Eric Moreno is a Content Curator with the Salud America! program at UT Health San Antonio. He specializes in covering the topics of health equity and family and social support. He holds a BA from the University of Texas at San Antonio and an MA from Gonzaga University.
The classic bully takes a kid's lunch money. But a new type of bully—"school lunch shaming," when a student has no money for lunch to begin with—is on the upswing in schools across the country, CNN reports. This type of "hidden" or "unintentional" bullying greatly affects Latino kids. Latino kids comprise about 1 in 4 of the kids participating in the National School Lunch Program, according to the UnidosUS. "It's the working poor who get screwed," Jill Duban, who heads up a program called Common Threads a school district that helps low-income and homeless families, told CNN. "The lunch ladies are not always nice about it."
Brown bags of shame
Despite the large expansion of free and reduced lunch programs across the country, many kids simply cannot afford to pay $2.35 for ...
Jobs in science, technology, engineering and math have higher than average salaries. But Latinos, particularly Latinas, are less likely to get a degree in these STEM fields. This creates a dire income gap for a population that at the same time suffers disproportionately from health conditions like obesity, diabetes, and cancer. Blending STEM and wellness can transform traditionally segmented curriculum to improve health and ensure Latinos can be part of a healthy workforce with economic opportunities. Let's use #SaludTues on July 11, 2017, to tweet about how to boost student success, resiliency, and equitable access to quality educational opportunities, while also increasing health and wellness resources for Latinos. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “STEM & Wellness: A ...
Many people don't officially start their day until they get a cup of coffee. That is especially true for Latinos. When it comes to coffee—hot, iced, black, or with cream and sugar—Latinos drink it more than any other racial/ethnic group, according to the National Coffee Association. A new study found that coffee does more than give you a morning boost. Coffee vs. Liver Cancer People who drank one cup of coffee every day had a 20% lower risk of developing hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), the most common form of liver cancer, than those who drink no coffee, according to a study published in the journal BMJ Open. Study researchers say that increasing consumption of coffee may help prevent HCC, even in cases of pre-existing liver disease. Cancer is already the leading ...
Potatoes are a staple food for nearly every culture around the world. They can be boiled, baked, smashed, stewed, and—perhaps most popularly—fried. However, fried spuds may be hazardous to your health, according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, CNN reports. In the study, people who eat fried potatoes two or more times per week double their risk of early death compared to those who avoid them altogether. “Fried potatoes consumption is increasing worldwide,” Dr. Nicola Veronese, lead author of the study and a scientist at the National Research Council in Italy, told CNN. In the U.S., the problem is especially concerning. In 2014, Americans consumed 112.1 pounds of potatoes per person per year and of that total, 33.5 pounds ...
Potatoes are a staple food for nearly every culture around the world. They can be boiled, baked, smashed, stewed, and—perhaps most popularly—fried. However, fried spuds may be hazardous to your health, according to a recent study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, CNN reports. In the study, people who eat fried potatoes two or more times per week double their risk of early death compared to those who avoid them altogether. “Fried potatoes consumption is increasing worldwide,” Dr. Nicola Veronese, lead author of the study and a scientist at the National Research Council in Italy, told CNN. In the U.S., the problem is especially concerning. In 2014, Americans consumed 112.1 pounds of potatoes per person per year and of that total, 33.5 pounds ...
Latinos have made great strides in education in recent years, with more enrolling two- and four-year colleges and universities than ever before. Despite these gains, there is still a significant gap between Latinos and other racial and ethnic minorities in obtaining college degrees. Many universities around the country are coming up with new and innovative approaches to not only increase the enrollment of Latino students, but to also help them succeed when they get on campus. In all, 492 campuses in 19 states and Puerto Rico have been designated Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs), which allows them to apply for about $100 million annually in federal research grants. For the University of California – Irvine campus, these strategies have begun to pay off. The Irvine (10.05% ...
Latinos are already the largest and youngest racial and ethnic minority group in the United States. The health and success of this growing population will be key to the overall prosperity of the country. Groups across the country have found numerous innovative ways to help Latinos obtain access to the resources available to them. In DeKalb, IL (12.81% Latino population) the Universidad para Padres (Parents University) program was formed to help parents in the area “take active roles in their own personal growth and their children’s academic success.” The program, which consisted of 22 sessions, was organized by Northern Illinois University (NIU) and covered a variety of topics. These included bilingual options for K-12 education to health promotion and applying for ...
How many steps do you get each day? Does your step number relate to you risk of diabetes, obesity, and heart disease? In the only six states where people take 8,500+ steps a day, people also have lower heart disease and diabetes risk than the U.S. average, according to Fitbit data. On the flip side, in the only six states where people take fewer than 7,800 steps a day, people also had higher heart disease and diabetes risk than the U.S. average. These correlations might not be shocking. “Obviously, the more exercise you do, the better it is for your heart health,” said Dr. Nieca Goldberg, of the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women’s Health at NYU Langone Medical Center, told The Washington Post. But it's not clear exactly how many steps are needed, and whether Latinos ...
Obtaining an education is one of the key social determinants of health. While Latinos have made great strides in this area in recent years – high school dropout rates are at an all-time low and two- and four-year college enrollments for Latinos is at an all-time high – Latinos still lag behind other racial and ethnic minorities in obtaining college degrees. The University of Michigan recently announced an initiative that could help many of the state’s Latino and low-income families achieve their goal of going to college. The school’s Board of Regents passed a program that will give free tuition for families who live in the state of Michigan (4.72% Latino population) and earn less than $65,000 per year. Dubbed the “Go Blue Guarantee,” the program will launch on January 1, ...
