Editor’s Note: This post is part of an ongoing series that will highlight the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s work in Latino communities across the country. SaludToday Guest Blogger: Dr. Jennifer Harris
Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity Obesity continues to hit the Latino community the hardest. About 39% of Hispanic adults are overweight compared with 33% of non-Hispanic whites. As obesity increases, so does the risk for chronic diseases like diabetes and congestive heart failure. Food marketers see the Latino community as an important target because it is a large, young and growing segment that is sure to yield lots of future sales. The barrage of food marketing to Latinos—particularly when the pitch is for unhealthy cereals, fast foods and sugary ...
Spending your free time plopped in front of the TV or computer? New research shows you may be able to lower your chances of heart disease by using just a small amount of that free time on simple physical activity such as brisk walking, riding a bike or even gardening or housework, according to a new video from the American Heart Association (AHA). The research found that middle-aged adults who were more active in their leisure time had lower levels of internal indicators of inflammation of the arteries. People with less inflammation tend to have lower risk of heart disease. Almost half of study participants met the AHA's recommendations for cardiovascular health (two-and-a-half hours of moderate to vigorous physical activity a week). However, this rose to 83% later in the study as ...
As the percentage of Latinos among U.S. children ages 18 or younger surges (rising from 17% in 1998 to 22% today to a projected 30% by 2025), Mexican-American children ages 2-19 have strikingly higher obesity rates than their white counterparts. Evidence-based, culturally adapted approaches are critically needed to spur policy changes and reverse the obesity epidemic among Latino children. In response, Salud America! The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children has developed an online network of nearly 2,000 Latino childhood obesity researchers, academics, community leaders, etc. The network is led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. The ...
The National Diabetes Education Program's new bilingual fotonovela, Do it for them! But also for yourself (Hazlo por ellos! Pero por ti también), helps Latinas at high risk of developing type 2 diabetes. The fotonovela uses role models to demonstrate how women can reduce their risk of developing type 2 diabetes through increased physical activity, healthy food choices, and weight loss. The fotonovela tells the story of three friends, Elisa, Raquel, and Lourdes, who work at a local dry cleaners/laundry facility. All of them have children. Elisa is Mexican, married, and has two small children. Her wise and humorous mother, Doña Emma, gives her lots of advice about how to be healthy. Raquel is from Puerto Rico. She is single and raising her 13-year-old sister. Lourdes is from ...
Check out these videos of a few Latino families who are improving their healthy lifestyle habits. A healthy change in her family's eating habits has influenced eleven-year-old Alejandra to dream of being a chef when she grows up: When Maya, age 7, learned of her high triglyceride levels, she and her family changed their eating habits to better manage her cholesterol: The videos are from Be Smart. Be ...
Latinas tend to have positive attitudes and strong interest in genetic testing for breast cancer risk, yet lacked general knowledge about testing, its risks and benefits, according to a new study led by researchers at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. The study, published recently in the journal Community Medicine & Health Education, conducted focus groups with 58 Latinas in Hidalgo County, a largely Latino part of South Texas. Researchers used analyzed focus group responses and themes and uncovered several cultural factors, such as religious beliefs, that impacted Latinas’ decisions to get genetic testing. “Key Latino values—religiosity, importance of family and the influential ...
Latina girls are learning about fitness, nutrition, healthy body image and other valuable lessons at a new summer day camp called Adelante Chicas at Pacific University in Forest Grove, Ore. The camp, a three-week event for Latina girls from third grade to high school, is a youth development arm of Oregon nonprofit Adelante Mujeres, which provides holistic education, career development and support services for low-income Latinas and their families, OregonLive.com reports. Girls at the camp participate in yoga, historic walks, nutrition lessons and even get to transform Spinach into a fruit ...
High incidence of heart disease among Latinas is directly related to a higher risk for metabolic syndrome, according to a study by Dr. Fatima Rodriguez of Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, Voxxi reports. Metabolic syndrome is a combination of factors—high blood pressure, increased levels of blood sugar, excessive body fat, and abnormal cholesterol levels—that lead to an increased risk of heart disease, stroke and diabetes. Rodriguez' study, published in Family Practice News, collected information from the health screenings of 18,000 women and complete medical histories for 7,000 women. Her findings, according to the report, include:
Researchers found an overall prevalence of metabolic syndrome for 35 percent of evaluated women; however, Rodriguez states “there was ...
