About the Author

Author Picture

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.

Connect with Amanda:
Twitter Link

Articles by Amanda Merck

PE Teachers Bring 60 Minutes of Daily Activity to Students Before or After School



Many students don’t meet daily recommendations of physical activity. They often lack access to quality activity opportunities during school and they are burdened by challenges for quality activity opportunities after school, such as safety, availability and cost. Kids that don’t meet daily recommendations of physical activity are at increased risk for obesity and other adverse health outcomes. Jennifer Hershey and Jennifer McCloughan, two PE teachers in Edmonds School District in Washington, developed a before/after school program as well as a recess program to help kids reach 60 minutes of recommended daily activity on most days of the week. They developed these programs to be implemented in schools to reduce challenges associated with safety, availability, and cost. PE ...

Read More

Step It Up! The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities



There are numerous mental and physical benefits to walking. However, many Americans live in nonwalkable communities and face challenges to this most basic form of physical activity. Although walking is an individual behavior, walking can be made easier by improvements to community walkability and by programs and policies that provide opportunities and encouragement for walking. In fact, this is exactly what the Surgeon General is calling for in the Call to Action to Promote Walking and Walkable Communities. Multiple sectors of society can contribute to walkability, including transportation, land use, and community design; parks, recreation, and fitness; education; business and industry; volunteer and nonprofit organizations; health care; media; and public health. Check ...

Read More

#SaludTues Tweetchat 9/15/15: Connecting Kids to Health Coverage


kid at doctor

Over the last several years, millions of U.S. kids have been connected with free or low-cost health coverage through Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP). But more than 3 million kids remain eligible but uninsured. Join us for a #SaludTues Tweetchat on Sept. 15, 2015, to tweet about what we can do to close the gap and make sure that all kids—and more parents, too—get the health insurance they need and deserve: WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Connecting Kids to Health Coverage” DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2015 WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues HOST: @SaludAmerica CO-HOSTS: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ Connecting Kids to Coverage Campaign (@IKNGov) and National Council of La Raza ...

Read More

Fields for All: Soccer & Futsal Courts Come to Recreation Deserts in Multnomah County, Oregon



Many kids live in “recreation deserts,” which lack access to safe, affordable physical activity opportunities. Therefore, they often do not meet daily physical activity recommendations and are at increased risk for obesity. One way to reduce these challenges and increase physical activity among children is to provide free, safe recreation facilities in their neighborhood with relevant programming. Shawn Levy and Ricki Ruiz, two community-driven initiatives in Multnomah County, Ore., have crossed paths in their efforts to reduce recreation deserts in neighborhoods by building and fixing soccer fields and futsal courts. Soccer Loving Kids Live in Recreation Desert Oregon residents Shawn Levy and Ricki Ruiz love soccer and know it is good for kids and adults. But each found ...

Read More

A Pop Quiz that Can Save Your Adolescent Child’s Life


HPV vaccine

What’s the most common sexually transmitted infection? What can cause genital warts or cervical, penis, and anus cancer? What can be prevented with a simple vaccine? Answer: HPV (the human papillomavirus). That’s why a new program is educating people about HPV and helping them make and remember HPV vaccination appointments for girls and boys ages 11-17 in South Texas. The program, called Entre Familia, uses promotoras—trained community health workers—to deliver education and services, led by researchers at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio in partnership with Nuestra Clínica del Valle in South Texas and the Colonias Program at Texas A&M University. “Entre Familia raises awareness about the importance of the HPV vaccine ...

Read More

#SaludTues Tweetchat 1p ET 9/1/15: Why Health is Cool for Back to School


Schoolchildren having yummy lunch in canteen together school health

Schools are an important environment to support health. Several challenges to physical activity and nutritious food still exist within many communities, both in and out of schools. It is important for parents and schools to work together to ensure that local, state, and national physical activity and nutrition standards eliminate these challenges in schools. When parents and schools work together to make the healthy the easy choice, they make health cool for their children. Join #SaludTues on September 1, 2015 to tweet about how parents and schools can create safe spaces for children to be physically active outside of regular school hours by using existing resources. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Why Health is Cool for Back to School” DATE: Tuesday, September 1, 2015 ...

Read More

La pobreza extrema afecta 1 de 4 latinos en EEUU


kid sitting poverty low income health

Al rededor del 26 por ciento de los latinos y el 24 por ciento de afro-americanos viven en “pobreza extrema,” el cual significa que tienen dificultades en poder pagar por necesidades básicas, aun así con ayuda de programas gubernamentales, de acuerdo a un nuevo estudio. El reporte del US Department of Health and Human Services , HHS por sus siglas en inglés, define pobreza extrema al nivel de la mitad del nivel de pobreza federal—menos de $6,000 para un adulto o $7,600 para un adulto con dependientes. Según el reporte: Una familia en pobreza extrema gasta $3,000-$6,000 más en necesidades que sus ingresos permiten. Individuos en pobreza extrema tienden a estar menos saludables que aquellos con ingresos mayores por lo cual requieren de mayor atención ...

Read More

Yoga vs. Gym Workouts: What’s Best?


Yoga vs. Gym Workouts

Yoga and regular gym workouts are both effective, according to a new study, Ivanhoe reports. The study led by Dr. Daniel Hughes, an exercise researcher at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, surprised all participants who expected one of the workouts to emerge as more effective. “I think I was expecting that one would be stronger than the other, and probably thinking that yoga would be the end all be all,” Michelle Hart, a study participant, told Ivanhoe. For the study, one group was asked to do yoga, a second group to do regular gym workouts, and a third group to just stay active. During the study, all participants exercised three hours a week and lost the same amount of body fat, “about four percent.” “All three arms were just ...

Read More