Abstract
One of four U.S. kids is already overweight or obese by age 2-5, with a higher prevalence among Latino kids (30%) than white kids (21%). How can we promote a healthy weight by kindergarten? Mothers’ physical activity and healthy eating habits before and during pregnancy play a big role. Breastfeeding also has many positive effects on children. Interventions or policies aimed at improving breastfeeding rates, while reducing formula marketing, among Latina mothers may be critical to promoting healthy weight goals. Healthy eating and physical activity habits established during early childhood care settings also is a stepping stone toward lifelong health. Read the Issue Brief in English (PDF)
Read the Issue Brief in Spanish (PDF)
Contents
Introduction & ...
According to a new research report, poverty is a better predictor of childhood obesity than race. Based on information from 110,000 Massachusetts students, a statistical model found that, as children’s families income dropped their obesity rates rose. The report found that obesity rates were higher among Latino children. The researchers suspected that a lack of parks, full-service grocery stores, and recreational programs in poorer neighborhoods may lead to children in poverty to eating unhealthier foods and exercising less. “The findings reveal differences in the inequalities in the physical and social environment in which children are raised,” said Dr. Kim Eagle, the senior study author and director at the University of Michigan Frankel Cardiovascular Center. “It ...
The World Health Organization(WHO) predicts the Zika virus will spread to all countries in the Americas, including the U.S., except Canada and Chile, Reuters reports. “Twenty-one countries and territories of the Americas have reported cases of the virus since Brazil reported the first cases of local transmission in May 2015,” WHO's regional office for the Americas said in a statement. In the U.S. three cases have been confirmed in Florida, Texas and Illinois "These imported cases might result in local human-to-mosquito-to-human spread of the virus in limited areas of the continental Unites States that have the appropriate mosquito vectors," according to a new report on the spread of the virus issued by the CDC Friday. According to doctors the symptoms of the virus ...
A new study from the JAMA Pediatrics researchers have reported one way kids can loose weight is to have easy access to water and less access to unhealthy sugary beverages. The researchers took water jet machines to schools across 483 New York City schools, finding a slight but significant decrease in the children's body mass index (BMI) measurements along with a decrease in students who were overweight. Researchers found students who used water jets had a .025 reduction of BMI for boys and a .022 standardized reduction for girls. About a four to five pound weight loss for a middle schooler. The study, led by Brian Elbel a professor of Population health and Health policy at New York University School of Medicine, also removed sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened beverages as ...
El cáncer rápidamente se esta convirtiendo en la causa principal de muerte en los Estados Unidos y la causa principal de muerte entre los latinos, reporta Fox News. Nuevas estadísticas demuestran que el cáncer rápidamente esta sobrepasando a enfermedades del corazón como la causa numero uno de muerte en la país, aunque las cifras de mortalidad de ambas han ido en descenso por los últimos 25 años. De acuerdo a estadísticas del gobierno el cáncer es la causa principal de muerte entre varias minorías incluyendo a los latinos y adultos entre 40 y 79 anos de edad. La sociedad americana del cáncer pronostica que este ano habrá mas de 1 millón de diagnósticos de cáncer y 600,000 ...
A new bilingual ad campaign targets 86 million Americans with prediabetes. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) about 90% of people with prediabetes don’t know they have it and aren’t aware of the long-term risks to their health, including type 2 diabetes, heart attack, and stroke. Among Latinos, more than 16% have type 2 diabetes, compared to only 10.2% of non-Latino whites, according to the American Diabetes Association. Medical experts suggest that if current trends continue, 15-30% of Americans with prediabetes will develop diabetes within five years. But, with plenty of exercise, weight loss and diet change prediabetes can be reversed.
The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP)
The Diabetes Prevention Program (DPP) is one great way to get on track ...
A new study suggests oral human papillomavirus (HPV) increases someone’s risk for head or neck cancer, UPI reports. For the study, researchers at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York analyzed records of more than 96,000 cancer-free patients taking part in a big study. Of the more than 96,000 patients 132 developed neck or head cancer during the follow-up period, “matching them with 396 controls and analyzing their mouthwash samples for several types of oral HPVs.” “People with HPV-16 detected in their samples were 22 times more likely to develop oropharyngeal cancer than those with no HPV-16 detected. The researchers also found that beta- and gamma-HPVs, normally found on the skin, could be linked to the development of cancer.” Doctors recommend that all ...
The deadline to sign up for coverage as part of the Affordable Care Act’s (ACA) open enrollment is rapidly approaching. January 31 is the last day to obtain coverage during this period. Of the 17.6 million Americans who have signed up for coverage through the ACA, 4 million are Latinos. According to the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), there are still nearly 10 million Latinos that are still eligible for coverage through the marketplace. Even though Latinos saw the biggest decrease in uninsured rates, they remain the largest racial and ethnic group with the highest rates of uninsured. “The Latino community still suffers from health disparities like disproportionate rates of asthma, diabetes, and certain cancers,” said HHS Secretary Sylvia Matthews Burwell. ...
Editor’s Note: This is the story of a graduate of the 2015 Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training program. Apply now for 2016. Natalicio Serrano
San Diego, Calif. Drawing inspiration from famous distance runner Steve Prefontaine, Natalicio decided to give his all in his education and his efforts to tackle the health issues he saw while growing up in a low-income food desert in San Diego. Now he works diligently to promote physical activity, travel behaviors, and obesity prevention in that same city. Natalicio obtained a Bachelors in Health Science (Public Health) and is working on his Masters Public Health with a concentration in Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences from San Diego State University. "This [Éxito!] program gave me tremendous insight into ...
