According to researchers from the American University in Washington, Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) behaviors may be reduced with healthier living habits. Reducing screen time, drinking more water and making time for exercise were all recommendations by lead study author Kathleen Holton, who explained in a recent article that all kids who follow these healthy habits will benefit. Researchers studied and compared data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the American Academy of Pediatrics and the National Sleep Foundation, recommending children to exercise at least one hour a day, no more than two hours of screen time and reducing the consumption of sugary beverages. Latino kids are more likely to drink sugary beverages than their white peers, having ...
Zika virus. A $73 billion debt crisis. Puerto Rico has been in the news a lot lately, but what's the truth about health in this unincorporated U.S. territory with a 99% Hispanic population? Our friends at the Kaiser Family Foundation put together a fantastic 8-part Q&A about Puerto Rico, including several health indicators. Here are some key takeaways: People are older. The percentage of adults age 65 and older rose 22% from 2006-2014. People have worse health overall. About 35% of adults in Puerto Rico report fair or poor general health, compared to 18% in the U.S. They also have higher HIV rates. More people have health insurance. Less people are uninsured in Puerto Rico (6%) than in the U.S. (12%). But almost half are covered by Medicaid due to high poverty, ...
For those living with it or have members of their family that have the disease, understanding diabetes is important because it can cause serious, life-threatening complications if goes uncontrolled; however, diabetes is also a disease that allows people to live a “normal” life if it is managed well. The National Diabetes Statistics Report determined that nearly 30 million Americans have diabetes, which means that nearly every tenth person is affected by the disease. Studies have also proven that it is the seventh leading cause of death; those who do not die directly from diabetes may find that their life expectancy has been reduced by several years. According to several national surveys, Latinos are nearly twice as likely as non-Hispanic whites to be diagnosed with diabetes by a ...
Many cities are being more thoughtful in the amount of sugar that is in food, even purposing soda taxes, or sugary beverage warning labels to decrease sugars found in many convenient food and beverages options throughout stores and restaurants. According to reports from YouGov, some cities are more concerned with sugar consumption than others, noting reports on soda's and other sugar-filled products to add to health risks like obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay. The data shows the percent of people in each city that say they are concerned about sugar levels in the food they consume, with Denver at the highest percent concerned of sugar levels, 50%, and the lowest concerned city about sugar as Houston at 29%. The data also reported the cities that consume the highest amount of ...
Local governments across the country are realizing the importance of a multimodal transportation network to not only reduce traffic congestion, but to increase road safety, drive economic development, and improve health. "While local officials have historically seen trail networks primarily as a means of recreation, people are increasingly using them as ways to get to work, school, or wherever they need to go," Mayor Patrick Wojahn of College Park, Maryland wrote in a guest post on CitiesSpeak, the official blog of the National League of Cities. Hundreds of thousands of deaths per year could be prevented if residents met the minimum physical activity guideline recommendations of 30 minutes of physical activity per day for five days per week. Considering the growing Latino ...
A new program called Students for Nutrition and Exercise (SNaX) is helping obese students in Southern California have healthier weights for longer periods of time. According to a recent article, SNax combined school-wide environmental changes, encouragement fo healthy eating, healthy foods in cafeterias and peer-led education and marketing to help students change their body mass index (BMI). Over 1,368 students heights and weights were assessed before and after two years of the program in over five schools within the Los Angeles Unified School District where thirty percent of the students were classified as obese at the start of the program. Two years later students showed a "significant decline" in BMI, around nine pounds lower in body weight, according to the article. The ...
Raising Women’s Voices (RWV), a national initiative working to make sure women’s voices are heard and women’s concerns are addressed as policymakers put healthcare laws into action, has finished preparation of Mi Salud, Mi Voz: Una Guía Paso a Paso Para Mujeres Sobre Cómo Usar el Seguro Médico. This guide is a Spanish translation of many popular health literacy materials. RWV Regional Field Manager Cecilia Saenz Becerra worked with three translators—Tony Macias, Jen Hofer, and Lucy Acevedo to produce the Spanish-language guide. “Working with the team of translators, we used Spanish language that was precise and accurate, while also trying to make it accessible to diverse Spanish-language readers,” she explained. Mi Salud, Mi Voz: Una Guía Paso a Paso Para Mujeres ...
Needing a little research around sugary beverage taxes on soda, water, and snack foods? Learn about state-by-state bottle water tax rates, and soda tax rates from Bridging the Gaps 2014 research briefs and powerpoint maps that show the latest bottled water and soda taxes. Also in the brief, researchers show sales tax rates for each of the 50 states on bottled water, sodas and selected snack products sold through grocers and vending machines. Visit Bridging the Gap's page here to review all briefs and ...
The BUILD Initiative works with early childhood leaders within states and nationally to better prepare young children to thrive and succeed. They developed a Community Systems Development Toolkit tailored to the needs of community-based collaboration and organized in systems change theory to provide communities interested in or engaged in collaborative work with comprehensive resources that cover the full spectrum of community systems and coordination work Watch BUILD Initiatives new video that explains their work and why taking a systems building approach is key to helping young children thrive! Share this video and toolkit with parents, educators, doctors, social workers, park district coordinators, business leaders, and policymakers who support healthy environments for ...
