Study: Doctors Give Less Attention to Latino Children Who Are Overweight But Not Obese



Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 9 is Dr. Javier Rosado. Find all briefs here. Dr. Javier Rosado “Paying Attention to Children’s Weight in Pediatric Primary Care” In his Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Javier Rosado of Florida State University assessed how much weight-related medical attention children get during well-child checkups at a pediatric community health center in a rural, largely Latino migrant farm-worker community in Florida. Key preliminary findings include: some parents are not concerned about their child’s weight; obesity among girls raised the highest concern. The child’s gender also ...

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Apply for Next Class of ‘School Food Changemakers’



FoodCorps, a national organization that addresses childhood obesity and food insecurity in underserved communities, recently opened applications for its second annual class of service members. Selected emerging leaders will dedicate one year of full-time public service in school food systems—expanding hands-on nutrition education programs, building and tending school gardens, and sourcing fresh, healthy, local food for school cafeterias. In its first year, FoodCorps gained national attention by attracting 1,229 applicants for just 50 positions. The first class of service members have already made a difference in their local schools—from getting hundreds of pounds of local sweet potatoes onto cafeteria trays, to revitalizing and building 137 school and community gardens, to ...

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Study: Mother-Daughter Exercise Program Improves Latina Girls’ Activity, Weight



Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 8 is Dr. Norma Olvera. Find all briefs here. Dr. Norma Olvera “Combating Obesity and Inactivity in Latina Girls” In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Norma Olvera of the University of Houston assessed the immediate and long-term impact of a program—Behavior Opportunities Uniting in Nutrition, Counseling, and Exercise (BOUNCE)—on indicators of obesity. Mother-daughter pairs enrolled in BOUNCE participated in a four-week healthy lifestyle summer program, followed by a 12-week, family-based aerobic program. Key preliminary findings include: a family-centered exercise ...

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Study: Fewer Than Half of Latino Families Eat Meals Together Every Day



Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 7 is Dr. Angela Wiley. Find all briefs here. Dr. Angela Wiley “Abriendo Caminos (Clearing the Path)” In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Angela Wiley of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign took a family-based approach—accounting for developmental patterns of behavior and practices in early mealtime experiences—to prevent childhood obesity and promote wellbeing among Spanish-speaking families in Illinois. The 6-week curriculum actively involves Latino families in food preparation, shared physical activity, and shared mealtimes featuring family storytelling and ...

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Study: Community Gardens Boost Latino Child Health, Save Families Money



Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 6 is Dr. Dina Castro. Find all briefs here. Dr. Dina Castro “Growing Healthy Kids: How Community Gardens Can Increase Latino Child Health” In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Dina Castro of the University of North Carolina used community gardens and parental nutrition education and activities to promote healthy eating and physical activity among lower-income Latino families who have young children. The project established three community gardens in Orange County, N.C. Key preliminary findings include: children had access to more fruits and vegetables after their families ...

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New Project to Offer Cancer Screening to Underserved Latinos in San Antonio



Two University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio researchers today were awarded a total of $4.7 million by the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT). These awards for cancer prevention, along with $2.9 million to University Health System, make San Antonio the largest recipient of funds in this CPRIT funding cycle—28% the $26.3 million awarded. Dr. Cynthia Mojica, assistant professor of epidemiology and biostatistics in the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center, will use a $2 million award to partner with federally qualified health center CentroMed and community organizations to offer breast, cervical and colorectal cancer screening to San Antonio residents otherwise unable to afford them. “This grant allows us to ...

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U.S. Obesity Rates Plateau (at a High Level); Rates Still Higher in Blacks, Latinos



The prevalence of obesity in the U.S. largely leveled off over the last decade, even as some individual groups, such as boys from ages 6 to 19, saw increases, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Bloomberg reports. Obesity rates in adults rose slightly to 35.7% from 30.5% between 1999 and 2010, compared with rates that nearly doubled the two previous decades. Overall, a third of the population—78 million adults and 12.5 million children—were obese in 2009- 2010. According to the story: “The fact that prevalence rates are reaching a plateau is good news, but by no means are we at the end of the epidemic,” said David Ludwig, a pediatric endocrinologist and director of the New Balance Foundation Obesity ...

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Study: Health Coaches Key to Addressing Latino Lifestyle Issues



Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 5 is Dr. Alexy Arauz Boudreau. Find all briefs here. Dr. Alexy Arauz Boudreau “A Family Approach to Addressing Lifestyle Decisions Regarding Obesity and Diabetes” In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Alexy Arauz Boudreau of Massachusetts General Hospital tested the feasibility and effectiveness of a family-centered approach consisting of interactive group classes followed by six months of health coaching. The five-session group classes, known as Power-Up, are for Latino families with obese children. Health coaching is delivered by a Latina medical assistant who knows the ...

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Study: Parenting Tips Positively Affect Latino Parents’ Feeding Attitudes, Practices



Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 4 is Dr. Harris Huberman. Find all briefs here. Dr. Harris Huberman “Using Parenting Newsletters to Reduce Young Latino Children’s Weight” In his Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Harris Huberman of SUNY Downstate Medical Center in New York tested a low-cost parenting intervention to reduce rates of overweight and obesity in Latino children during the first three years of life. The intervention features a series of age-paced parenting newsletters called Primeros Pasos in Spanish or Building Blocks in English (PP/BB), which are mailed monthly to families beginning at the birth of a ...

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