Latino kids have higher childhood obesity rates than their peers at nearly all age groups, according to a new report. For example, the newest data show Latino kids ages 10-17 have higher obesity rates (19%) than their white (11.8%) and Asian (7.3%) peers. They also have higher rates than the nation (15.3%), but lower rates than black kids (22.2%). The new stats are part of a bigger report, the State of Childhood Obesity: Helping All Children Grow up Healthy from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). It highlights big data on childhood obesity, with policies and stories to drive change. “These new data show that this challenge touches the lives of far too many children in this country, and that Black and Hispanic youth are still at greater risk than their White and Asian ...
The vast majority of major baby foods brands contain toxic heavy metals, recent data show. Of the 168 popular brands tested, 95% contained lead, 73% contained arsenic, 75% contained cadmium, and 32% contained mercury, finds Healthy Babies Bright Futures' newly published report. These numbers should be troubling, as even low levels of these kinds of toxins can cause harm as they build up, according to Dr. Philip Landrigan, pediatrician and Director of the Program in Global Public Health and the Common Good in the Schiller Institute for Integrated Science and Society at Boston College. "Arsenic, lead, and other heavy metals are known causes of neurodevelopmental harm," Landrigan said. "Low-level exposures add up, and exposures in early life are especially dangerous. The cumulative ...
Inequities in pay follow women from job to job. Employers that request an applicant’s salary history─a long-time standard practice to set compensation for new-hires─perpetuate these gender pay inequities. “Relying on salary history allows a new employer to continue underpaying a woman who faced a pay gap and lost wages due to bias or discrimination at a previous job,” according to a 2018 report from the American Association of University Women (AAUW). One method to close the gender pay gap is to ban employers from relying on previous or current salary information when setting pay for new employees. Closing the gender pay gap is good for physical, mental and social health. However, less than half of states have such bans. Find out which places have banned salary ...
Down syndrome affects all race and ethnicity groups, with 1 in 700 U.S. babies born with Down syndrome every year and 1 in 1,200 children and adults currently living with this condition, according to federal data. But did you know that Latinos have an unusually higher risk for Down syndrome? For instance, in Texas, Latinos had the highest number of Down Syndrome births when compared to other race/ethnicity groups. October is Down Syndrome Awareness month. This is a good time to discuss Down syndrome knowledge, disparities, and support for Latino families.
What Is the Risk of Down Syndrome for Latinos?
Down syndrome is a genetic disorder where a person has three copies of chromosome 21 instead of two. However, the exact cause is unknown. "In a process called non-disjunction, ...
Bullying is a fact of life for many kids, especially those of color. 24.7% of African-American students and 17.2% of Latino students report being bullied at school. Race-related bullying is significantly associated with negative emotional and physical health effects, according to a Salud America! research review. On the plus side, many resources—including many in Spanish—can help prevent or address bullying.
Website: StopBullying.Gov En Español
StopBullying.gov, an initiative of the US Department of Education's Office of Safe and Healthy Students, has a Spanish-language website. Like the English-language version, the site provides teachers, parents and community leaders with the resources they need to prevent bullying. It also contains research and best practices on ...
Although violent crimes on the Los Angeles County (48.6% Latino) Metropolitan Transit Authority (Metro) are rare, riders complain the high number homeless individuals makes them feel unsafe. In a 2016 survey, 29% of former riders told Metro they stopped taking transit because they felt unsafe, according to the Los Angeles Times. The next year, Metro increased spending on law enforcement and security by 37%. However, police presence alone is not enough to address perceptions of safety. “We cannot and should not arrest our way out of the problem,” said Jennifer Loew, Metro’s director of special projects. That’s why Metro paired law enforcement officers with social workers as part of their homeless outreach program.
Transit Agencies and Homelessness
Transit systems ...
Nine U.S. states had adult obesity rates above 35% in 2018, up from seven states at that level in 2017, an historic level of obesity in the U.S., according to the new State of Obesity report by Trust for America's Health. In 2012, no state had obesity rates over 35%. This alarming rise is even worse among Latinos. Data indicate that 47% of Latino adults and 25.8% of Latino children had obesity—the highest combined obesity rate among all racial/ethnic groups. "These latest data shout that our national obesity crisis is getting worse,” said John Auerbach of Trust for America's Health. “They tell us that almost 50 years into the upward curve of obesity rates we haven’t yet found the right mix of programs to stop the epidemic."
Alarming Rise in Obesity Rates
The State of ...
By Jennifer Thomas
San Antonio, Texas, Cancer Survivor I had just turned 39 when I reached over my shoulder to turn off a lamp, and in so doing, felt a funny “spot” on my breast. Having no history of cancer in my family, I can’t say that was my first thought. But since it WAS October—Breast Cancer Awareness Month—I did call my husband into the living room to see if he felt it as well. This was late January of 2006. Despite being told by everyone the spot was “probably nothing,” I got it checked out and was diagnosed with Stage 1 IDC, fast-growing (grade 3) by the first week of February. I don’t remember getting a second opinion, doing any research, or even asking what my options were. I just know that a week after being diagnosed, I was in surgery ...
An undercount of Latinos in the 2020 Census could cost 37 states hundreds of millions in federal funding. For example, a Latino undercount could cost Texas up to $14 billion of federal money for housing, child and foster care, and other family aid programs, according to a new brief from Child Trends. “The impact of any Census undercount will be felt in state budgets and communities throughout the country,” according to the Child Trends report. “At stake is federal funding for programs that help states improve the well-being of their residents, and their children especially.”
Why Is a Latino Undercount Expected?
Historically, the Census has undercounted Latinos. For the 2020 Census, even without a citizenship question, officials expect a 3% or more undercount of Latinos, ...
