Obesity Care Week 2020 (#OCW2020) is here! From March 1-7, 2020, Salud America!, our Latino health equity program at UT Health San Antonio, is happy to be an OCW2020 Champion to support this awareness week. Obesity Care Week has a global vision for a society that understands, respects, and accepts the complexities of obesity and values science and clinically-based care. Salud America! research shows that U.S. Latinos face inequities in many areas—from poverty and social support to access to affordable housing and transportation—that contribute to higher rates of obesity. Latino adults and children have higher obesity rates (47% and 25.8%, respectively) than whites (37.9% adults and 14% children). Addressing the root causes can help address obesity. #OCW2020 has different ...
Adult obesity rates reached 35% in at least 7 states and saw increases in 31 states across the U.S. from 2012-2017, while no significant drops in obesity rates were seen in any state, over the last year. These are the latest findings from a report from the Trust for America's Health and The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. The report developed using data from the CDC's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance Survey (BRFSS) goes on to highlight how adult obesity continued to rise in at least 6 states: Iowa, Massachusetts, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, and South Carolina, between 2016-2017. In the case of Iowa and Oklahoma, this is the first time these states reach the 35% obesity threshold. The states with the highest levels of obesity by rank are: #1- West Virginia ...
Toddlers and preschoolers who grow up amid poverty and racism are at a developmental disadvantage and face lifelong social, health and economic consequences that hinder health equity, according to a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF). This includes Latino kids, who are prone to hardships in early childhood. Experiencing poverty and racism in the first five years of life can “set off a vicious cycle of inequities” from obesity, stress, and developmental problems that affect adulthood and future generations. Fortunately, the report explores ways to overcome or prevent these damaging effects. “Reducing child poverty, eliminating structural racism, and providing universal high-quality early care ...
More than one-third of U.S. high-school students were overweight or obese, including a higher rate among Latinos (37.7%) than their black (36%) and white (26.5%) peers, according to new CDC data. Sharp disparities were also found in Latino sleep habits and health conditions like asthma.
The Data
The CDC's Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System monitors health-related behaviors. These behaviors usually develop during childhood and early adolescence. They contribute to the leading causes of death among youth and adults in the United States. The CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey is part of the surveillance system. It examines 121 health-related behaviors of high-schoolers. Today we're examining the data on obesity, sleep, and asthma.
Latino Youth and Obesity
More Latino and black ...
Several recent studies have shown that childhood obesity is on the decline. But are they right? Maybe not. New research indicates obesity rates among 2-5-years-olds have "sharply increased" and are at their highest since 1999, according to an interview by NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro of Dr. David Ludwig of Boston Children's Hospital. Garcia-Navarro's interview with Dr. Ludwig explores what science and "short-term studies" got wrong about obesity. "When you look at short-term studies, movement in the result numbers can go up and down without any real meaning. Looking back, public health experts now know that the changes we thought we saw were really just statistical flukes, and that obesity rates among children are the highest ever," according to Dr. Ludwig on NPR.
What Science ...
Oprah Winfrey is raising awareness about childhood trauma and the need for trauma-informed care. Childhood trauma—like abuse, neglect, and poverty—changes a child's brain, body and behavior. Behavior is often the first "red flag" of trauma. But too often caregivers, teachers, and law officers misinterpret that red flag as "bad behavior" that needs "fixing." They are rarely trained on the science of childhood trauma and how it affects Latino and all children. That is why Oprah Winfrey returned the city where she grew up facing poverty, sexual abuse and other negative experiences to explore the science of childhood trauma on 60 Minutes with trauma expert Dr. Bruce Perry.
Science Behind Adverse Childhood Experiences
What started as inquiry into high patient drop-out rates ...
Children don't magically "get over" trauma when they turn 18. Trauma, toxic stress, and adverse childhood experiences permanently change a child's body and brain, which can have serious, lifelong consequences, according to a recent report from the Center on the Developing Child at Harvard University. Here are four ways trauma can overload a child's developing system: 1. Hormone level changes: Cortisol and adrenaline are the "stress hormones" that help you react to a perceived threat or danger by directing blood flow to major muscle groups and bypassing the thinking part of the brain to activate the survival part. High levels of these hormones keep your blood pressure elevated, which weakens the heart and circulatory system; keep your glucose levels elevated, which can lead ...
Abstract
Many Latino children are at risk of not getting the proper care, services, and environment they need for healthy formative development. Traumatic early experiences, poor nutrition, physical inactivity, and low participation in preschool programs impair Latino children’s social and emotional development, academic achievement, and overall health and wellbeing. But there’s reason for hope. Culturally-sensitive programs and policies can prevent or reduce the effects of traumatic childhood experiences, improve mental health, and boost school readiness. Early childhood development and education programs, breastfeeding and family support, and Latino family values support all have been shown to promote healthy early development. Read the News Release (PDF)
Read the ...
This is part of the Salud America! The State of Latino Early Childhood Development: A Research Review »
Latino Kids Have Limited Access to Healthy Foods
Pediatric obesity is an important public health issue. Targeted efforts to curb child obesity rates are necessary, especially among Latino children, as this sub-group is more likely to become overweight before entering elementary school than children of other ethnic groups.11 Obesity in Latino children increases health risk factors and can also impact school performance.11,54 A main contributor of overweight and obesity in Latino children may be their limited access to healthy food. See the full Salud America! research review on Latino children and healthy food access.10 Some recent study results appear mixed on this ...
