A new guide by ChangeLab Solutions can help local jurisdictions design a code enforcement program to help create and maintain health housing. Good quality housing is central to the health of individuals, families, and communities. When housing falls into poor conditions or disrepair due to pest infestation, moisture damage, hazardous chemicals, or inadequate ventilation, its residents tend to have poor health. Unhealthy homes have been linked to 20-30% of all asthma cases, over 20,000 lung cancer deaths, and a host of preventable fatal and nonfatal home injuries. Without proper maintenance, homes can become unhealthy and dangerous. Strong housing codes, well-trained enforcement officers, and municipal cooperation are necessary to protect residents. Property owners and ...
Improving health isn't limited to the doctor's office or to a lab. Quite the opposite, in fact. The zip code you grow up in is a better predictor of your health than your genetics. This is due to non-medical drivers of health that influence health behaviors. Take street trees, for example. A recent study, on neighborhood green space and health, found that street trees have numerous economic and health benefits. Exposure to green spaces can reduce sedentary time, promote physical activity, and reduce blood pressure, which is important for communities that are impacted by the non-medical drivers of health, because they often lack aesthetically pleasing active spaces, yet are burdened by increased rates of obesity, cancer, and chronic diseases like diabetes. "We find that ...
Cancer is a top killer of Americans. While in some instances cancers are genetically inherited in the majority of cases, they’re preventable with a good diet and plenty of exercise. Here are top cancer-fighting superfoods, according to Health:
1. Berries
Berries are packed with phytonutrients, especially black berries which contain a high concentration of phytochemicals called anthocyanins. These "slow down growth of premalignant cells and keep new blood vessels from forming (and potentially feeding a cancerous tumor).”
2. Walnuts
Phytosrerois—cholesterol like molecules “have been shown to block estrogen receptors in breast cancer cells, possibly slowing the cells' growth.”
3. Beans
Researchers and numerous studies have found that black and navy beans can ...
Exercise can increase the chances of survival after a heart attack, a new study by a team of researchers at John Hopkins and Henry Ford Health System suggests, Health reports. "Our data suggests that doctors working with patients with cardiovascular risk factors should be saying, 'Mr. Jones, you need to start an exercise program now to improve your fitness and chance of survival, should you experience a heart attack,'" says Dr. Clinton Brawner, Clinical Exercise Physiologist and Senior Bioscientific Clinical Staff Researcher at Henry Ford Health System. "These findings suggest that higher aerobic fitness before a heart attack is associated with better short-term survival after the first heart attack." The results of the study, which focused on 2,061 patients who ...
Teenagers who eat fruits and vegetables high in fiber may significantly lower their risk of developing breast cancer (a leading cause of death among Latinas and other populations), later on in life, according to a new study, CBS News reports. Researchers at Harvard’s T.H Chen School of Public Health analyzed data from 44,000 women. They concluded that those who consumed about 28 grams of fiber a day “had a significantly lower risk of breast cancer before menopause compared with those who said they ate less than 15 grams a day.” "The results of this study emphasize the role of an early life high-fiber diet on prevention of breast cancer in later life. High consumption of foods rich in fiber such as fruits, vegetables and whole grains in early life may help to reduce breast ...
Across America, public health leaders in different states across the nation are pushing for various ways to address a rising childhood obesity epidemic. One big issue is sugary drinks. Sugary beverage consumption on a daily basis has been proven in research to be linked to higher risks of health related diseases. Follow #SaludTues to tweet with us on Feb. 2, 2016, as we unveil the results of a new study focusing on kids and sugary drinks. Participants will discuss problems, solutions, and new studies on sugary beverages and kids. We will share research packages that include helpful infographics. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Sugary Beverages & Kids”
DATE: Tuesday, February 2nd, 2016
TIME: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT)
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag ...
Two architecture and planning graduate students from the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) recognized good fruit from fruit trees were being left to rot in urban areas of San Antonio, Texas, where many families live in need of fresh foods. Working together for a class project, the friends created a blossoming non-profit to make sure families in need can access a variety of fresh fruit.
A Local Healthy Food Problem
Awareness/Learn: In summer 2013, UTSA grad student Melissa Federspill started a class focused on health planning, called “Health in the Built Environment.” Students in the class were advised to visualize solutions to inner-city health problems. The class analyzed a neighborhood close to campus, the Avenue to Guadalupe neighborhood in the West Side of San ...
Children who lived closer to supermarkets increased fruit and vegetable consumption and reduced their body mass index (BMI), according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health. Researchers examined about 500 children ages 6-12 with a BMI of or above the 95th percentile. There are other factors still needing further research. The researchers of the study suggest focusing on household income, other non-medical drivers of health, the drive to lose weight, and other factors, which could determine weight loss or gain, too. Having close access to fruits and vegetables has also been shown to assist families and help reduce the BMI of kids, studies show. To learn more about this study, click ...
Some kids have fewer options for physical activity during the school day than their peers. When schools offer at least 60 minutes of physical activity, kids' physical activity increases by 150%, according to our new infographic on physical activity at school and kids. The infographic is part of Salud America!’s Healthier Schools and Kids research review, which tackles the latest issues on the school health environment and offers recommendations. Share this infographic today! Salud America! is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation-funded national childhood obesity prevention and communication ...
