In partnership with the National Foundation on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition and in honor of the President's Council on Fitness, Sports & Nutrition 60th Anniversary, the Council and Foundation released a mobile-ready website and #0to60 app to inspire a healthier lifestyle for individuals of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.. There are countless benefits of living a healthy lifestyle. Physically active adults are more productive, confident, and able to sleep better. Moreover, when students are active it can lead to higher test scores, improved attendance, increased focus, lower rates of childhood obesity, and create healthy habits that carry into adulthood. Read about the important distinction between physical activity and exercise here and about the urgency in fighting ...
Students in the Park City School District (20.7% Latino) will now be offered fresh school meals made without unneeded and unhealthy ingredients. The school has decided to take out five ingredients including, trans-fat, high-fructose syrup, monosodium glutamate (MSG), sucralose and sulfites. Since 2012, a non-profit group called EATS Park City has been advocating for healthier school meals for the district, giving out samples to elementary students for taste test trials, encouraging the district to move away from processed foods, and more to fresh, made-from-scratch meals. “It’s been a long time coming, but it takes a while to gain that support in the community and to gain that support with the school district and the school board. I can’t tell you how pleased we are with ...
Pediatrician Vanessa Salcedo, M. D. learned early through her career the dangerous health risks linked to sugary beverages, like heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. Many Latinos in New Yorks Bronx area (17.6%), deal with health problems like high blood pressure, obesity, high cholesterol, and diabetes. While in residency Salcedo choose to stop drinking sugary beverages like soda to be an example to her patients, and now the clinic has become a sugary drinks-free zone. Salcedo explained to the American Heart Association, that the patients rely on her and the other doctors, and they all wanted to be role models in creating a healthy place, free of sugary drinks. The doctors at Union Community Heath Center's six clinics discuss sugar content in drinks to their patients, ...
According to a new study from the Columbia University Medical Center, most Americans – including a majority of Latinos – who screen positive for depression don’t receive treatment for it. Also, many who do receive treatment, don’t appear to have the disorder. “Over the last several years there has been an increase in prescription of antidepressants,” said Mark Olfson, lead author of the study. “In that context, many people assumed that undertreatment of depression is no longer a common problem.” Olfson found the opposite was true after analyzing the data from the Medical Expenditure Panel Surveys in 2012 and 2013. Asked if they had been screened for adults, 8.4% of the more than 46,000 adults answered in ways suggested they had depression. Only 28.7% who appeared ...
Want a healthy break at school? Why not bite into fresh fruit. Students in some Arizona schools are now enjoying the fresh apples, cantaloupes, and other fruits and vegetables offered as part of the Dept. of Agriculture's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable program, started back in 2002. The program has opened in 94 schools in Arizona with $3.7 million dollars allocated in helping to reimburse school's healthy snack purchases, that can then be disbursed to students throughout the day during class times. Casa Grande Elementary School District (65.7% Latino) is thrilled to enjoy the fresh produce in class, like string beans, and exotic star fruit. The schools that have applied for the program are hoping to encourage students to increase healthier snacking selections even when outside ...
Guillermina Rice, like many Latina moms, cares about her 13-year-old son, Aero's health. After helping watch over kids during recess, Rice realized that some kids were being discriminated by other kids because of their weight, she decided to do something. Rice, coming from a family with a history of Diabetes, knows the importance of healthy eating and drinking water. She volunteered with the Central Elementary Schools staff to draft a food and beverage policy for birthday celebrations at school, encouraging parents to bring healthy options, like fruit and ditch the soda, candy, and cakes that are usually served at school celebrations. But she didn't stop there. After working with California Project LEAN, Rice learned about the large amounts of sugar that are in leading soda ...
According to the National Vital Statistics System, more people died from cancer than heart disease in 22 states during 2014. This is a substantial uptick from 2002, when only two states (Alaska and Minnesota) had more cancer deaths than heart disease-related ones. “This might be due to obesity, which is a risk factor for both heart disease and cancer,” explained Dr. Paolo Boffetta, a professor of environmental medicine and public health at Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, who was not involved in the study. “Cancer deaths gaining on deaths related to heart disease might be explained by the fact that treatment for cancer is more complex, and we are not able to treat cancer as effectively as cardiovascular disease yet.” For Latinos, cancer is already the leading cause ...
Fresh fruits and plenty of vegetable options will now be offered in Duncan Public Schools in Stephens County, Oklahoma (7.3% Latino) starting this school year, according to a local article. The school is planning to continue following federal requirements on the menus but also plans to join a co-op of other school districts that will help the school save money and have greater purchasing power for healthier choices. Children eat almost half of their daily calories at school, so it is important to offer healthier options like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains.
The school will allow children to not only have a fresh salad bar daily but also offer students two to three choices of vegetables and fresh fruits.
Researchers from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention have ...
On August 29, 2016, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) released an open data set containing detailed, anonymized information about nationwide traffic fatalities. This release is not business as usual. The DOT is requesting public input to help them understand what the data are revealing in communities across the country. Some private sector firms and academic institutions are already exploring the data by combining new data with their own, hosting hackathons, and launching new analytical platforms, such as StreetLight Data, CARTO, Mapbox, and Waze. Streets and sidewalks are not created equally in all neighborhoods. Inequities in transportation systems act as a barrier to health and economic opportunity, particularly in Latino communities, who rely more on public ...
