Secondary also began providing Bike Alliance of Minnesota Walk! Bike! Fun! curriculum, which is free for educators and schools to download and use. Walk! Bike! Fun! is a comprehensive curriculum developed by the Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota through a federal Safe Routes to School grant provided by the Minnesota Department of Transportation and in collaboration with the Center ...

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Study: Severe Obesity Among Minority Children is on the Rise



Latino and Black children have the highest prevalence of severe obesity according to a recent study, Univision Salud reports. Researchers analyzed data from 1999 through 2014 and concluded that one-third of U.S. children are overweight, 25% are obese and more than two percent are severely obese. "Despite other recent reports, all categories of obesity have increased from 1999 to 2014, and there is no evidence of a decline in the last few years." lead researcher Asheley Skinner said. According to Skinner, there are 4.5 million children who are severely obese in need of immediate treatment. "Unless we make big changes on a national level, we're not going to see huge changes in obesity," Skinner said. "We have created a culture where kids aren't very active and one where it's ...

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Salud America! Wins International Marketing and Communications Award


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Spreading the word about how to improve health for all people, including Latinos, is a dire need. That’s why Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, leader of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio, created Salud America!, formerly called the SaludToday blog and social media campaign. Salud America! was recognized with four Communicator Awards. We won “silver” in the content and marketing category and “silver” in the community action, writing, and website categories Please help us continue to raise awareness of health issues and solutions by following us @SaludAmerica on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and ...

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Hearing Impairment Linked to Diabetes



New research suggests type 2 diabetes—a condition that severely affects Latinos in the U.S.—may cause hearing impairment, according to researchers at the SUNY Downstate Medical Center, HealthAim reports. According to the researchers, there’s “compelling evidence” that suggests diabetes damages the auditory system and clinicians should include a hearing test in managing type 2 diabetes. “An association between diabetes and hearing impairment in human subjects has been shown in many, but not all, studies,” said Dr. Elizabeth Helzner, assistant professor in the Department of Epidemiology and Biostatistics in the School of Public Health at SUNY Downstate Medical Center. According to the American Diabetes Association, 16.9% of Latinos have ...

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Quick Builds for Better Streets



In April 2016, PeopleForBikes released a new report, Quick Builds for Better Streets, looking at lessons from quick-build protected bike lane projects in Seattle, New York, Chicago, Austin, Denver, Memphis, Pittsburgh and San Francisco. The quick-build trend grew out of small-scale tactical urbanism projects where activists would modify a street by painting their own bike lane or adding cheap plastic posts. These projects demonstrate to the public how modified infrastructure-added bike lanes-could work in the real world. Access the new report, Quick Builds for Better Streets, here. Copy and share: Report to help cities adopt quick-build protected bike lanes. http://salud.to/21cixaz  ...

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‘Pilot’ Bike Lane in Seattle Gets Permanent Upgrades



In September 2014, the Seattle Department of Transportation launched the Second Avenue protected bike lane pilot project. As a pilot project, a two-lane cycle track was constructed on the southbound side of Second Avenue with paint and plastic posts. The purpose of pilot bike lane projects, like this, are to design and implement demonstration projects that illustrate to the public how new types of infrastructure-bike lanes-could work in the real world, particular how new types of infrastructure could work on real roads. The demonstration worked. “If you look at the bike volumes, before there were about 188 folks a day who would ride down Second," Dawn Schellenberg, the SDOT project developer in charge of the plan said, according to one source. "If you make it a two-way bike ...

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What is “Community Water Fluoridation”?



SaludToday Guest Blogger Campaign for Dental Health Community water fluoridation is the practice of adjusting the level of fluoride in the local water supply so there is just enough to help protect teeth from decay. It’s called ‘community’ water fluoridation because the whole community benefits. But Latino kids and families with low incomes, who suffer more than others from tooth decay, benefit the most. For every $1 invested in community water fluoridation we save as much as $38 in money that CHIP, Medicaid, insurance companies, and individuals would have to spend to treat unhealthy teeth. What is fluoride? Fluoride is a mineral that strengthens teeth so they’re more resistant to the bacteria that cause decay. It is found naturally in all sources of water. (It ...

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National Physical Activity Plan Update



In 2010, through a process that engaged hundreds of professionals, researchers, and public and private organizations, the first U.S. National Physical Activity Plan (the Plan) was released. The Plan was a "living document" of a comprehensive set of policies, programs, and initiatives designed to increase physical activity in seven societal sectors: business and industry; community recreation, fitness and parks; education; health care; mass media; public health; and transportation, land use and community design. The overarching goal of the Plan is to create environments that support physical activity where people live, work, and play in order to improve health, prevent disease and disability, and enhance quality of life, and to be updated on a regular basis. In April 2016, the ...

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