Latinos are the fastest-growing minority group in Washington State. Because Latino kids tend to drink more sugary drinks than their White peers, healthy beverage policies have the potential to impact Latino kids’ health in big ways. In Washington, community partners are teaming-up with schools and lawmakers to come up with ways to encourage kids to quench their thirst with water, not sugar. EMERGENCE
Awareness/Learn: Childhood obesity is a problem in the state of Washington, which is 11% Latino. In 2012, 25% of Washington children ages 2-4 who received benefits from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC; Latinos comprise about 41% of WIC participants) were overweight or obese, according to the state’s Department of Health. About 23% ...
Northgate González Market has come a long way since its humble beginnings. The family-owned and operated California-based grocery store chain, originally founded by immigrants from Jalisco in 1980, went from one 2,500-square-foot store to now 42 stores located throughout Southern California. Despite Northgate’s success, its owners have not forgotten their roots or culture. They seek to offer high-quality products and improve the quality of life for Latinos through their Viva la Salud! Program, which includes bilingual healthy food labels and an entire marketing program aimed at helping customers make wise food- purchasing decisions as part of a healthy lifestyle. EMERGENCE Awareness: Victor González, Senior VP of Marketing at González Northgate Markets, a chain of ...
Physical activity is “a powerful tool for managing weight and preventing serious health problems” like diabetes and certain cancers, according to a new article on Page 18 of PeakLife SA Magazine. The article advises on how much physical activity is enough and how people can get more activity on a regular basis, such as: Being an active living champion for your family, like walking or biking to school or the store;
Get out and try something new, like walking trails; and
Spread the word, like organizing an office health challenge or bringing the need for safer routes to local decision-makers. The article, written by Laura Esparza, a researcher at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday, also ...
Physical activity is "a powerful tool for managing weight and preventing serious health problems" like diabetes and certain cancers, according to a new article on Page 18 of PeakLife SA Magazine. The article advises on how much physical activity is enough and how people can get more activity on a regular basis, such as: Being an active living champion for your family, like walking or biking to school or the store;
Get out and try something new, like walking trails; and
Spread the word, like organizing an office health challenge or bringing the need for safer routes to local decision-makers. The article, written by Laura Esparza, a researcher at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday, also urges ...
At the Diabetes Health Center (DHC), a program of the Pajaro Valley Community Health Trust, Latino children and their families are learning how to be healthy. After finding out that 49.3% of children in the area were overweight or obese, physicians and local leaders at the DHC knew something had to be done. So they decided to develop a pilot program to help Latino children succeed in achieving a healthy weight status. Culturally Relevant Programming With funding from the Children's Miracle Network, and by partnering up with the Watsonville Health Center, the DHC was able to offer a 10-week bi-lingual nutrition education and physical activity program to 25 Latino kids and their families during the Summer and Fall of 2013. To meet the criteria as a participant, children had to ...
After seeing the positive benefits that exercise and physical activity had on their children, two parents teamed up with a personal trainer in Pearland, Texas and formed Fitness 4 Kids, an after school fitness group for children of all ages. When Alicia Watkins was only six-years old she was diagnosed with thrombocytopenia, a blood disorder which causes abnormally low levels of platelets. The disease and steroid treatment she received caused her to be inactive and soon led to a 40-pound weight gain. She also developed fatty liver and was at risk for becoming hypertensive. By the age of 8, Alicia had her spleen removed and was on her way to recovery; however she now had to deal with other health issues related to her weight gain. Alicia's doctors referred her to the hospital's ...
The Harldendale Independent School District in San Antonio, TX has been awarded a $1.4 million Carol W. White Physical Education grant to expand their physical education and physical activity programs. In an article from the San Antonio Express News, Dolly Armstrong the district's coordinator for wellness programs, said the money would be used to start an intramural sports program and to fund technology to help students monitor their heart rates. Armstrong also stated that the district would be collaborating with the city to host events to teach families about the importance of fitness and nutrition. “Taking care of our kids is important, especially as we work to reduce obesity and diabetes plaguing children at a young age,” U.S. Rep. Pete P. Gallego, D-Alpine, said after ...
Check out this great profile of Latina public health research Dr. Larissa Avilés Santa. The profile, by CienciaPR, chronicles Avilés Santa's career development, from how she got interested in anatomy and endocrinology in 4th grade in elementary school, studied medicine and translational research in Puerto Rico, worked in heart disease prevention and diabetes clinical trials at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, and joined the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) in 2006. Now she is directing the largest-ever study on U.S. Latino health (the Hispanic Community Health Study/Study of Latinos). Avilés Santa said the initial results from the large study indicate high risks for diabetes and heart disease among Latinos, creating new opportunities for ...
The mostly Latino southern area of Santa Ana, Calif., had limited places to be active—and not a single park. Desperate for more active spaces to give them more chances to get fit and avoid disease and obesity, residents pushed for and received a new park, Corazones Verdes Park. While park construction remained underway, members of Latino Health Access sought alternative active spaces. That’s when they came up with the idea of creating a Wellness Corridor through downtown Santa Ana. Now partners from across the city are discussing ways to make the community more walkable, and residents of all ages are learning to effectively voice the need for healthy options.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: America Bracho, a Venezuelan-born physician and public health advocate for the Latino community of south ...
