Safe Routes to School (SRTS) programs across the nation are providing children the opportunity to participate in physical activity, by walking to school, while also reducing vehicular emissions, and relieving cities of traffic congestion. The SRTS program was originally introduced as a Federal-Aid program of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) created by Section 1404 of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users Act (SAFETEA-LU) in 2005. With the passage of MAP-21, as of October 2012, federal funds specifically appropriated towards the SRTS program were no longer available to states. Despite this change in federal law, states can still develop SRTS programs and seek support from the MAP-21's new ...
After Governor Perry vetoed state legislation which would have passed a statewide Safe Passing ordinance, in 2009, the city of Austin enacted their own citywide Safe Passing Ordinance to encourage active transportation and to protect vulnerable road users like pedestrians, cyclists, children, and the elderly. The law also protects people on horseback, motorcycles, mopeds, and motor-assisted scooters. According to BikeTexas, the language of the Austin ordinance contains the same language used for the statewide Safe Passing ordinance. It requires motorists to keep a distance of 3-6 feet from those defined as vulnerable road users (VRU). If a VRU is using a street lane and more than one lane for driving is available, motorists are required to vacate the lane. Read this letter of ...
Pennsylvania residents will soon have increased opportunities to bike and walk thanks to a law which will make up to $2.4 billion in transportation funds available towards pedestrian and bicycle oriented projects. According to Streetsblog and PreventObesity.net, the bill enacted in November 2013 will: provide at least $2 million towards pedestrian and bicyclist projects annually;
increase the state's multi-modal fund from a total of $33 million to $144 million over the next five years (pedestrian and bicycle projects will be eligible);
allow for the use of transportation funds in lighting pedestrian projects; and
include pedestrian and bicycle facilities as part of the state's comprehensive transportation system. In April 2013, this policy was in development. At the time, a ...
A group of Texas Tech University students wanted to get some hands-on coaching experience. Jeff Key, an instructor at Texas Tech, worked to give the students in-class instruction and an opportunity to coach/teach and do community service at the same time—a unique effort that resulted in the development of after-school fitness and mentoring programming at McWhorter Elementary School in Lubbock, Texas.
Emergence
Awareness: Jeff Key, an instructor and coordinator of community outreach for the Department of Health, Exercise Science, and Sport Sciences at Texas Tech University (TTU), knew that obesity was a problem among the community. He was especially concerned with how it was affecting younger generations. “We were concerned that almost 35% of elementary kids were overweight or ...
Latino are less likely to receive the flu vaccine than other ethnic groups, a fact influenced by limited access to medical care, experts say, Saludify reports. That's why, for National Influenza Vaccination Week Dec. 8-14, 2013, the Centers for Diseases Control and Prevention (CDC) is inviting Latinos ages 6 months and older to get vaccinated against the influenza. Vaccination is the first and most important step to protect against flu, the CDC said. The vaccine reduces one’s risk of illness, hospitalization, or even death and can prevent the spread of the virus to loved ones. Flu vaccines are offered in many locations, including doctor’s offices, clinics, health departments, retail stores and pharmacies, and health centers, as well as by many employers and schools. Go ...
U.S. Obesity leveled off since last year, the first time since 1998 that obesity rates have not worsened, according to the new United Health Foundation’s 2013 America’s Health Rankings, an annual comprehensive assessment of the nation’s health on a state-by state basis. Here are the key nationwide health trends from last year to this year: Smoking rates dropped from 21.2% of the adult population to 19.6%.
Physical inactivity dropped from 26.2% of the adult population to 22.9%.
Obesity remained about the same, about 27% of the adult population. At the state level, Hawaii has taken the title of healthiest state. The state scored well along most measures particularly for having low rates of uninsured individuals, high rates of childhood immunization, and low rates of ...
Interested candidates can apply for the 2014 Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program from now to March 7, 2014. Éxito!, a program of the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, will select 20 master’s-level students and health professionals from across the nation to attend a five-day summer institute June 2-6, 2014, in San Antonio, offering research information, tools, tips, role models and motivation to encourage participants to pursue a doctoral degree and a career studying how cancer affects Latinos differently. Éxito! participants also are eligible to receive one of five $3,250 internships. Master’s-degree students or master’s-trained health professionals are encouraged to apply. Since launching in ...
New research shows that kids with stressed parents are more likely to be obese. Hispanic mothers and fathers who were stressed saw the greatest impact on their children’s body mass index (BMI) compared to any other ethnicity in the new study, Voxxi reports. The study, led by St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, found that kids with high-stress parents have a 2% higher BMI than kids with low-stress parents. Researchers speculated that stressed parents were less likely concerned with healthy food options and exercise. According to the article:
Hispanic children, who made up more than half of the test subjects, were the most predominantly affected by the stress of their parents, a finding study authors feel may indicate Hispanic children are more likely to experience hypherphasia ...
Healthy Living Matters, A Houston/Harris County childhood obesity prevention collaborative, has complied months of research, surveys, and community input to create a built environment and food assessment of underserved areas around Houston. In the assessment, you'll discover what is holding certain Houston neighborhoods back from incorporating more exercise and healthy eating into their daily lives and the funding and policy recommendations that could make a difference. Read the assessment ...
