New data from the American Heart Association shows that Latinos who eat healthily have healthier hearts. This research shows that Latinos who followed a healthy dietary plan had healthier hearts in terms of structure and function. “Healthy diet quality is an important and vital tool in the prevention of heart disease,” said lead study author David Flomenbaum, a medical student at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York City. “Many of our results correspond to current knowledge about diet quality and cardiovascular health.”
The Study and Its Findings on Healthy Eating and Heart Health Researchers evaluated over 1,800 participants in the “Echocardiographic Study of Latinos” ancillary study. With this, they compared adherence to two popular healthy ...
If one were to walk in the streets of Boston and see a colorful mural, there’s a big chance Silvia López Chavez created that masterpiece. López Chavez is a Dominican-American visual artist changing the meaning of advocacy. Throughout her career she has created many murals with bold and vivid colors capturing Latino traditions and culture while emphasizing the intersection of art design and community issues like the environment and healthy food. “I think that as an artist, I feel the responsibility of being someone who is not only creating art, to change and transform spaces, but also people,” López Chavez said. “And I think that my goal is to be able to connect as much as possible using art as a vehicle for connection with others to myself, to others and also ...
California can no longer punish cities for enacting sugary drink taxes, as per an October 2021 court ruling that declared the penalty provision of the state’s Keep Groceries Affordable Act of 2018 unconstitutional. The lawsuit was filed in 2020 by Cultiva La Salud and supported by ChangeLab Solutions and the American Heart Association. The implications of the ruling are widespread throughout the state. Charter cities, which include many of the largest cities in the state, can consider taxes that aim to reduce purchases of sugary drinks and help community nutrition with the revenue without the fear of punishment. Before this, the state could penalize a charter city that enacted a tax on sugary drinks by depriving the city of its sales tax revenues. Sales taxes often account for ...
Latinos and other people of color suffer high rates of obesity. This is often due to racist policies and discriminatory practices that create less access to healthcare, healthy food, affordable housing, and financial resources for families of color. What can we do about this? You are invited to join a virtual workshop, "Systems and Obesity: Advances and Innovations for Equitable Health and Well-Being," on Thursday, Oct. 28, 2021 (10 a.m. To 2:45 p.m. ET) and Friday, Oct. 29, 2021 (1 p.m. to 4 p.m. ET). This is the third workshop in a series from the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions of the Health and Medicine Division of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. Find the results of the first and second workshop. "The workshop will explore how to ...
One in six U.S. youth have obesity, but the issue is worse among Latinos and other youth of color, according to a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). More than one in five Latino (21.4%), Black (23.8%), and American Indian/Alaska Native (28.7%) children ages 10-17 have obesity. The reasons? Structural racism and systemic health inequities. Racist policies and discriminatory practices affect our food system, access to healthcare, affordable housing, and critical family supports like childcare, the RWJF report says. Together, the effects of these policies and practices force families into hard choices on how to spend limited resources, especially during COVID-19. “The state of childhood obesity in America is an urgent call to action for leaders at all ...
Lack of nutritious food can result in countless physical, social, and mental health complications. For many Latino families, governmental assistance programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), put food on the table and uplift out of poverty. But health experts say federal food aid needs expansion to help families in need. Fortunately, the Biden administration recently announced the modernization of the Thrifty Food Plan—used to calculate SNAP benefits—and a 25% rise the average SNAP benefit, the largest single increase in the program’s history. “The background formula was based on food preparation costs and nutrition standards that were developed in 1975,” Emily Weikert Bryant, executive director of Feeding Indiana’s Hungry told the Indy ...
We have updated our Health Equity Report Card to include place-based information on your county’s Social Vulnerability Index Score and COVID-19 cases, deaths, and hospitalizations. The Salud America! Health Equity Report Card, first launched in 2017, auto-generates Latino-focused and local data with interactive maps and comparative gauges, which can help you visualize and explore inequities in housing, transit, poverty, health care, food, and education. You will see how your county stacks up in these health equity issues — now including social vulnerability and COVID-19 — compared to your state and the nation. Then you can share the Report Card with your local leaders to advocate for healthy change! Get your Health Equity Report Card!
Why We Need to Consider ...
Many Latino families don’t have access to healthy, nutritious foods. To put food on the table, they rely on government food aid programs, such as the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC). SNAP and WIC can improve diets and help raise people out of poverty. But many people of color don’t participate, even if eligible. Now two congresswomen of color — Reps. Jahana Hayes and Jenniffer González-Colón — introduced the WIC for Kids Act to eliminate barriers to enrollment for millions of pregnant women, mothers, and children, improve child and maternal health, and increase food access. “I introduced the WIC for Kids Act of 2021 to make it less burdensome on families to enroll ...
Does your town have a farmers market? Farmers markets are a path to healthy food access. They are especially important now as the pandemic worsens food insecurity. Fortunately, the Farmers Market Coalition is stepping up to support farmers markets. They’re pushing for federal aid for markets, creating resources and anti-racist toolkits, and sharing how markets increase access to healthy, fresh produce and social connections, and engage farmers in the local economy. "Amidst a global pandemic and nationwide change, it is now more important than ever for [farmers] markets to bring people together," according to the coalition. "As hubs for connection and community resilience, farmers markets have particularly risen to the occasion this year by providing a necessary sense of unity ...
