Youth who are overweight or obese—especially Hispanics—are more likely to have asthma than their healthy weight counterparts, according to a new Kaiser Permanente Southern California study published in the online edition of Obesity. The study, which included more than 681,000 children between ages 6 and 19, found that the association between asthma and body mass index (BMI) varied by race and ethnicity. The association between BMI and asthma was strongest among Hispanic youth and weaker for African Americans, a group that was previously known to have the highest prevalence of asthma. “This research contributes to the growing evidence that there is a relationship between childhood obesity and asthma, and suggests that factors related to race and ethnicity, particularly for ...
Editor's Note: This is the testimonial of a graduate of the 2011 Summer Institute of Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training. Read more testimonials here or apply by March 1 for the 2012 Èxito! program. Rosalie Aguilar
San Antonio, Texas Rosalie Aguilar grew up along the Texas-Mexico border and volunteered her time working in migrant worker clinics, an experience that spawned her interest in public and world health issues. She dreamed of finding a way to help many people. Originally this dream led Aguilar to envision a career in the medical field, but she soon discovered the abundance of possibilities that exist in public health, and she is currently pursuing her master’s degree in health and Kinesiology at the University of Texas at San Antonio—all with the ...
Editor's Note: This is the testimonial of a graduate of the 2011 Summer Institute of Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training. Read more testimonials here or apply by March 1 for the 2012 Èxito! program. David Irizarry
McAllen, Texas David Irizarry wasn’t sure where his career path was heading. With a background in political science and biology, he eventually decided to pursue a master’s degree in public health at the Texas A&M Health Science Center’s School of Rural Public Health in McAllen, Texas, where he also works as an administrative intern at a local hospital and a research assistant on campus. To further refine his career path and learn about doctoral programs, he joined Éxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training—which aims to increase ...
Editor's Note: This is the testimonial of a graduate of the 2011 Summer Institute of Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training. Read more testimonials here or apply by March 1 for the 2012 Èxito! program. Laura Rubalcava
Alexandria, Va. Laura Rubalcava knows the pain that weight prejudice can cause. She witnessed several family members struggle with obesity and get teased or treated rudely at school, work, stores—even doctor’s offices. She wanted to help them and people like them feel better. So Rubalcava earned a master’s degree in community counseling and provided families with nutrition and wellness counseling at a San Antonio, Texas, weight-loss center. She also spent time as a health educator and research associate at the Institute for Health Promotion Research ...
Editor's Note: This is the testimonial of a graduate of the 2011 Summer Institute of Èxito! Latino Cancer Research Leadership Training. Read more testimonials here or apply by March 1 for the 2012 Èxito! program. Mary Vanellys Diaz Santana
Puerto Rico Mary Vanellys Diaz Santana values the richness of culture and faith in her native Puerto Rico, but also understands how different cultural aspects can be barriers and enablers to public health. Santana’s strong passion for investigating the distribution, frequency and determinants of health led her to the University of Puerto Rico’s medical sciences campus, where she is pursuing a master’s degree in epidemiology. Her capable mentors have shaped her desire to start a career in cancer and chronic disease research. One of her ...
Editor’s Note: This post is part of an ongoing series that will highlight the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s work in Latino communities across the country. By SaludToday Guest Blogger Kristin Schubert According to the National Youth Risk Behavior survey, nearly one in 10 high school students nationwide has experienced physical dating violence. With a higher prevalence of dating violence among black and Hispanic students and serious concern over the negative health impacts of dating violence—national program by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is working to promote healthy relationships among young adolescents to stop the violence before it starts. The program, Start Strong: Building Healthy Teen Relationships, targets 11- to 14-year-olds in 11 cities from ...
Check out a 30-second promo video in English or Spanish for a new TV series, "Feeding Minds: Texas Takes on Hunger and Obesity," which premieres on Texas PBS stations Feb. 23, 2012. The series aims to bring awareness to these overlapping issues and to share what government, community organizations and individuals are doing to combat them. Check your local listings for the series. For more information, follow this effort on ...
Watch new videos from Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, showcasing how the program is helping dozens of communities across the country to reshape their environments to support healthy living and prevent childhood obesity. The videos below feature program achievements in Chicago, and Central Valley, ...
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 17 is Dr. Claudia Galindo. Find all briefs here. Claudia Galindo
“Obesity Among Young Latino Children: Disparities and Changes Over Time” In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Claudia Galindo of the University of Maryland studied factors and behaviors that may affect weight, nutrition and physical activity among Latino youth. Key preliminary findings include: Latino children are more likely to be obese than White and Asian children at all points of observation;
among Latino children from different countries and regions of origin, Central American, Puerto Rican and Mexican ...
