One company saw a 46% cost reduction for employees using wearable fitness tracking devices. According to a three-year study by Springbuk Inc., a healthcare analytics firm that tracks corporate wellness efforts, an actual return on investment has been calculated for an organization using wearable fitness tracking devices; employees using wearables for two years cost $1,292 less on average for a company. Additionally, the opportunity for cost savings could be the highest among less active individuals, individuals who tend to have higher rates of chronic disease and higher healthcare costs, like Latinos. Physical activity, such as walking, plays a critical role in health and wellness. Wearable fitness trackers have the potential to increase participation in physical activity, ...
When it comes to smoking, there's good and bad news for Latinos. The good: Researchers have long known that Latinos adults overall are less likely to smoke cigarettes than their white or black peers. The bad: New data now shows that one particular group of U.S. Latinos is more likely than all others to smoke. Nearly 29% of Puerto Ricans smoke cigarettes compared to 20% of Cuban Americans and 19% of Mexican Americans, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the American Heart Association reports. In Puerto Rico, smoking rates are much lower than in the U.S. Only 11% of all Puerto Ricans on the island smoke. Of the 5.4 million Puerto Ricans living stateside, many live in poor-quality housing and have low-income jobs. “Financial and ...
Halloween and Dia de los Muertos are a few days away. Thanksgiving and Christmas after. Yup, holiday season is upon us. That's why, as holiday parties and performances stack up on busy calendars, pediatrician Diana Bojorquez of Kaiser Permanente has five big tips to keep Latino adults and kids healthy and happy, and lower their risk of weight gain and associated health issues.
1. Get enough sleep.
It’s important for everyone to maintain a regular shut-eye schedule – sleep restores and repairs our bodies, not to mention plentiful sleep helps with weight loss and mental capacity, among other health benefits. Adults should get 7 to 8 hours of sleep, and children need more, with very young ones needing as much as 12 hours nightly.
2. Prevent illness.
There are little things, ...
Food insecurity remains one of the country’s most troubling conditions that plague many Latino families. Feeding America has determined that Latinos are more than twice as likely to be food insecure as Whites. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) established the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to support food and nutrition assistance programs giving aid to low-income households. More than 20% of all Latinos are food insecure as compared to just 10% of all Americans and nearly 25% of all Latino children live in a food-insecure household. In 2014, of the 92 counties with a majority Latino/Hispanic population, 18% were among the top 10 of counties with the highest rates of childhood food insecurity. In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to ...
San Antonio researchers are developing a bilingual, culturally relevant phone app and navigation services to help local breast cancer patients stick with their prescribed therapy. The one-year, $200,000 study, led by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio and funded by Susan G. Komen, will recruit 120 breast cancer patients at the Cancer Therapy and Research Center who are receiving endocrine hormonal therapy. Endocrine hormonal therapy is the most widely prescribed treatment for about three-fourths of all breast cancer cases. Many patients fail to take their medication as prescribed, and face higher risk of cancer recurrence. For the study, half the women will get access to the app and a patient navigator, who would help with ...
Young children often look to their parents for guidance in many things, but a new study now suggests that what a parent drinks in front of their child could make a major impact on their child's health. The study, reported on by The Guardian, looked at four-to-eight-year-olds whose parents drank sweet drinks. Kids whose parents drank fizzy drinks were 192% more likely to drink the same beverages as their parents than other kids their age, 115% more likely to drink fruit juices if their parents did, and 529% to drink smoothies if their parents drank smoothies. Sugary beverages like sodas, sports drinks, juices and other sweetened beverages have been linked to higher rates of diabetes, tooth decay, and other major health risks.Latino kids ages zero to five is higher than the overall ...
Combo meals at fast food joints are usually not a healthy option, often including a sugary beverage, one or two fried sides, and a high-calorie, low nutrient main entree, but recent studies now suggest that excluding sodas from kids meal may make the healthier the choice the easier choice for kids and parents on the go. According to research published recently in the American Journal of Public Health online, kids meals that include a sugary beverage as part of the meal, add up to 82 more calories on average for each kids meal. Also, parents who buy kids meals where the price includes a beverage usually opt to choose a high-calorie, sugar-sweetened beverage rather than a sugar-free drink or no beverage. Researchers suggest from the findings that restaurants should ungroup sodas ...
In March 2016, President Barack Obama launched the Opportunity Project calling for technologists, local governments, and community groups to harness technology and innovation to expand access to opportunity for all Americans (17.6% Latino). The result? Non-profits, companies, and students built 29 new digital tools-during an 8-week software development sprint-using federal and local data to help communities access and navigate information to empower communities to solve problems in their everyday lives, such as affordable housing, quality schools, and jobs. Latinos often face social, environmental, and political barriers when accessing everyday opportunities, like healthy schools and safe places to walk and play. Equitable opportunity and easy-to-navigate information are ...
The food you eat influences your cancer risk. The new Rx Cookbook: Cancer-Fighting Recipes, Restaurants & Markets aims to help people reduce their cancer risk with recipes based on an anti-inflammatory diet, developed by a chef and researchers at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Inflammation is the process your body uses to protect itself in response to infection or injury, adding nourishment or immune activity. When inflammation is chronic or unresolved, it can increase cancer risk. The Rx for Better Breast Health study, led by Drs. Amelie G. Ramirez, Michael Wargovich, and Rong Li, gave local breast cancer survivors cooking classes, counseling, and biomarker assessments to test the effects of an anti-inflammatory diet on preventing cancer ...
