In California, a new bill to warn consumers of the sugars in sports drinks is making its way before the senate health committee in late March or early April, according to The Californian. “The State of California continues to see a rise in obesity and type 2 diabetes among its residents and it is occurring at younger and younger ages,” Senator Bill Monning said. “Strong and compelling scientific evidence clearly shows drinking sodas, sports drinks, and other sugary drinks heightens your risk for preventable chronic diseases.” In a state like California, where Latinos outnumber whites, research shows that Latino youth consume far more sugar-sweetened beverages than their white peers, which can lead to higher health risks and disparities among Latino youth. In fact, Latino ...
Obesity rates in Arkansas (7.2% Latino) have been on the rise. Excessively sugary foods and drinks increase your risk of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, depression, and other chronic diseases. According to our research review, Latinos and people living in poverty are more likely to consume excessively sugary foods and drinks. To address poor nutrition, the U.S. Department of Agriculture has modified the nutrition standards for nearly all of its federal food programs to align with the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, except for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP). Arkansas Lawmakers proposed House Bill 1035 during the 2017 legislative session that would limit SNAP to foods that have "sufficient nutritional value." The Arkansas Department of Health ...
Promotoras have long been acknowledged as important agents of healthy change in Latino communities. Thanks in large part with their relationships in the community and the specialized health education they receive, promotoras are often able to reach Latinos that “traditional” health care workers cannot. In Northern California’s Sonoma Valley, the La Luz Center was founded to provide a variety of social and health services to the area’s burgeoning Latino population. Now, their new initiative will begin organizing and training promotoras to go into the community and promote healthy lifestyles. According to a story in the Sonoma Index-Tribune, the first group includes seven area women who received training from La Luz, the Sonoma Valley Community Health Center, and Sonoma Valley ...
After United Way's Young Leaders Society, the Robla School District and the Health Education Council helped raise over $25,000 dollars to provide hydration stations at each school in the Robla School District (54% Latino), the district went a step further for health, literally. How? In the fall of 2015, after the Health Education Council met with students in their classrooms educating them on sugary beverages, the council also met with a small parent group at Taylor Street Elementary School to teach them about how to "Rethink Your Drink", educating parents on how much sugar is in the average soda, juices, and teas. Parents learned so much from the workshop that they wanted to know what else they could learn about. This conversation led to weekly nutrition workshops provided by ...
It is well-known that there is an undeniable link between education and health. Better educated people have longer life expectancies. For Latinos, barriers often exist between them and obtaining the best education possible, creating disparities between them and other races and ethnic groups. In Park City, Utah (16.43% Latino population), the local school district is taking extra measures to reach out to its growing Latino student base. A new, deliberate, concerted effort has been undertaken to reach out to the area’s growing Latino residents to “ensure all students in Park City schools receive a top-flight education.” The Park City School District hired Eric Esquivel last year to be the Latino Community Relations Specialist and head the new Latino Advocacy Team. The group has ...
A city that is planning to be the healthiest city in Texas is looking to change they way they look at food to make heart disease and diabetes a thing of the past. In Midland, Texas (17.6 % Latino) Midland Memorial Hospital (MMH) is one of only two hospitals in the country to be part of a special partnership with the creator of Plant Pure Nation, a documentary about the health benefits of being on a pure plant based diet. The hospital has seen dramatic results in its patients who are going on this diet in regards to their health, where many patients have deterred their need for surgery or medications, just by changing their diets. Dr. Gurru, a local physician at the hospital for over 15 years explained to local CBS 7 news, why the hospital is promoting this type of ...
The Latino population is growing across the country. They are currently the nation’s largest racial/ethnic minority group. Currently, 1 in 6 people today are of Latino ancestry; by 2035, that number is expected to be 1 in 4. In the state of Oregon, a new report shows that Latinos make up 12% of the state’s population, up from 8% in 2000. In many communities, those numbers are even larger. In the Umatilla School District in eastern Oregon, the number of Latino students currently is set at 65%, up from 42% in 2001. This rapid growth has accounted for some challenges for school district officials. This diverse and growing population calls for more updated methods of communication and outreach. “What families need at 42 percent Hispanic is far different than what they need at ...
Four Texas cities are in the top 10 nationwide cities for speed-related fatal crashes. At 40 miles per hour, 90% of people who are hit while walking do not survive, compared to only 10% at 20 mph. Latinos make up a larger portion of pedestrian fatalities than whites. Speed is the most important factor to regulate to improve pedestrian safety for Latinos and all pedestrians. On February 10, 2017, Texas State Representative Celia Israel called for passage of the Safe Neighborhood Streets Bill (HB 1368) to lower the default speed limit in urban areas by 5 miles per hour, from 30 mph to 25 mph. Decreasing the speed limit to 25 mph would increase a pedestrian's odds of surviving a collision by 43%, according to one source, and could reduce disparities in pedestrian ...
Achieving a quality education is one of the key, fundamental social determiners of health. People with higher education levels have better long-term health. More and more Latinos are enrolling in college. One city in the U.S. is looking to make access to higher education even more available than ever. Mayor Ed Lee of San Francisco (15.3% Latino population) recently announced that the city would make college education free “to all its residents” through the City College of San Francisco. The plan will go into effect in 2018 and was made possible due to a tax on properties sold for at least $5 million. “To California residents who are living in San Francisco, your community college is now free,” Mayor Ed Lee said in an interview with USA Today. In order to ...
