More education and counseling is needed to teach overweight women in the U.S. with hopes to become pregnant about the dangers of being overweight during pregnancy, Reuters reports. In the country, 32.6 percent of Latina women over the age of 18 are obese compared to 24.8 percent of non-Hispanic white women. A new study published in the Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics revealed that 31 percent of overweight women hoping to get pregnant “mistakenly thought their weight was “about right” and 47 percent thought their diet was healthy and saw no reason to adjust what they were eating.” “Overweight women trying to conceive largely misperceive their weight, which is concerning because they may not try to adopt healthier behaviors,” study author Mahbubur ...
In the 22% Latino Fairfax County Public School District in Fairfax, Va., a parent group called Real Food for Kids had rid school cafeterias of highly processed junk foods and improved the nutrition of school snacks and menus. But the change was not very visible to students. So the group, led by parent JoAnne Hammermaster, helped bring a fresh food stations showcase the healthier selections—and add new ones—for students at district schools. EMERGENCE Awareness: Childhood obesity is a priority for the parent group Real Food for Kids (RFFK), which pushes for healthy changes in the Fairfax County Public School District (FCPSD), a 22% Latino district in Fairfax, Va. In 2012, for example, RFFK drove FCPSD leaders to remove foods with artificial dyes, additives, and other highly ...
A handful of lawmakers have proposed banning the purchase of sugary drinks with Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. Although these attempts have yet to be successful, advocates say a ban like this would reduce chronic disease cause by obesity and excess sugar consumption. A study published in the June 2014 volume of Health Affairs tested this hypothesis. Researchers examined the impact of two proposed policies: a ban on using SNAP dollars to buy sugar-sweetened beverages; and a subsidy in which for every SNAP dollar spent on fruit and vegetables, thirty cents is credited back to participants’ SNAP benefit cards. Using nationally representative data and models describing obesity, type 2 diabetes, and determinants of food consumption among a sample of ...
Jeff Anderson, a parent at Wolftrap Elementary School in Fairfax, Va., wanted his daughter to bike to school. Unfortunately, the school had no bike racks. He went to the principal and the school installed bike racks. Anderson then joined other parents, school officials, and community partners to improve one of the school district’s transportation policies. Now parents from all over the community, including those with large Latino populations, have created safe routes for kids to walk and bike to district schools.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: In Spring 2008, Jeff Anderson noticed that there were no bike racks at Wolftrap Elementary School in Vienna, Va., a city with a 12% Latino population. An avid bicyclist, Anderson wanted his then-first-grade daughter to learn biking’s sense of ...
In Florida, legislators are proposing a law that would encourage schools to make playgrounds accessible to children during after school hours. According to a news report from Fox 35, community centers that provide after school activities, like YMCAs, Boys and Girls Clubs, and the New Image Youth Center in Parramore, can stand to benefit from entering shared use agreements with local schools. Wayne Rich, Chair-Elect of the Greater Orlando American Heart Association said, "having access to outdoor facilities is vitally important to combating childhood obesity and school grounds are a perfect place to do that." If the law is put into effect, schools would be free of liability concerns and parents would be responsible for watching over their children. Read the full Fox 35 news ...
Sugary drinks are a large component of added calories in the American diet. Latino 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.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: First 5 California is a state organization funded by Proposition 10, a statewide ballot initiative passed in 1998, to conduct health and education programs to benefit children ages ...
Parent organization Real Food for Kids (RFFK) aims to improve the nutritional quality of food served at the public schools in Fairfax County, Va. These parents want all students to get healthy, fresh food that will fuel their bodies for physical and educational performance. As stated on their website: “We know, just as you do, that when a child is well-fed with nutritious, real food, he/she is healthier, better behaved and better able to succeed in and out of the classroom.” By doing research and educating themselves, they discovered the volume and breadth of processed foods and foods with artificial dyes and additives being served at their schools, even though these foods were allowed by USDA nutrition guidelines for school lunches. The parent group advocated for a new ...
Check out this new video by NBC Latino's Dr. Joseph Sirven, who describes the Latino childhood obesity epidemic and ways families can reverse it through physical activity and healthier food. Sirven is professor and chairman of the Department of Neurology and was past director of education for Mayo Clinic ...
Latinos have among the highest rates of obesity in the United States. A new web forum series, “Why Obesity Is Important to the Latino Community,” is launching at 12:30 p.m. CST Tuesday, April 16, 2013, focusing on the Latino community and obesity and overweight prevention. The series, organized by the Public Health Institute (PHI) of California, will air on PHI's Dialogue4Health web platform in both English and Spanish. Presenters will: Outline the epidemiology of obesity in accessible terms, and the underlying factors contributing to the obesity epidemic;
Elaborate upon the link between obesity prevention and other social issues;
Discuss the role of community empowerment through leadership and capacity building for policy advocacy and systems change; and
Provide ...
