Research has proven numerous times that breastfeeding reduces obesity, helps babies fight infections, and lowers the risk of asthma. According to new research, children that were breastfed also behave better in school, Time Live reports. Researchers from Glasgow University conducted the study among 1,500 children from South Africa between the ages of 7 and 11 and concluded that those who drank breast milk for six months or more had an easier time behaving in school than those who were breastfed for less than a month. “The duration of exclusive breastfeeding of an infant has greater importance than previously realized in several areas of development," Tamsen Rochat of the Human Science Research Council in Durban told Time Live. Learn more about breastfeeding and Latinos ...
New research from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) concluded that “proper maternal folate levels during pregnancy may protect children from a future risk of obesity, especially those born to obese mothers.” What exactly is folate? According to the NIH folate is a B vitamin that is present in many popular Latino foods and vegetables, such as beans, avocados, baby spinach, and popular fruits among Latinos such as mangos and oranges. Doctors recommend women who are pregnant to consume 400 mcg of folic acid daily, either from supplements or fortified foods such as masa de maiz. Learn more about folate ...
Neighborhood conditions can have major health effects. WATCH and VOTE for new Salud America! #SaludHeroes who made neighborhoods healthier places to live, learn, and play—and be entered in a random drawing to win a FREE T-shirt and jump rope! #SaludHeroes in the neighborhood are: How to Make a Walkable Neighborhood. Urban designers Nicolas Rivard and Allison Hu mobilized neighbors to request walkable streetscapes in San Antonio. Rescuing Unwanted Fruit. Sarah Ramirez increased healthy food access in Tulare County, Calif., by picking unused produce from yards and donating it to the food bank. Greenway to Health. Erica Whitfield and other health advocates redeveloped an abandoned alley in Lake Worth, Fla., into an attractive greenway to increase walkability and ...
According to a new study, 40% of U.S. women are obese, Health Day reports. For the study, researchers gathered obesity rates from a national survey conducted from 2013-2014, and concluded obesity rates among women have been on the rise for the last seven years. "Given all the high-profile attention to the obesity epidemic in America, even by those in the White House, we might be surprised and appalled that, overall, obesity rates are rising, not falling, and that the best news in the mix is stabilization of alarmingly high rates in a few select groups,” Dr. David Katz director of the Yale-Griffin Prevention Research Center said. Obesity rates among U.S. men did not change significantly according to the ...
Nearly 1 in 3 Latino kids is already overweight or obese by ages 2-5, an alarming trend that often continues into youth and adulthood. How can we prevent early childhood obesity? It will take public-private partnerships, more effective interventions, and more, according to a new report on a recent meeting of the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The Roundtable, which engages leaders from multiple sectors to address obesity, includes Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of SaludToday, Salud America!, and the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. The Roundtable's new report covers lots of early childhood obesity questions.
What's working to prevent early obesity? ...
Bilingual yoga instructor Rina Jakubowicz is launching the first-ever Spanish-language yoga teacher training, Esther J. Cepeda reports. The new training program will be delivered completely in Spanish. The mission, as Cepeda reports, is "to break down barriers in the yoga community and bring the positive benefits of yoga to more diverse populations including Spanish-speaking communities that may have historically lacked access, or that may be underserved."
Why Is This Needed?
About 4 in 5 yoga participants are non-Latino whites. Experts say yoga can boost flexibility and muscle tone with other benefits like improved cardiovascular fitness. Jakubowicz hopes to make yoga and its benefits more inclusive of Latinos and Spanish speakers, who sometimes have the perception that ...
Obese young adults in the U.S., especially Mexican-Americans, are at high risk of developing kidney disease, Health Day reports. "Even though chronic kidney disease typically manifests in older people, the disease can start much earlier but often is not recognized early on," said study leader Dr. Michal Melamed. After analyzing data from over 6,000 people, researchers concluded that 11% of obese Mexican-Americans between ages 20-40 had high levels of the protein albumin, which is linked to albuminuria, a condition often associated with chronic kidney disease. "Because treatment options for [chronic kidney disease] are limited, prevention is the best approach for those at risk," Melamed added. "A healthier lifestyle in young adults will go a long way toward promoting kidney ...
After two years of working on modernizing the current Nutrition Facts label, the US Food and Drug Administration has rolled out its anticipated new food labels. The latest changes will make it easier for everyone, especially parents, to pick nutritious foods for their children. The changes include: Bold and easy to read “Amount per serving calories.”
Packages that are between one and two servings, such as a 20-ounce soda, the calories and other nutrients will be required to be labeled as one serving because people typically consume it in one sitting.
“Dual column” labels to indicate both “per serving” and “per package” calorie and nutrition information for certain multi-serving food products that could be consumed in one sitting or multiple sittings.
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Between 2000 and 2010, strokes among young adults ages 25-44 increased by 44% compared to a 20% decreased among the aged, according to a recent study released in the Journal of the American Heart Association, Medical News Today reports. What’s causing the rise in strokes among young adults? According to doctors, the same lifestyle risk factors that affect the aged, such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and obesity, may be causing the sudden rise in strokes among young adults. “When people think of stroke, they think of Grandpa who smokes and has high blood pressure,” said neurologist Lee Schwamm, director of Massachusetts General Hospital, Acute Stroke Services. “And while he’s more likely to have one, it doesn’t mean that if you’re young and healthy you can’t ...
