Hispanics are more likely to get alcoholic liver disease, and get it at younger ages, according to a new study, Inquisitr reports. The study, by the UC Davis Health System, conducted a retrospective chart review of more than 1,500 patients with alcoholic liver disease—a spectrum of diseases including alcoholic fatty liver, alcoholic hepatitis, and alcoholic cirrhosis that often result from long duration of high amounts of alcohol. Not everyone is affected by alcohol the same way. Even if the same amount of alcohol is consumed, the liver damage from alcohol in some people can be more severe than in others, suggesting that other factors, such as genes and environment, can influence the development of liver damage. In the study, more Hispanic people get alcoholic liver disease, ...
Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2014 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply now for the 2015 Èxito! program. Mia Ramirez
Colorado Springs, Colo. With a father who was a Chicano civil rights activist, it’s natural that Colorado native Ramirez and her family grew up with a strong sense of equal rights, equity, and justice. From a young age, Ramirez was taught the values of servitude, leadership and completing tasks. She went on to develop a passion for improving her community’s health, reducing health disparities, and addressing the social determinants of health. With a bachelor’s degree in biology and Spanish from Regis University and a master’s degree in international health and development from Boston University, Ramirez has ...
President Barack Obama has just announced the launch of a new initiative designed to get kids in parks! The Every Kid in a Park initiative will provide 4th graders and their families with free access to national parks for a whole year. Along with providing students with this important opportunity to experience the outdoors, the president also announced the designation of three new National Monuments across the U.S. The Every Kid in a Park initiative will expand opportunities for children by Making it easy for schools and families to plan trips by providing information about nearby parks, waters, & student programming;
Providing transportation support to schools with the greatest need, through the Ticket to Ride program; and
Providing educational materials via ...
What keeps Latino kids from being active? A lack of recreational facilities, broken sidewalks, inadequate time for recess, and higher rates of car crashes and crime hinders activity in underserved communities, according to a new Spanish-language infographic from Active Living Research (ALR) and Salud America!, a program of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at he UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. The good news is that all of the issues identified in the infographic can be addressed with better policies, infrastructure improvements, and planning that can make neighborhoods safer, cleaner, and better designed for walking, biking, and playing. Use this infographic, also available in English, to help make the case for improving barriers to physical activity in your ...
Farm to School programs are great ways to introduce kids to fresh fruits and veggies at a young age. Advocacy groups across the country are supporting state and local bills that would designate resources from the legislative budget to ensure these programs start strong, stay strong and reach children in every neighborhood. In Colorado, Farm to School advocates were thrilled this week to learn that their Farm to School bill, HB15-1088: "Interagency Farm-to-School Grant Program," had passed out of the House Education Committee and will now advance to the House Appropriations Committee! A news update from Healthier Colorado, a health advocacy nonprofit, said that committee members were excited about the bill, and they cited the fact that it will simultaneously fight against childhood ...
Legislators in Minnesota, a state whose Latino population is quickly growing, are setting a healthy example for other states by working to enact legislation that would ensure all elementary school students get recess. According to the bill's text, school districts would be required to include a recess policy in their wellness policy and publish the total minutes of recess provided to students on the district's website. In the bill law makers acknowledge rising childhood obesity rates and the need for more physical activity. The bill also states that Minnesota strives to be the healthiest state in the nation and that children must be encouraged to "engage in physical activity so they can develop a healthy mind and body." Read more about this here. Access Minnesota's Recess ...
Senators and representatives in Idaho, a state with a quickly growing Latino community, are tracking their steps, water intake, and servings of fruits and vegetables as part of a month long, friendly competition aimed at promoting healthy lifestyles and fighting childhood obesity. According to a Fox9 report 50 state legislators are taking part in a competition organized by health insurance provider Blue Cross of Idaho. At the end of the competition the three legislators who track the most physical activity and record eating more fruits and vegetables will win $5,000 from the Blue Cross of Idaho to go toward providing healthier options to elementary school children in their district. Funds will provide for outdoor exercise equipment, healthier meal options, and any other ...
What can communities do to encourage physical activity and protect the environment? According to Dr. Marty Nathan of Springfield, Massachusetts the answer is simple---remove barriers to walking by fixing and maintaining sidewalks. Dr. Nathan, who works as a physician in the North End of Springfield, a predominantly Latino side of town, believes that walking can prevent three things that cause us harm: obesity, air pollution and climate change. "I try as much as I can to avoid using cars to get where I need to go," Nathan said in a MassLive editorial. In the editorial Dr. Nathan speaks of how many of the low-income patients she sees depend on having safe places to walk, to get to jobs, stores and services. "Their health suffers when that cheapest of exercise forms – ...
Editor's Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2014 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply now for the 2015 Èxito! program. Kaylee Rivera
Long Beach, Calif. With constant support from her Puerto Rican, police-officer father, Kaylee Rivera had the determination and ambition to succeed in her educational and career goals. Rivera, who earned a bachelor’s degree in health science from California State University, Long Beach, and is pursuing a master’s degree in public health, has work experience in nutrition, obesity prevention, and behavioral health. She also is a graduate mentor Fellow for the H2OLA program funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH). After giving her first scientific presentation—“The effects of language acculturation ...
