Diabetes is one of the most prevalent chronic diseases in the country, impacting 38 million adults in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The long-lasting condition also contributes to heart disease and cancer. That is why it’s important to address the non-medical drivers of health – such as access to transportation, healthy foods, and green spaces for safe play and exercise – which can influence risk for diabetes, especially for those genetically predisposed to it. Let’s dive into some new studies that explore diabetes and its impact on Latinos and all people.
1. Socioeconomic Disparities and Diabetes
Poverty can be a huge factor in the development of diabetes, especially in early childhood with those who experience ...
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, leader of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, was invited to discuss childhood obesity in Latinos by Noticias Telemundo and the Telemundo network. Ramirez’s appearance was part of a one-hour special, “Foro Contra el Racismo: Por los Niños,” in observance of the National Day of Racial Healing as “a critical path for ending racial bias and creating a society in which all children can thrive.” according to Telemundo. “Foro Contra el Racismo: Por los Niños” focuses on a variety of issues involving inequities, such as education, healthcare, and nutrition, in children from diverse backgrounds. Topics included in the special ranged from Latino kids’ access to affordable and nutritious foods to the mental health of Latino high school ...
Obesity is one of the biggest modifiable risk factors for cancer, diabetes, hypertension, and sleep apnea. It’s also plaguing the health of Americans, especially in people of color. Latinos continue to be disproportionately affected by obesity with a prevalence of 35% or higher in Latino adults living in 34 US states and territories, according to updated data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Let’s dive into the new statistics on adult obesity in the US, what’s driving it, and what interventions can help address it.
Adult Obesity
All states and territories in the US had an obesity prevalence higher than 20% in 2023, which is the equivalent of 1 in 5 US adults, according to the CDC. The highest obesity prevalence in the US was in ...
Childhood cases of fatty liver disease have risen over the last decade, prompting researchers to search for answers in risk factors such as genes, birthweight, and malnutrition.
While studies involving adults that have fatty liver disease and liver fibrosis and food insecurity have been conducted, few focused on children — until now.
A recent study assessed the influence food insecurity – living without enough food for a healthy life for all family members – on the development of fatty liver disease in 4-year-old Latino children, and discovered that food-insecure Latino children experienced a higher risk for the disease. Results of the Fatty Liver Disease Study
The study involved two groups of San Francisco Latino mothers and followed their child’s development from pregnancy ...
Obesity Care Week 2024 (#ObesityCareWeek) is here! From March 4-8, 2024, Obesity Care Week is an annual public awareness effort to end weight bias, as well as raise awareness, educate and advocate for a better world for people living with obesity. Also, World Obesity Day is March 4, 2024. Our Salud America! Latino health equity team at UT Health San Antonio is happy to serve as an Obesity Care Week Champion to support this awareness week. "Unlike most other diseases, obesity is one that continues to be stigmatized. Those impacted struggle to receive any care in many cases, let alone adequate care," said Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio and a leading health disparities researcher. Salud America! research has found that U.S. Latinos face ...
Latino children accounted for the highest increase in severe obesity among preschool-aged children from low-income households, a new CDC study found.
The study examined children aged 2 to 4 under the enrollment of the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) program, which is a federal nutrition assistance program aimed at providing healthy foods for low-income women who are pregnant, breastfeeding, or postpartum, and children up to 5 years old, from 2010 to 2020.
When the study began in 2010, 2.1% of children aged 2 to 4 in WIC were severely obese.
A downward trend in severe obesity occurred for the next several years, when rates in that age group went from 2.1% in 2010 to 1.8% in 2016, the CDC study found.
However, by the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, that number spiked back up to 2% in ...
During the summer months children are at a higher risk of obesity, according to the American Heart Association. This is concerning considering obesity rates are already sky-high in young Latino boys (30%) and girls (23%). But what exactly causes this increased risk for obesity during the summer? Let’s explore four factors that contribute to weight gain in Latino children during the summer and how we can break this cycle of poor health into the new school year and beyond.
Increased Sedentary Behavior
During the school year, households operate around a steady flow of activities, like school sports, that help keep children active. During the summer, children may lose access to school-related activities that promote exercise. That’s why visiting parks, lakes, and hiking ...
Obesity can stem from genetics, food and activity, and social and environmental inequities. We also know from past research that brain structure and mental function are linked to being overweight or obese. Now a new study has identified differences in the brain’s neural pathways that help explain differences in obesity among men and women. “In women with obesity, changes in the brain tended to be centered on regions related to emotions, while in men with obesity, the changes tended to be found in regions that play a role in gut sensations, such as how hungry or full a person feels,” according to NBC News. For this study, researchers from the Goodman-Luskin Microbiome Center at UCLA studied brain scans – along with participants’ reports of their behavioral and mental ...
Researchers from UT Health San Antonio have tied obesity to with 21 Alzheimer’s disease-related genes. In analyzing 74 Alzheimer’s-related genes from the Framingham Heart Study, researchers found that 21 of them were either under-expressed or over-expressed in obesity. “Several of the genes were more strongly related to obesity in midlife versus in late life, and also to obesity in women versus men,” said Dr. Claudia Satizabal, study lead author and assistant professor of population health sciences at UT Health San Antonio.
Alzheimer’s Genes Linked to Obesity
The UT Health San Antonio study also found 13 Alzheimer’s-related genes were associated with body mass index (BMI) and eight genes associated with a second metric of obesity called waist-to-hip ratio. “Those ...
