Emilia, a Latina mother of four children, struggled with her oldest son's weight issue. She found help at a free community mission in her Texas town called El Buen Samaritano. The lesson Emilia learned in trying to help her son was that community resources are there for the taking. Why not get a little assistance from experts who are just waiting to help? Joining El Buen Samaritano also overhauled the family's habits. They’ve gone from eating junk foods to healthy meals and now include exercise into their lifestyle. Read more of their story at the Alliance for a Healthier Generation's Be Well Book, which tells mothers' stories . Watch their story ...
Hispanics are more likely than whites or blacks to report an increase in stress levels over the last year, according to a new national survey released in November 2009 by the American Psychological Association (APA). More Hispanics report that their stress has increased in the past year than in 2008 (50% in 2009 vs. 44% in 2008). And, Hispanics are more likely to report that their stress has increased than adults on average (50% vs. 42%). Hispanics also more commonly report experiencing these symptoms of stress than other adults: 53% of Hispanic adults (vs. 47% overall) report that they have lain awake at night
49% of Hispanic adults (vs. 43% overall) report fatigue
45% of Hispanic adults (vs. 40% overall) report lack of interest, motivation, or energy
44% of Hispanic ...
The American Public Health Association's 137th Annual Meeting, which has a theme of "Water and Public Health," started this weekend and continues until Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2009, in Philadelphia. SaludToday will be represented at the meeting by two of its researchers, Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, who will be presenting on Latino childhood obesity, and Sandra San Miguel, who will be presenting on Latino breast cancer. Dr. Ramirez directs the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and San Miguel is an IHPR research instructor. For a blog about the meeting, click ...
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation's Center to Prevent Childhood Obesity offers a webinar series, “Let’s End the Childhood Obesity Epidemic,” at noon ET each Thursday to focus on childhood obesity research, advocacy and other hot topics in the field. The topic for Thursday, Nov. 12, 2009, is "Getting Back in Balance: Influencing Policy and Environmental Factors to Increase Children's Physical Activity Levels and Consumption of Nutritious Foods." For a prior Webinar on Latino childhood obesity, watch the presentation or view the slides by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, head of SaludToday, Salud America! and the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San ...
Rafael Chavez, a master sergeant at Kelly Air Force Base in San Antonio, was destined to be a Dallas Cowboys fan growing up in Mission, Texas, where Coach Tom Landry was born a legend. He even spent $75 on a Landry football card from the 1960s. Unlike his clean-cut hero Landry, though, Chavez had a blemish – he was a smoker. He started smoking at age 15. He was a regular smoker by 18. Now years later, Chavez decided to start over and quit smoking for good. He’s been smokeless for six months – and he says he feels like he has scored a Super Bowl touchdown. “[It’s like] scoring in the Super Bowl; you’re not doing it for the fans. You’re not doing it for anyone. You’re doing it for yourself because the reason you smoke is for yourself. You have to do it for yourself ...
The team behind SaludToday recently held its first-ever Scientific Summit on Latino childhood obesity. Salud America!, a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation national research program to prevent obesity among Latino children, united researchers, community leaders and policy-makers from Sept. 9-11, 2009, in San Antonio to discuss the latest advancements and progress in reducing Latino childhood obesity. View the Summit Report. It includes commentary by: Richard Carmona, 17th Surgeon General of the U.S.
Lance Armstrong, champion cyclist
Sean Elliott, ex-NBA player, and his wife, Claudia Zapata, health columnist (pictured at left)
Texas Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr.
And many more Visit Salud America! ...
Joan Treviño Lawhon of San Antonio had a choice: let breast cancer take over, or fight to survive. "Within an hour of my diagnosis, I was at Barnes & Noble buying layman's books on breast cancer. We can freeze and let the disease consume us, or we can fight. My choice was to fight. I was going to make sure my choice was an informed one." She highlighted passages in her books and wrote down questions to ask her doctors. She leaned on her faith and her family when she had to have surgery. Now she is a survivor. "Now if people see me in a low-cut gown, I love hearing them say, 'You don't look like you had cancer,' because they are right. I had cancer. And I thank God for those beautiful ...
From the Alliance for a Healthier Generation: Andrea is a Latino mother who adapted her Mexican culture’s traditional recipes with healthy alternatives to honor her ancestors and show her love. Some of Andrea's quick tips are: Take favorite ethnic recipes and make them healthier without sacrificing taste. Instead of frying beans in lard, you can steam them in a slow cooker.
If you know in your heart that a food isn’t healthy, then avoid feeding it to your child on a regular basis. Watch Andrea's story below. Read more about her story and other mother's stories at the Alliance's new Be Well ...
Many cancer survivors are denied new health coverage or have their coverage revoked at critical times. So the Lance Armstrong Foundation (LAF) is seeking signatures on an online petition that urges Congress to support health care reform that does not deny health insurance coverage because of pre-existing conditions and ensures that no American should lose their insurance due to changes in health or employment. To sign the online petition, go to LIVESTRONG. Watch the video below to see LIVESTRONG President and CEO Doug Ulman report after delivering 65,000 of the petition signatures thus far to ...
