On Oct. 15, 2017, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed a law that bans schools from marketing unhealthy foods that are not allowed to be sold or served in schools. This law, Assembly Bill 841, also forbids schools from partnering with companies for programs that reward students with foods or drinks that do not meet USDA Smart Snacks in School regulations and other standards. The idea is to help students make healthier food choices. "This law will help ensure that students receive consistent messages from their schools about the importance of proper nutrition as well as reinforce parents’ efforts to help their children choose healthy foods," according to a report by Changelab Solutions. This will lead to "healthier students who are better able to thrive academically."
Latino ...
It can be a chore to figure out how to get kids the right levels of physical activity. Current guidelines recommend different intensity and frequency for different aerobic and muscle-strengthening physical activities for kids. What's that mean? More running? Jumping? Organized sports? Active video games? A new list—the Youth Compendium of Physical Activities—sheds light on 196 youth physical activities and the estimated energy expenditure for each. This collection of everything from basketball to running to to cycling to Wii Sports offers parents, teachers, coaches, healthcare workers, and researchers better insight into which physical activities contribute to a healthier lifestyle, thanks to the National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research.
Compendium of Physical ...
A dozen new research centers will tackle Latino and minority health problems thanks to $82 million for the next five years from the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD). Latinos suffer worse rates of obesity, diabetes, and certain cancers and diseases. Why? They face cultural and language barriers, lack of access to resources, and a drastic lack of health care coverage. With this new round of funding, the NIMHD will create 12 "Centers of Excellence" to investigate preventable diseases like heart disease and diabetes, along with exposure to substance use disorder, violence, and trauma, which disproportionately affect minorities. “We need strong collaborations and research based upon asking the right questions in specific areas,” said Dr. ...
Rosalie Aguilar grew up watching her grandfather in his water treatment lab, purging pollutants to produce cleaner drinking water in Mexico. Her grandmother helped Latino reporters cover World War II stories. Aguilar’s successful grandparents gave her a desire to make a big difference to give Latinos a better chance to live a healthy, disease-free life. She’s doing just that as Project Coordinator of Salud America! at UT Health San Antonio, a national program that creates content to inspire people to drive community change for the health of Latino and all kids. “My childhood experiences have led me to a career trying to help others and improve the health of Latino children and families,” Aguilar said. “That is what motivates me.” Aguilar first joined Dr. Amelie ...
About 15% of U.S. Latinos had a diagnosable mental illness in the past year—that's enough people to fill New York City. How can this population achieve healthier minds? A healthy diet is, not surprisingly, a great first step. In fact, good nutrition protects against depression and anxiety; poor nutrition is a risk factor for those conditions, according to an emerging field of research. "By helping people shape their diets, we can improve their mental health and decrease their risk of psychiatric disorders," Dr. Drew Ramsey of Columbia University told WebMD.
The State of Mental Health
Only about 1 in 5 Americans consider themselves in optimal mental health. Depression afflicts more than a quarter adults. By 2020, depression will rank as the second-leading cause of ...
Salud America! Guest Blogger
Jefferson Dental Care The key to a long, healthy life isn’t fame or fortune. It's right under your nose...it's your mouth! Poor dental health—cavities, tooth loss, and gum disease—are a big problem for many Latinos ages 65 and older. In fact, Latino seniors have among the highest rates of no remaining teeth (25%) and untreated tooth decay (40%). And that's not all.
Mouth in Bad Health = Body in Bad Health
Poor dental health isn't just bad for your teeth as you age. Dental issues are linked to diabetes, cancers and heart disease, which are each more prevalent among Latinos than the overall population. Inflammation in the body also translates in the mouth, and Latino seniors who suffer from diabetes are also likely to heal less rapidly ...
What is the #SaludTues Tweetchat?
#SaludTues is a monthly (formerly weekly) Tweetchat about Latino health on the first Tuesday of every month at 12p CST/1p EST. The chat is hosted by @SaludAmerica, the Latino health social media campaign and Twitter handle for the team at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio, which directs Salud America!. Each chat has two or more co-hosts and special guest from partner organizations. Salud America! asks a set of important questions, and co-hosts and special guests share their answers to raise awareness of and discuss solutions to Latino health equity issues.
#SaludTues Tweetchat Schedule 1/10/23 #SaludTues: Transportation Safety
2/7/23 #SaludTues: COVID and Latinos at 3 Years
3/7/23 ...
About » Curation » Science » History » Team » Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH
Director, Salud America! Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH, an internationally recognized researcher in Latino health promotion and behavioral change, is director of Salud America! and its home base, the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio. Amelie has spent 30 years directing research on human and organizational communication to reduce chronic disease and cancer health disparities affecting Latinos, including cancer risk factors, clinical trial recruitment, tobacco prevention, obesity prevention, healthy lifestyles promotion, and more. Read Dr. Ramirez's Articles Cliff Despres, BJ
Communications Manager, Salud America! Cliff Despres, a graduate of UT Austin, coordinates ...
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of UT Health San Antonio today received a new $1.3 million grant to expand Quitxt, her bilingual service that sends texts with culturally and regionally tailored support to help South Texan young adults quit smoking. The new grant is from the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas. The new funding will enhance the Quitxt service—currently designed to turns a user’s phone into a personal quit coach by providing texts and links to online support, educational content, music, and videos—with a new social media support component. Quitxt also will extend beyond South Texas to include English and Spanish speakers in rural counties, and Spanish speakers in urban areas of South, West and Central Texas. To quit smoking now, join Quitxt in English or ...
