Research: Latino Families Have Worse Access to Healthy Food



Latinos tend live in neighborhoods with few supermarkets and other sources of healthy, affordable food options, but several promising solutions are emerging, according to a new package of research from Salud America!, a national network for Latino childhood obesity prevention funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and based at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. Salud America!’s Better Food in the Neighborhood research package includes an in-depth review of the latest science on the U.S. Latino food environment and policy implications based on that research. It also includes an issue brief, animated video, and infographics. The research shows that Latino neighborhoods have one-third as many supermarkets as non-Latino ones, corner stores with few healthy options, and ...

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Breast Cancer: Don’t Dismiss False Positive Mammogram Results Too Quickly



A false positive mammogram result may be an early indicator of future  breast cancer, NBC Health reports. A study conducted by the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, found “Women who got a false positive were 39 percent more likely to get breast cancer over the next 10 years than women who simply got a negative result on a mammogram.” "(These are) not entirely surprising findings as we have long known that women with benign breast disease on biopsy are at increased risk of developing breast cancer," Dr. Therese Beavers of the MD Anderson Cancer Center told NBC Health. The American Cancer Society recommends all women over the age of 45 to schedule an annual mammogram ...

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Thanks for the Nomination, #LATISM!



@SaludToday, our Latino health social media handle at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health Science Center, was honored to be nominated for the Best Health Advocate reaching Latino(a)s through Tech Innovation and Social Media award from LATISM (Latinos in Social Media), a nonprofit group that empowers Latinos through tech innovation and social media. Although we didn't win (congrats to our friends at the American Heart Association!), we love being part of a huge push to improve Latino health. During the conference, SaludToday's social media coordinator, Carlos Valenzuela, was honored to speak on behalf of IHPR Director Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez about how we’re using using our social media accounts and digital communications via Salud America! to ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 1p ET 12/8/15: “Envisioning A Healthier Food Environment for Latino Kids”



What will happen to the future environment? How are policymakers, restaurants, and communities impacting food in Latino neighborhoods? Who’s targeting Latino and other kids of color? Do they see more healthy or junk food ads? What steps can we take to see the food environment that promotes health? Use #SaludTues to tweet with us on Dec. 8, 2015, as we unveil the results of a new study that explores the ways we can envision a healthier food environment for Latino neighborhoods and communities. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Envisioning A Healthier Food Environment for Latino Kids TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m., ET, Dec. 8, 2015 WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues HOST: @SaludToday CO-HOSTS: Food Corps (@FoodCorps); Voices for Healthy Kids (@Voices4HK) We’ll open the ...

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Let’s Latinize #GivingTuesday



After Black Friday and Cyber Monday comes #GivingTuesday; an opportunity for people like you and me to celebrate and encourage generosity around the world. This year, Hispanics in Philanthropy (HipGive), a Latino organization whose mission is to strengthen Latino communities by increasing resources for the Latino and Latin American civil sector, is launching #LatinosGive. The aim of this social media campaign is to show the world how Latinos give back to their families, communities, and society. How can you participate? 1. Complete the phrase #LatinosGive on your hand, arm, or a piece of paper. 2. Take a photo or video of yourself. 3. Explain the word(s) chosen either directly on your video or on the caption of your photo. 4. Share it on Facebook, Twitter and/or ...

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Coca-Cola’s Chief Scientist Resigns



Rhona S. Applebaum, Coke’s chief scientist is stepping down after revelations that the soft drink giant tried to play down the role of coke products in the spread of obesity, New York Times reports. Data from SaludAmerica shows more than 39 percent of Latino children between the ages 2-19 are overweight or obese in the United States. As part of Coke’s strategy to influence research on the effects of sugary drinks on obesity, Applebaum helped establish a nonprofit group known as the Global Energy Balance Network. “The group’s members were university scientists who encouraged the public to focus on exercise and worry less about how calories from food and beverages contribute to obesity.” According to Coca-Cola the company did offer financial support to the group ...

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Join our #SaludTues Tweetchat 1p ET 12/1/15: Latinos and HIV/AIDS



Latinos account for 21% of people living with HIV and 23% of new HIV diagnoses each year. On World AIDS Day on Dec. 1, 2015, let’s focus on changing this by using #SaludTues to tweet about innovative campaigns to improve prevention and programs to find solutions to HIV/AIDS in the Latino community. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Latinos and HIV/AIDS: What’s Your Status?” TIME/DATE: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT), Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015 WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues HOST: @SaludToday CO-HOSTS: The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (@TalkHIV) and Dr. Carlos Del Rio of Emory University (CarlosDelRio7) SPECIAL GUESTS: Latinos in the Deep South (@LatinoDeepSouth) and YOU! We’ll open the floor to your stories and experiences as we ...

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How to Prevent Cervical Cancer among Latinos


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A vaccine can't prevent disease unless people use it. In Texas, only 39% of girls and 15% of boys ages 13-17 complete the three-dose HPV vaccine for the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted infection that can cause cervical cancer and other problems. Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina has a plan to change that. Parra-Medina, a Latino health researcher at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, received a new $1.2 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to develop an professional education and community outreach program to increase awareness and uptake of the HPV vaccine among young boys and girls in South Texas. She and her team will train local health care providers to deliver accurate ...

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New Model Helps Better Predict Breast Cancer in Latinas



A new risk-prediction breast cancer model based entirely on data from Latino women provides a more accurate assessment of Latina women's risk of developing breast cancer than existing models. The model presented at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) used data from the San Francisco Bay Area Breast Cancer Study, “focused on 1,086 Latina women with breast cancer and 1,411 without breast cancer cancer.” "Currently, there is no breast cancer risk-prediction model for Hispanic women," said Matthew P. Banegas, PhD, MPH, investigator with Kaiser Permanente Center for Health Research in Portland, Oregon, and primary author of the study. "We developed a model based on data on ethnicity, nativity, and breast cancer risk factors, as well as incidence and mortality rates in ...

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