The percentage of obese Mexican-American adults has risen from 21% in 1984 to 35% in 2006 to 40% in 2010, according to new government data, USA Today reports. Mexican-American adults' obesity rates also were higher than the national average of 36%. According to the USA Today report: The percentage of Mexican-American adults with diabetes was 14% in 2006, higher than the most recent national average of about 11%.
About 22% of Mexican-American adults had high blood pressure and 20% had high cholesterol in 2006. These rates have remained stable over the last few decades. The prevalence increases with age.
The average intake of calories for Mexican-American men was 2,521 in 2006; women, 1,827 calories. Those numbers have increased by several hundred calories each since 1984. The ...
Researchers from the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio taught a crowd of more than 30 health professionals and social workers the importance of providing bilingual and culturally sensitive health care at a unique training event March 8, 2012, in San Antonio. The event, “Cancer Prevention & Women: A Look at Programs that Address Health Disparities Among Medically Underserved Populations,” stemmed from a partnership between the IHPR and the San Antonio College (SAC) Empowerment Center. IHPR researchers Dr. Daisy Morales-Campos, Christina M. Carmona, Rose A. Treviño, Guadalupe Cornejo and Erika G. Casasola discussed Latino breast, cervical and colorectal cancer rates and cultural factors that impede individuals from ...
What's your excuse? A new bilingual public service announcement (PSA) from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) addresses common excuses and misconceptions that lead people to delay or avoid getting screened for colorectal cancer. The PSA features men and women who voice their personal reasons for not being screened, while an off-camera announcer responds by providing facts about colorectal cancer screening and its importance. Adults ages 50-59, Hispanics, and persons with lower income, less than a high school education, and without health insurance were least likely to have been screened for colorectal cancer, according to CDC statistics. Watch in English: Watch in ...
Apply now for a program, “Investing in America’s Future: Mentoring Researchers in Latino Health Disparities,” which aims to mentor junior faculty, scientists and post-doctoral individuals pursuing research in Latino cardiovascular disease to increase this field of research. The program, led by San Diego State University, will bring together accomplished and aspiring researchers in Latino public health at a two-week summer institute from July 20-Aug. 3, 2012, in San Diego. Additional mentoring will be provided through ongoing communication with an assigned mentor, a mid-year visit to each of the mentee’s research settings, and a second summer institute in San Diego in 2013. Travel, housing, ground transportation and per diem will be provided. Rolling admissions now are ...
Laura Esparza used to be an “exercise avoider.” She steered clear of physical activities that resembled the P.E. classes of her youth, and had little confidence to work out or try playing any sports. That changed when Esparza, a parent of three children and community volunteer in San Antonio, Texas, grew increasingly concerned with rising local obesity levels and learned that daily physical activity is an essential element of everyone’s physical and mental health. Now she exercises regularly and is an avid “exercise promoter” at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, where she researches ways to increase Latino families’ physical activity. “Spurred by my own experience, I became interested in ...
Find the latest in Latino health—from fighting Latina cervical cancer to innovative ways to tackle Latino childhood obesity—in the new E-newsletter from the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. The IHPR E-newsletter has these stories: Story and Video: Preventing Cervical Cancer in South Texas (Pg 1)
Story: How an “Exercise Avoider” Became an “Exercise Promoter” (Pg 2)
Story: The Importance of Latino Biospecimens (Pg 2)
Story: 20 Studies Tackle Latino Childhood Obesity (Pg 3)
Story: Who is Promotora of the Year? (Pg 4)
Videos: “Feeding Minds” Series Addresses Hunger, Obesity in Texas (Pg 6) The E-newsletter is jam-packed with even more info on the latest local and national health ...
Step 1: Innovative cancer education. Step 2: Cancer screening. Step 3: Catching cancer at early, treatable stages. That’s the life-saving idea behind Salud San Antonio!, a new $2 million research project led by Dr. Cynthia Mojica, assistant professor at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio. Salud San Antonio! will partner with several community groups and employ community health workers—also known as promotoras—to teach Latinos in low-income, health-problematic areas on the city’s West and South sides about breast, cervical and colorectal cancer and the benefits of cancer screening. After promotoras teach, they’ll refer Latinos for cancer screening and even help with travel to appointments, interpreting medical forms and ...
¡Por Vida!, launched in October 2010, is a San Antonio restaurant recognition program that aims to help adults and children make healthier food choices by identifying menu items that meet certain nutritional guidelines. The obesity prevention program is one arm of a larger city effort that implores residents to "Find Your Balance" and get healthy. Since it started, a dozen restaurants have joined the program. Watch these videos to see how San Antonio residents Pedro Garcia and Sylvia Niño are dropping pounds thanks to the ...
Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 20 is Dr. Miriam Vega. Find all briefs here. Dr. Miriam Vega
“La Familia en la Cocina is Speaking Two Languages” In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Miriam Vega of the Latino Commission on AIDS in New York south interviewed Latina mothers and children to better understand their knowledge, attitudes and communication behaviors related to food consumption and preferences, as well as the built and cultural environments in which they make decisions. Key preliminary findings include: a large gap exists in the manner in which a mother and child communicate; and
many immigrant ...
