When it comes to smoking, there's good and bad news for Latinos. The good: Researchers have long known that Latinos adults overall are less likely to smoke cigarettes than their white or black peers. The bad: New data now shows that one particular group of U.S. Latinos is more likely than all others to smoke. Nearly 29% of Puerto Ricans smoke cigarettes compared to 20% of Cuban Americans and 19% of Mexican Americans, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Heart Association reports. In Puerto Rico, smoking rates are much lower than in the U.S. Only 11% of all Puerto Ricans on the island smoke. Of the 5.4 million Puerto Ricans living stateside, many live in poor-quality housing and have low-income jobs. “Financial and ...
Latinos deserve to live in a culture of health. That's why SaludToday, led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, works hard to promote Latino health awareness, stories, and solutions. Today we're excited to be nominated as Best Health Advocate Reaching Latino(a)s through Through Social Media by LATISM (Latinos in Social Media). LATISM is a nonprofit that empowers Latinos through tech innovation and social media. SaludToday is nominated with two great organizations (@MinorityHealth and @CuidadodeSalud). We will present our work at #LATISM16 on Oct. 20, 2016, in Florida. Vote for us here! “We believe SaludToday is helping to influence individual and collective health knowledge, improve attitudes and promote healthy behaviors and a culture of health, which may ultimately lead to ...
The new goal for Pepsi is to have at least two-thirds of it beverages contain 100 calories or less per 12-ounze serving by 2025, according to The Christian Science Monitor. Soda consumption has dramatically decreased over the years as many consumers have concerns about obesity and cancer, linked to high sugar consumption. In fact, Harvard T.H. Chan School of public health states that regular consumers of sugary beverages have a 26 percent higher risk of type 2 diabetes. The trends are changing towards healthier lifestyles, including reducing sugar, and Pepsi wants to keep pace with the changing consumer trends, introducing more zero- and low calorie drinks for the next 10 years. Many schools and hospitals have swapped out sugar and sugary drinks and even some cities have taxed ...
We all know that healthy students learn better, but what can schools do to help? Rangerville Elementary School in San Benito Consolidated Independent School District in San Benito, TX (90.7% Latino), decreased the amount of time kids spend sitting at their desks and increased the amount of time kids spend being physically active by providing more time for recess, more activities during PE, physical activity breaks during class, and a running club. Additionally, school vending machines only provide water, school foods align with the USDA's Smart Snacks in School standards, and the school introduces students to two new fresh fruits and vegetables every week. The healthy changes at Rangerville Elementary School were recognized when the school was one of only 14 schools ...
Mental health inequities are a key problem that many Latinos face in their overall health care. In California (38.18% Latino population), steps have been taken to help alleviate some of these problems with the passing of a new law that will take effect on January 1, 2017. In past years, many health centers in rural parts of the state were unable to bill Medi-Cal, the government health program for low-income Californians, for services; the new law reverses that decision. Without proper treatment, mental health conditions can worsen and make day-to-day life hard. Latinos are less likely to seek mental health treatment. A 2001 Surgeon General’s report found that only 20% of Latinos with symptoms of a psychological disorder talk to a doctor about their concerns. Only 10% contact a mental ...
Halloween and Dia de los Muertos are a few days away. Thanksgiving and Christmas after. Yup, holiday season is upon us. That's why, as holiday parties and performances stack up on busy calendars, pediatrician Diana Bojorquez of Kaiser Permanente has five big tips to keep Latino adults and kids healthy and happy, and lower their risk of weight gain and associated health issues.
1. Get enough sleep.
It’s important for everyone to maintain a regular shut-eye schedule – sleep restores and repairs our bodies, not to mention plentiful sleep helps with weight loss and mental capacity, among other health benefits. Adults should get 7 to 8 hours of sleep, and children need more, with very young ones needing as much as 12 hours nightly.
2. Prevent illness.
There are little things, ...
Jessie Fisher and her nonprofit food pantry, the Randolph Area Christian Assistance Program (RACAP) aim to provide a week’s worth of healthy food and toiletries to families in need in Schertz, Texas (29.3% Latino). But when food demand grew faster than the supply, Fischer and RACAP had to think quickly. They set up partnerships to gather leftover food from restaurants and grocers, pick up unwanted fruit from residents’ yards, and receive meat donations from hunters. They also launched food drives that yielded thousands of pounds of healthy food for Latino and other families during high-demand summer times. Did it work?
Food Insecurity in Schertz Schertz, Texas (29.3% Latino population) is a fast-rising, increasingly Latino (18.1% in 2000 and 26.6% in 2014) community ...
Food insecurity remains one of the country’s most troubling conditions that plague many Latino families. Feeding America has determined that Latinos are more than twice as likely to be food insecure as Whites. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) established the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to support food and nutrition assistance programs giving aid to low-income households. More than 20% of all Latinos are food insecure as compared to just 10% of all Americans and nearly 25% of all Latino children live in a food-insecure household. In 2014, of the 92 counties with a majority Latino/Hispanic population, 18% were among the top 10 of counties with the highest rates of childhood food insecurity. In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to ...
Culture and language are two reasons many Latinas don't always get timely and appropriate treatment for breast cancer. Breast cancer is the No. 1 killer of Latinas. The Metastatic Breast Cancer Network (MBCN) is hoping to alleviate some of the barriers to timely treatment through a series of informational materials in both English and Spanish. The MBCN has created several informational resources for individuals coping with Stage IV breast cancer: Conozca los datos
Diagóstico: Cáncer de mama metastásico… ¿Qué significa para usted?
La serie sobre el cáncer de mama metastásico: Guía para nuevas pacientes "Being diagnosed with metastatic breast cancer can often be a frightening or overwhelming for many women," according to the MBCN. "This type of diagnosis can be ...
