The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) have issued their new dietary guidelines for 2020-2025. But they’re missing some important expert guidance: Reducing sugar and alcohol intake. The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, made up of 20 expert scientists, advised that the USDA and HHS reduce suggested sugar intake be lowered from 10% to 6% of daily calories and that daily alcohol intake for men be reduced from two to one drink a day. Thousands of people, including many Salud America! members, spoke up in agreement over the past few years, pushing for these and other strong nutritional guidelines. Despite expert advice that these sugar and alcohol restrictions would help fight obesity and other health disparities, the ...
As 2020 comes to an end, let’s take a look at health this year. In a year defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, parents have several concerns about the health and safety of their children. Overuse of social media/screen time (72%), bullying/cyberbullying (62%), and Internet safety (62%) were parents top overall concerns, according to the C.S. Mott Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health 2020. The survey asked a national sample of Latino, Black, and white parents to rate the top health concerns for U.S. children ages 0-18. “Overall, 8 of the Top 10 concerns most commonly rated by all parents as a ‘big problem’ are frequently associated with changes in lifestyle and may be related to efforts to control the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to the survey ...
Multiple COVID-19 vaccines are now authorized for emergency use, but uncertainty lies ahead. Several new studies show that older Americans, especially Latino and Black adults, are skeptical of the safety and efficacy of a COVID-19 vaccine. The results indicate mistrust between communities of color and public health officials, likely due to historical racism in health care and implicit bias. This mistrust concerns health care officials, as a vaccine is key to controlling the pandemic. “Effective vaccines will be crucial to getting this pandemic under control and preventing serious illness and death from COVID-19, especially among people over 50 and those with underlying health issues,” said Dr. Preeti Malani, the poll’s director and a specialist in geriatrics and ...
Every person is a unique individual. But if you look closely, you’ll see each person lives, learns, works, and plays within social and environmental conditions that influence their individual health and wealth. Some people face health barriers because of structural and systemic policies that curb their access to quality housing, transportation, medical care, food, jobs, schools, parks and other social determinants. Individuals have no choice when it comes to these structural health barriers. “Despite the tremendous, lifelong impact of our community conditions on our health, we focus most of our energy and resources on treating the outcomes of these problems but lack the essential urgency for attacking the root causes of poor health,” according to Brian C. Castrucci, Dr. ...
Lots of people will make a New Year's Resolution to live healthier in 2021. A healthier lifestyle has many benefits, from lower risk of health problems to improving mental health to spending less on expensive junk food or cigarettes. That is why our team at Salud America! works to promote news, stories, and action opportunities for health equity, where everyone has a fair, just opportunity to live their healthiest lives. Here are some unique New Year's resolutions.
1. Get More Physically Active...and Help Other People Do the Same!
The risk for obesity is a problem for many Latino children and adults. Physical activity can help. A New Year's resolution to increase your physical activity can improve health, quality of life, and reduce healthcare costs. Becoming more ...
Latino and Black people will suffer significant financial problems that could lead to an increase in homelessness if U.S. leaders fail to pass a COVID-19 relief bill this week, experts say. The spring 2020 stimulus package is set to expire at the end of the week, prompting Congress to debate over a $900 Billion pandemic relief bill that will give stimulus checks, pause evictions and student loans, and provide further unemployment insurance. Leaders hope to find a solution by the end of the week. If they don’t, Latinos and Black people could suffer the most, including a rise in homelessness. “The pandemic has hit communities of color harder than white Americans, and the population of homeless Black Americans and Latinos will only increase if there is no emergency federal ...
COVID-19 has been a force in our lives for the last 10 months. At this point, we know the standard procedures for safety precautions, like wearing a mask, keeping physical distance, and avoiding crowded public spaces. We’ve even started administering a vaccine to healthcare workers and the elderly, with the FDA emergency-use authorization of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine this past weekend. But despite all this, the pandemic still isn’t over. COVID-19 cases are spiking in many areas across the country as people move events indoors due to colder weather and are travelling more for the holidays. Not to mention pandemic fatigue. Another big safety concern is using “system justification” to ignore safety precautions. This happens when people rationalize unsafe behaviors ...
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of Salud America! and the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, discussed breast cancer in a livestream interview for the Alamo Breast Cancer Foundation at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium on Dec. 7, 2020. Watch the full interview (in Spanish). Ramirez has led breast cancer research among people of different backgrounds for over 20 years. She has studied patient navigation, genetic testing, clinical trials, quality of life, and survivorship issues. "Cancer prevention is a critical way to save people’s lives today," said Ramirez, who also hosts the biannual ASCL conference. "If we applied what we know works through prevention, we could reduce cancer by half."
Dr. Ramirez & Her Health Promotion ...
COVID-19 isn't only disproportionately infecting and killing Latinos and causing job loss and stress. The pandemic is also hurting Latino-owned businesses. These businesses, which already face bias and racism when it comes to securing financing, have fewer resources to weather the ongoing storm of the pandemic, according to a report by the Stanford Latino Entrepreneurship Initiative. In fact, 41% of Black-owned businesses, 32% of Latino-owned businesses, and 17% of White-owned businesses across the country shut down between February and April, according to a recent study by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, the CT Mirror reports. Thankfully, some new programs and initiatives aim to help businesses owned by Latinos and other people of color.
A $5 Billion Program to Support ...
