Bad news: Latino kids don't get enough physical activity. Good news: You can speak up now for active kids! Public comments are being sought for the second edition of the U.S. Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which sets vital activity recommendations for youth and adults. Add your public comment now! Not sure what to say? Use our sample comment:
Salud America! led a research review (http://www.communitycommons.org/groups/salud-america/big-bets/sa-active-spaces/) that found Latino children in underserved communities often have limited opportunities for physical activity. To be able to stay their healthiest, Latino children and their families need safe places to walk, roll, bike, swim, and play. Safe routes and shared or open use agreements are evidence-based ...
Stress is a leading cause for health concern for many Americans, including large numbers of Latinos. One of the greatest stressors plaguing Latino families has to do with finances. In an effort to alleviate financial issues, more and more people – including Latinos – are turning to payday loans, the Center for American Progress reports. According to the Pew Charitable Trust, nearly 12 million people each year turn to payday loans. These quick fix infusions of money regularly lead to the person receiving the loan going into hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars of additional debt furthering stress. According to the National Council of La Raza (NCLR), Latinos are more likely than the general population to use a payday loan. In order to reduce health disparities, it is ...
The human gut is a complex environment called a "microbiome." It is home to billions of bacteria and other microbes that help digest food. Research now shows that the gut might play a role in development of type 2 diabetes, which afflicts Latinos at a 66% higher rate than Whites. Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine have received a five-year, nearly $4 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study if altering the gut microbiomes of Latinos can impact the treatment and prevention of diabetes, Yahoo! News reports. The human gut microbiome represents a promising target for dietary changes and treatments aimed at combating type 2 diabetes—particularly in the Latino Latino population that disproportionately develops the disease, said Dr. Robert ...
Food insecurity remains one of the country’s most troubling conditions that plague many Latino families. Feeding America has determined that Latinos are more than twice as likely to be food insecure as Whites. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) established the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA) to support food and nutrition assistance programs giving aid to low-income households. More than 20% of all Latinos are food insecure as compared to just 10% of all Americans and nearly 25% of all Latino children live in a food-insecure household. In 2014, of the 92 counties with a majority Latino/Hispanic population, 18% were among the top 10 of counties with the highest rates of childhood food insecurity. In order to reduce health disparities, it is critical to ...
U.S. Latinos are especially vulnerable to health threats posed by climate change because of where they live, work and lack access to health care, according to a new report. The report, led by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), is an English and Spanish review of dozens of U.S. studies and reports on the health and economic impacts that Latinos face as a result of climate change. Results include: A majority live in California, Texas, Florida and New York, states that are among the most affected by extreme heat, air pollution, and flooding.
Latinos are heavily represented in crop and livestock production and construction, where they’re at elevated risk from climate-change-boosted extreme heat. They are three times more likely to die on the job from excessive heat ...
In March 2016, President Barack Obama launched the Opportunity Project calling for technologists, local governments, and community groups to harness technology and innovation to expand access to opportunity for all Americans (17.6% Latino). The result? Non-profits, companies, and students built 29 new digital tools-during an 8-week software development sprint-using federal and local data to help communities access and navigate information to empower communities to solve problems in their everyday lives, such as affordable housing, quality schools, and jobs. Latinos often face social, environmental, and political barriers when accessing everyday opportunities, like healthy schools and safe places to walk and play. Equitable opportunity and easy-to-navigate information are ...
Despite historic reductions reported by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), there are still over 42 million people in the country who are classified as food insecure. Of this number, over 13 million were children. Latinos, single-parent households, and households in rural communities are among those with the highest rates of food insecurity, the Huffington Post reports. The USDA defines food insecurity as those households that are “uncertain of having, or are unable to acquire enough food to meet the needs of all their members.” This situation can be due to a variety of reasons, including having insufficient money or resources to obtain food, such as a loss of income or medical hardships. Households with children are disproportionately affected by food ...
A new bill supporting urban agriculture in Michigan (5% Latino) will open up doors for new economic opportunities and create new ways to increase access to healthy foods. The Urban Agriculture Acto of 2016, announced by Michigan Senator Stabenow will allow more support for urban farmers with new financial tools, support for research, and allow for healthy food to be grown in community gardens and neighborhood farms. “Urban agriculture is steadily growing in cities and towns across Michigan and across our country, creating new economic opportunities and safer, healthier environments,” Senator Stabenow told the local press. “The Urban Agriculture Act will continue this momentum by helping urban farmers get started or expand their business, so they can sell more products and ...
When it comes to good health, every step counts-literally. New Jersey Healthy Communities Network in 2016 awarded $860,000 to the Sussex County YMCA and 43 other organizations to support environmental and policy change initiatives promoting healthy eating and active living, according to one source. As part of this grant, in Franklin, New Jersey (7.5% Latino), the Sussex County YMCA, Franklin Mayor Nicholas Giordano, and Walmart in Franklin partnered for the Healthy Parking Spots Initiative. They installed eight highly visible signs in the Walmart parking lot to tell shoppers how many steps to the store entrance. The Sussex County YMCA plans to expand the Healthy Parking Spots program to other retailers in the future. The purpose of Health Parking Spots program is to ...
