Physical activity is a necessity with many cities dealing with high obesity rates, but how can physical activity be promoted within neighborhoods? Street connectivity and walkability are two built environment factors that may assist in physical activity within neighborhoods. Educational tools that analyze a support for walkability are helpful in understanding ways to change the built environment to help the community increase physical activity daily and in helping combat obesity. A recent report by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) used a 15-item environment audit tool, called MAPS-Mini to evaluate neighborhood design and physical activity in four age groups. MAPS stands for, Microscale Audit of Pedestrian Streetscapes (MAPS), it works to measure street design, ...
A farmer's market is a lot of fun—for parents only, usually. Kids often just tag along, glumly, as their parents busily shop for fresh fruits and vegetables. That is, until the Market Sprouts Kids Club. Kaely Summers and other farmer's market managers in Oregon teamed up to create the Market Sprouts Kids Club program to teach Latino kids and other kids who come to the market about farming, fresh produce, and healthy eating. Now kids ages 5-12 who visit local markets, like Summers' Forest Grove Farmer's Market in Forest Grove, Ore., (23.1% Latino), do fun, interactive activities alongside farmers and volunteers who teach about healthier foods and healthier choices!
Farmer's Markets and Children in Oregon
Officials with Adelante Mujeres, a non-profit organization focusing on ...
Reports show that Latino children in Texas are overweight (46.8%) compared to white (22.9%) and black children (26.3%). Texas is also considered the 5th most obese in state in the U.S. for children. Having access to fresh, healthy foods is a vital component to combat obesity for Latino children in Texas. Studies show that Latino families without access to healthier options, may have higher diet-related diseases and deaths. A recent campaign by the American Heart Association supports this idea, with their hashtag, #MoreAtMyStore encouraging stores throughout Austin Texas to provide increased healthy options for consumers. The campaign encourages social media users to use the hashtag #MoreAtMyStore to voice their concerns or text Austin to 52886, allowing consumers to be a part of ...
The American Heart Association (AHA) and Aramark have partnered up to encourage healthy living for Americans. The initiative is called Healthy for Life, 20 by 20, hoping to improve health of at least 20 percent of Americans by the year 2020. Aramark is changing their menus, along with their food's sodium and fat levels and increasing fruit and vegetable options for the 2 million foods they serve at various businesses, events, schools and parks. Partnering with the AHA, they also plan to work together to provide health education with culturally relevant cooking and nutrition education classes for underserved communities throughout the country and encourage healthier options with their digital wellness centers. Targeting underserved communities across the nation, the initiative ...
Many Latino kids live in “recreation deserts,” which lack access to safe, affordable physical activity opportunities. Therefore, they often do not meet daily physical activity recommendations and are at increased risk for obesity. One way to reduce these barriers and increase physical activity among Latino children is to provide free, safe recreation facilities in their neighborhood with culturally relevant programming. Two community-driven initiatives in Multnomah County, Ore., have crossed paths in their efforts to reduce recreation deserts in disadvantaged neighborhoods by building and fixing soccer fields and futsal courts.
Soccer Loving Kids Live in Recreation Desert
Oregon residents Shawn Levy and Ricki Ruiz love soccer and know it is good for kids and adults. But each ...
In case you hadn't heard September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month! That means that parents, teachers, students, and individuals throughout the country like YOU have a special opportunity to take part in a national movement to stand for the health of children. Latino children are especially at risk for becoming overweight or obese so our aim at Salud America! is to equip concerned individuals with the resources they need to reverse the trend. Because obesity affects health in numerous ways (both during and beyond childhood) the American Heart Association (AHA) has created a month long campaign to help you raise awareness of the issue in your own community! The AHA's month long Life is Why Family Health Challenge™ campaign will give you the opportunity to share ...
The Canyon Ranch Institute (CRI) is a non-profit that works to bring health and wellness to the world. Home to Tucson, Arizona (30.3% Latino), the organization helps their community in various ways. Bringing a Healthy Community program pilot to the area back in 2014, the CRI Healthy Community program is now offered in partnership with Apollo Middle School and the Grow 2B Fit Foundation to bring wellness and health to the families in Apollo Middle School (98.1% Latino) . The start date for the CRI Healthy Community is set for this fall, October 24th, 2015. Participants can learn from cooking and nutrition classes, destress with physical activity and join together for healthy eating with the on site garden. The program focuses on participants with low income, high stress and high ...
Amy's a organic chain of frozen foods and canned soups is now trying out the fast food scene. Working on captivating the demand for organic and natural convenient foods, the company has opened up a local fast food chain with a garden rooftop and hopes to expand the chain to other areas in the sunny state. Serving organic and vegetarian options like margarita pizza, and veggie burgers, the chain hopes to give consumers healthier options. Many Latinos in California live in food desserts, where fast food is usually the only option. Having restaurants or fast food options that offer healthier options may help Latino families who have limited options make healthier choices. Increasing demand of healthier foods is changing the way large food companies market to consumers. To ...
What so great about beans? Grad student Kelly Atterberry and mentor Carol Miles have the answer in their new bean-based garden and nutrition curriculum for K-12 students in Washington. By encouraging kids to learn to garden and try nutritious pulse crops (beans, lentils, peas, etc.), they hope the curriculum can help combat obesity and diet-related health problems among children.
Why Beans?
Kelly Atterberry originally wanted to go nursing school. Then she learned about agriculture and growing healthy food while working on a farm and again later while working in the Agriculture Research Station at Washington State University (WSU) in Mount Vernon, Wash. (33.7 % Latino). So she switched her career course. As a grad student at WSU, she studied agriculture, which united her ...
