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Salud America! The RWJF Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children, which is led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, is observing National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and encouraging people to join us and get involved.
Earlier this year, a resolution was unanimously passed in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate designating September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, to bring attention to this growing epidemic.
Mexican-American children are more likely to be obese or overweight (38%) than children overall (31.9%), putting them at greater risk for chronic disease and shorter lifespans.
In repsonse, Salud America! formed in 2008 to increase the number of researchers, policy-makers and community leaders engaged in research to prevent obesity among Latino children. We have:
- Developed a network of more than 1,600 people interested in preventing Latino childhood obesity.
- Developed first National Latino Child Obesity Research Agenda.
- Funded, through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 20 pilot research projects working in and with Latino communities on a variety of nutrition, physical activity and policy issues.
- Developed the SaludToday Web site and blog to spread positive Latino health stories and messages.
And we’ve also produced an award-winning dramatic video that uses shocking statistics and actual child voices to document the multi-faceted epidemic of Latino childhood obesity, “Did You Know?/¿Sabía Usted?”
Watch the video in English here or below, or in Spanish.
Explore More:
Maternal & Child HealthBy The Numbers
20.7
percent
of Latino kids have obesity (compared to 11.7% of white kids)
