What does "active living" really mean? It means infusing physical activity into your daily life. We shouldn't have to depart from our normal routines to get the mental and physical benefits of moving more and sitting less, which are proven to improve your health and reduce your disease risk. But not all neighborhoods have safe sidewalks or parks, and not all schools and employers provide time or space to be active. This causes certain disparities in adverse health outcomes for certain populations. Let’s use #SaludTues on Tuesday, March 7, 2017, to tweet on how diverse partners can unite to make daily physical activity a reality where Latinos and all people live, learn, work, and play: WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “How to get Diverse Partners to Buy Into Physical ...
Communities and organizations play a role in developing policies and programs to support walking, biking, physical activity, and healthy communities. Whether for recreation, transportation, work, or household, physical activity improves mental and physical health and reduces risk for chronic disease. In order to reduce health disparities, it is important for communities to ensure that all residents have access to safe places to walk, bike, play and be active where they live, learn, work, play, pray, according to a Salud America! research review. Check out these seven case studies from Voices 4 Healthy Kids and Safe Routes to School National Partnership. They demonstrate successful state- and local-level campaigns to increase physical activity, through active transportation ...
Teachers in Betty Jane Elementary School in Akron, Ohio noticed kids were restless and not paying attention in class. Although testing is right around the corner, the school principal increased time for recess 15-20 minutes everyday. Schools play a huge role in helping kids reach their recommended daily physical activity, which boosts their mental and physical health, as well as their academic performance. Betty Jane Elementary also does a "Fit Five" brain break every morning, which is five minutes of physical activity in the classroom. Test scores improved from the fall to spring semester. The students' social skills are also thought to have improved given additional time in an unstructured setting. It is important that teachers and school officials understand that ...
Researchers from the University of California San Francisco recently found the risk of early rapid weight gain and obesity at age 2 years among infants that were exposed to antibiotics in the first 6 months of life. The researchers evaluated the type and frequency of antibiotic exposure at 6 months and 1 year of life and their descriptions of infant dietary intake. The cohort of women studied was 97% Latina and was recruited at prenatal clinics in 2012 and 2014. Recent studies suggest that there are harmful effects of antibiotics on the healthy gut in this developmental period before 12 months of age and can increase obesity risk, reported Childhood Obesity. Results indicated that antibiotics exposure, most commonly amoxicillin was greater among obese 2-year-olds (40%) compared ...
Achieving a quality education is one of the key, fundamental social determiners of health. People with higher education levels have better long-term health. More and more Latinos are enrolling in college. One city in the U.S. is looking to make access to higher education even more available than ever. Mayor Ed Lee of San Francisco (15.3% Latino population) recently announced that the city would make college education free “to all its residents” through the City College of San Francisco. The plan will go into effect in 2018 and was made possible due to a tax on properties sold for at least $5 million. “To California residents who are living in San Francisco, your community college is now free,” Mayor Ed Lee said in an interview with USA Today. In order to ...
Do the vending machines in your workplace, school, or city have calorie labels posted on food items? If not, they should, as the law passed by congress in March 2010 has now been in effect for over 5 million vending machines across the nation since December 1, 2016. Vending machines that are owned or operated by vendors with 20 or more machines should now officially offer consumers information to make the healthier choice the easier choice with calories labeled for each food and beverage item. A fact sheet on vending labeling developed by The Center for Science in the Public Interest and Voices for Healthy Kids, a joint initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the American Heart Association has detailed information about the requirements of the law. The fact ...
Fast-food is usually considered unhealthy, as it contains added salts, fats and sugars in most menu items, but how does the packaging of fast-food harm you? A new study funded by the National Science Foundation and the Silent Sprint institute showed how chemicals used in an array of fast food packaging can be dangerous to consumers. Health risks like cancer, thyroid disease, immune suppression, low birth weight and decreased fertility are associated with a chemical used in fast food packaging called PFASs (per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances) also known as PFCs, which are highly fluorinated chemicals. “These chemicals have been linked with numerous health problems, so it’s concerning that people are potentially exposed to them in food,” said Laurel Schaider, an ...
Malls are often partially blamed for the decay of walkable downtowns and linked with greater vehicle dependence, thus depriving cities of sustainable economic growth and safe places for kids and families to walk. A failed mall in Meriden, Connecticut (28.7% Latino) was transformed into the type of public space that boosts mental, physical, and emotional health, as well as the economy. A mall was built in a small town between Hartford and New Haven in 1970. Due to inadequate flood control-underground pipes blocked three brooks-during construction of the mall, flooding was an issue. In 1992 and 1996, flooding caused $26 million in damages to the downtown area. The City began the Harbor Brook Flood Control project which continues today. The vacancy rate of retailers the mall ...
Infant nutrition experts Norma Sifuentes and Diana Montano have promoted breastfeeding for 30 years combined in San Antonio, Texas (63.2% Latino). The two women, employees of the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District’s Women, Infants and Children (SAMHD-WIC) department, know that breastfeeding duration rates are low here. Less breastfeeding means more risk of obesity, diabetes, and lower IQs. So Sifuentes and Montano worked together to create a place—a haven—to help low-income Latina and all mothers access breastfeeding support and peer counseling.
Why isn't breastfeeding more prominent?
The benefits of breastfeeding are numerous. For babies, it reduces risk of infectious diseases, asthma, atopic dermatitis, childhood leukemia, diabetes, obesity and sudden infant ...
