Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, has received the 2014 “Regional Mujer Award” from the National Hispana Leadership Institute, a national leadership organization. Mujer (Woman) awards are given annually to those who serve their communities. Past Mujer winners include actresses Eva Longoria and Rosaro Dawson, Lidia Soto-Harmon, CEO of Girl Scouts, and Ivelisse Estrada, VP of Univision. “I am honored by this recognition for our multi-faceted work to reduce cancer and increase healthy behaviors,” said Dr. Ramirez.
Dr. Ramirez & Her Health Promotion Research
Ramirez is an internationally recognized health researcher at UT Health San Antonio. Here, she is professor and chair of the Department of ...
Kids in East Harlem (El Barrio) were in great need of physical activity programing and safe places to play. Alex Sabater and Deborah Quinones wanted to change that so they teamed up to create Young Bucks Sports, a non-profit aimed at preventing childhood obesity through teaching the sport and tradition of stickball to youth. Now Young Bucks Sports offers multiple activities to youth in Harlem for free, including: a summer stickball institute, pop-up playgrounds, a march to prevent obesity, and an annual festival with activities aimed at preventing obesity in the community.
The Physical Inactivity and Obesity Crisis
Awareness: Alex Sabater loves stickball and loves to share the same with others in New York City (NYC). The game is a modified version of baseball that uses a ...
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, has received the first-ever “Making a Different World” award from Latinas Contra Cancer for her dedication to improving health outcomes around cancer. Ramirez received the honor at the organization's 4th biennial cancer summit July 20-22, 2014, in San Francisco. “I am honored by this tremendous distinction from some of the key leaders in our nation’s growing effort to reduce cancer,” Dr. Ramirez said. “We are truly working hard to show how communities can reduce their risk for cancer, how to help patients navigate the health care system, and how to help cancer survivors.”
Dr. Ramirez & Her Health Promotion Research
Ramirez is an internationally recognized ...
A group of local women in the park-poor city of Santa Ana, Calif., were desperate to have a safe place for their children to play. One mom, Irma Rivera, saw a child almost get hit by a car while playing in an empty parking lot, and she vowed to do something about the lack of safe active spaces. She and other moms went to non-profit group Latino Health Access (LHA) for support and found that the group was willing to champion the cause. Through teamwork, determination and perseverance, LHA and the moms managed to get land and funding to build the area’s first-ever public park and community center for people in south Santa Ana.
The Issue of a Lack of Safe Places to Play
Awareness: People in Santa Ana, Calif., struggle with poverty, language and other challenges, obesity, and ...
Because some kids tend to drink more sugary drinks than others, healthy beverage strategies have the potential to impact 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.
The Issue of Sugary Drinks
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) were overweight or obese, according to the state’s Department of Health. About 23% the state’s 10th graders were overweight or obese. Sugary drinks, like soda, juice, and sweetened milk, are a major ...
In the small city of Lynn, Mass., many groups are stepping up to make healthy changes where they live, work, and play. Local corners stores, where many kids hang out before and after school, are well-positioned to make a positive impact on kids’ food choices—if they are marketing the right foods. A group of high-school students chose one popular corner store to help promote healthy snacks and make it easier for teens to pick apples over chips—contributing to a wave of new healthy markets sweeping over Massachusetts.
Junk Food in the Community
Awareness: The small city of Lynn, Mass., has a Latino population that grew from 18% to 32% from 2000 to 2010, according to Census data. “It’s kind of a gateway,” explained Kristina Pechulis, the Lynn coordinator for Mass in ...
I recently had the privilege of attending and presenting my Susan G. Komen-funded research on boosting breast cancer survivorship through Patient Navigation at the 5th International Cancer Control Congress (ICCC) on Nov. 3-6, 2013, in Lima, Peru. As a member of Komen’s Scientific Advisory Board, I was excited to be among the more than 400 health researchers and community leaders from throughout the world came together for this important meeting. Dr. Simon Sutcliffe of Vancouver, Canada, president of the ICCC and chair of the international steering committee, cited five key drivers for the group: improving human development;
mobilizing a societal response to reduce cancer and other non-communicable diseases;
improving population health;
improving cancer treatment, ...
In El Paso, a city located at the southwestern tip of Texas near the Mexico border, residents struggle with high rates of obesity and diabetes. A new restaurant initiative is encouraging local businesses to help children in the community make healthier choices when dining out. Jesus Roybal, one local restaurant owner, who was unhappy with what his own kids were stuck ordering on kids’ menus around town, set out to prove that creating a healthy, tasty kids’ menu can be easy to do and good for business.
The Issue of Healthy Food in a Community
Awareness: During a Sunday dinner out with his kids, Jesus Roybal was shocked at what he saw on the kids’ menu. “It was all fried, you know, it was horrible—and I was going to pay for it!” he said. Roybal owns his own ...
Sugary drinks are a large component of added calories in the American diet. Many kids have increased their consumption of sugary drinks—such as soft drinks, sports drinks, fruit-flavored drinks, and flavored milk—between 1991 and 2008, research shows. In Contra Costa, Calif., where 24% of the population is Latino, one of every three kids from low-income families are overweight or obese. A county organization worked with an advertising agency to develop a bilingual social marketing campaign, called Sugar Bites, to urge parents to choose water for their kids instead of sugary drinks.
The Issue of Sugary Drinks and Obesity
Awareness: First 5 California is a state organization funded by Proposition 10, a statewide ballot initiative passed in 1998, to conduct health and ...
