Healthy food is important to health for all people. Yet fast food and corner stores outnumber supermarkets and farmers’ markets in many neighborhoods, including Latino neighborhoods. This results in overconsumption of unhealthy foods, and more risk of obesity. Fortunately, healthy food financing initiatives can boost access to healthy, affordable foods. This happens when supermarkets and farmers’ markets get certain incentives to develop their businesses in certain areas. Groups also can help corner stores to expand their inventory of healthy, affordable foods. Also, more marketing of healthy foods, and less of junk foods, can help spur desirability. See the Full Research Review with references (PDF)
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Many people, including Latinos, live in areas with poor access to supermarkets and easy access to corner stores, also called tiendas or bodegas. Research indicates that when corner stores offer a wider selection of healthy foods and promote them, people are more likely to buy them and eat healthier, according to our new infographic on tiendas/bodegas, which is part of the new Salud America! Better Food in the Neighborhood research package on the latest science and recommendations on healthy food options. Share this infographic ...
Did you know Latino neighborhoods have one-third as many supermarkets as non-Latino ones? Research indicates that adding supermarkets improves access to healthy food and boosts economic vitality in areas where families experience financial hardships, according to our new infographic on supermarkets, which is part of the new Salud America! Better Food in the Neighborhood research package on the latest science and recommendations on healthy food options for families. Also, kids’ body weight outcomes improved when the number of chain supermarkets in their neighborhood increased. Share this infographic ...
Latinos tend live in neighborhoods with few supermarkets and other sources of healthy, affordable food options, but several promising solutions are emerging, according to a new package of research from Salud America!, a national network for childhood obesity prevention and communication funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Salud America!’s Better Food in the Neighborhood research package includes an in-depth review of the latest science on the U.S. food environment and recommendations based on that research. It also includes an issue brief, animated video, and infographics. The research shows that Latino neighborhoods have one-third as many supermarkets as non-Latino ones, corner stores with few healthy options, and more marketing of unhealthy foods. Promising ways to ...
It’s the time of the year when we’re feeling grateful for being healthy, having a loving family and a job, but do you know gratitude can also keep your heart healthy? A study led by Paul Mills, professor of family medicine and public health at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine recruited 186 men and women who suffered from heart disease “either through years of sustained high blood pressure or as a result of a heart attack or even an infection of the heart itself.” During the study, Mills asked each participant to fill out a questionnaire to rate how grateful they were for the people, places or things in their lives. “We found that more gratitude in these patients was associated with better mood, better sleep, less fatigue and lower levels of ...
A vaccine can't prevent disease unless people use it. In Texas, a largely Latino state, only 39% of girls and 15% of boys ages 13-17 complete the three-dose HPV vaccine for the human papillomavirus (HPV), a common sexually transmitted infection that can cause cervical cancer and other problems. Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina has a plan to change that. Parra-Medina, a health researcher at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, received a new $1.2 million grant from the Cancer Prevention and Research Institute of Texas to develop an professional education and community outreach program to increase awareness and uptake of the HPV vaccine among children in South Texas. She and her team will train local health care providers to deliver accurate HPV vaccine ...
Obesity is on the rise in the United States, including among Latinos, according to a new CDC study, CBS News reports. The results come as a surprise after a decade of public-awareness campaigns and efforts to get Americans to watch their weight. According to the report by the CDC, the obesity rate of U.S. adults climbed to 38% from 32%, almost a decade ago. "This is a striking finding and suggests that a situation that was thought to be stable is getting worse", Dr. William Dietz, an obesity expert at George Washington University, told CBS News. But some experts warn that the study done by the CDC “may not have been representative of the nation as a whole.” The study was based on surveys conducted in 2013-2014 and found the rate of obesity to be higher among American women ...
What’s the most common sexually transmitted infection? What can cause genital warts or cervical, penis, and anus cancer? What can be prevented with a simple vaccine? Answer: HPV (the human papillomavirus). That’s why a new program is educating people about HPV and helping them make and remember HPV vaccination appointments for girls and boys ages 11-17 in South Texas. The program, called Entre Familia, uses promotoras—trained community health workers—to deliver education and services, led by researchers at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at UT Health San Antonio in partnership with Nuestra Clínica del Valle in South Texas and the Colonias Program at Texas A&M University. “Entre Familia raises awareness about the importance of the HPV vaccine ...
Yoga and regular gym workouts are both effective, according to a new study, Ivanhoe reports. The study led by Dr. Daniel Hughes, an exercise researcher at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, surprised all participants who expected one of the workouts to emerge as more effective. “I think I was expecting that one would be stronger than the other, and probably thinking that yoga would be the end all be all,” Michelle Hart, a study participant, told Ivanhoe. For the study, one group was asked to do yoga, a second group to do regular gym workouts, and a third group to just stay active. During the study, all participants exercised three hours a week and lost the same amount of body fat, “about four percent.” “All three arms were just ...
