Should Everything Be Bigger in Texas (i.e., Even Waistlines)?
Check out this infographic on obesity in Texas from the Cancer Alliance of ...
Read More99% of Kid’s Meals Are of Poor Nutritional Quality
Given the importance of helping children eat healthier food, we wanted to share with you a brief report on the nutritional values of kid’s meals at America’s top chain restaurants that involved research by Salud America! advisor Dr. Mary Story. The report, published in the journal Childhood Obesity, evaluated restaurants such as Arby’s, Burger King, Chick-fil-A, Chili’s, McDonald’s, Sonic, Subway and more. Of the 22 restaurants that had kid’s menus and available nutrition information, researchers found that 99 percent of 1,662 children’s meal combinations were of poor nutritional quality, based on key nutrition recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. At 15 of the chains, 100 percent of kid’s meal combinations failed to meet ...
Read MoreA Discussion of Childhood Obesity in the Latino Community: What Issues, Solutions Can Hispanic Media Highlight?
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. The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) are joining forces next week for an important discussion on childhood obesity in the Latino community. The event will take place June 23 during the NAHJ Region 8 conference in Los Angeles and will focus on the role Hispanic media can play in reducing the epidemic. Research shows Latino youth in the United States are more likely to be overweight or obese than their White peers and are at greater risk for developing heart disease, asthma, type 2 diabetes, sleep apnea and other health problems. The same holds true in ...
Read MoreVIDEOS: Latino Scholarship Recipients Ready to Improve People’s Health
Watch these great videos of Jocelyn Martinez and Ignacio Gonzalez, just two of the 110 high school seniors and 32 college students awarded a $2,000 Kaiser Permanente Northwest Career Scholarship in 2012. Martinez wants to become a doctor of oncology, and Gonzalez a pediatrician. The scholarship program encourages diversity in the health care workforce and honors teachers that make a difference in the lives of their students. To learn more, go ...
Read MoreVIDEOS: Online Tools Allow Deeper Investigation into Childhood Obesity
The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR) has new animated videos demonstrating how to navigate NCCOR’s online tools—the Catalogue of Surveillance Systems and Measures Registry—which help researchers more easily investigate childhood obesity in America. The Catalogue of Surveillance Systems provides one-stop access for users to review, sort, and compare more than 85 surveillance systems relevant to childhood obesity research and the evaluation of policy and environmental interventions. The Measures Registry is a portfolio of more than 800 measures related to diet and physical activity. The tool allows researchers to more efficiently find and select measures that are critical to accelerating obesity prevention research. Or watch the videos at ...
Read MoreSan Antonio Researcher Elected to Council Targeting Pediatric Obesity
Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina, professor and researcher at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, was elected to The Obesity Society’s Pediatric Obesity Section, which supports scientific efforts to understand child obesity and inform its treatment and prevention. The Obesity Society aims to advance the science-based understanding of the causes, consequences, prevention and treatment of obesity to improve the lives of those affected by creating the leading professional society in the field. The Society’s Pediatric Obesity Section aims to: promote networking and collaboration among pediatric obesity researchers and practitioners; promote pediatric obesity clinical practice; and increase the national ...
Read MoreHow a Professional ‘Abuela’ Spawned a Career in Health Promotion
Armida Flores was a professional abuela—babysitting her granddaughters, volunteering at their schools, etc.—until they moved to California a few years ago. Then Flores wasn’t sure what to do with her newfound spare time. So the Mexico native, who was 30 years removed from school, didn’t know much English and had no career training, decided to enroll in bilingual nursing classes at Palo Alto College in San Antonio and simultaneously earned her GED in Spanish in 2008. She also took beginner and advanced English to polish her language skills, and in May 2012 earned an associate’s degree in social work, psychology and Spanish. “The biggest obstacle I had to overcome was to accept that I am not too old to start a new process in my life,” said Flores. “Now that I ...
Read MoreSaludToday Blog & Twitter Now ‘Award-Winning’ SaludToday Blog & Twitter
Improving Latinos' health is certainly rewarding enough. But we're especially honored today that SaludToday, the Latino health website, blog and social media campaign directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, was recognized by the 14th annual Web Health Awards, which laud honors the nation’s best digital health resources. SaludToday earned a "silver" award for its blog and a "merit" award for its Twitter feed. The IHPR also earned a "merit" award for its quarterly E-newsletter, IHPR Noticias, which trumpets the latest advancements in Latino health disparities news and research. For the Web Health Awards competition, which is held twice yearly, a panel of 32 experts in digital health media served as judges ...
Read MoreTargeting Latino Liver Cancer and Improving the Lives of Cancer Survivors
Find the latest in Latino health—from fighting Latino liver cancer to innovative ways to improve life for Latino cancer survivors—in the new E-newsletter from the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The IHPR E-newsletter has these stories: Story and Video: Study Links Diabetes, Obesity to Liver Cancer in Latinos (Pg 1) Story: How a Professional Abuela Spawned a Health Career (Pg 2) Story: Clinical Trials & You (Pg 2) Story: Join Study Motivating Cancer Survivors to Get Fit (Pg 3) Story and Video: Closing Health Gaps for Latino Cancer Survivors (Pg 4) Videos: Health Novelas, Stories of Latino Diabetics, & More (Pg 10) The E-newsletter is jam-packed with even more info on the latest ...
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