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 ...
You don’t have to stop smoking in one day. Start with Day 1. On Thursday, Nov. 18, 2021, you can join thousands of people who will begin their smoke-free journey with the Great American Smokeout. This annual event from the American Cancer Society encourages smokers to make a plan to stop smoking. Need help? Enroll in Quitxt, a free English or Spanish text-message service that turns your phone into a personal “quit smoking” coach from UT Health San Antonio. To join Quitxt, text “iquit” (for English) or “lodejo” (for Spanish) to 844-332-2058. “For the Great American Smokeout, we’re excited to share Quitxt to provide real-time help with motivation to quit, setting a quit date, handling stress, and much more, all on your phone,” said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, ...
Inadequate transportation can hurt a person’s social, economic, and health outcomes. But planners and policymakers have not had a good tool to measure transportation insecurity—a condition in which one is unable to regularly move from place to place in a safe or timely manner due to the absence of the material, economic, or social resources needed for transportation. So, in 2018, researchers from University of Michigan and others created a tool to explore transportation security modeled after the Food Security Index and based on interviews with families living in poverty. They call it the Transportation Security Index. In 2021, they validated the 16-question index using a nationally representative sample. “We hope [the Transportation Security Index 16] will be adopted ...
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 ...
Climate change is an ongoing environmental dilemma that threatens the health of all people. Yet, research has shown that certain groups, such as Latinos and other people of color, immigrants, those with a lower socio-economic status, and vulnerable occupational groups are most likely to suffer longer and more severely from climate change. “The effects of climate change add to other longstanding differences among people that result in different health outcomes for communities in the United States,” reported the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
What Is Climate Change?
Climate change is defined as a long-term shift in global or regional climate patterns. Long-term alterations in temperature or the typical weather patterns of a certain location can lead 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 ...
Climate change is making life harder for Latinos and other communities of color. A groundbreaking 2019 study estimated that Black and Latino populations experience 56% and 63% more pollution respectively than their activities cause. Cities across the U.S. will experience harsher extreme weather events and increases in daily temperatures, and some might no longer be inhabitable. How can we help? Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021, to discuss emerging strategies to reduce the use of harmful chemicals and toxins, promote clean indoor and outdoor air, and engage Latinos in speaking up for a cleaner climate and environment! WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat “The Climate Crisis and Latinos”
WHEN: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, Nov. 2, 2021
WHERE: ...
Over 2 million U.S. teens say they use e-cigarettes, according to a new survey released by FDA and CDC. The study, which found that a quarter of these teens reported they vape daily, was based on data from the 2021 National Youth Tobacco Survey, a cross-sectional, self-administered survey of U.S. middle- and high-school students. "The use of tobacco products by youths in any form, including e-cigarettes, is unsafe. Most e-cigarettes contain nicotine, and nicotine exposure during adolescence can harm the developing brain," according to the FDA and CDC survey report, published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.
Key Report Findings on Youth E-cigarette Use
In 2021, 11.3% of high-school (1.72 million) and 2.8% (320,000) of middle-school students reported current e-cigarette ...
