Are you wearing green? Today is St. Patrick’s Day most commonly known among Latinos as the Irish 5 de Mayo. Here are three ways you can celebrate in a healthy way:
1. Drink a Licuado Verde (Green Smoothie)
This green smoothie packs vitamins and proteins that will give you an energy boost! Watch San Antonio-based celebrity Chef Johnny Hernandez demonstrate the recipe. https://youtu.be/4SzD8YVkxp4
2. Jog
Lace up your tennis shoes and go for an evening jog around your neighborhood. A 20-minute jog will give you the right amount of boost to get you through your day like a champ!
3. Dance
Play your favorite salsa/merengue tunes. Research has shown that dancing not only is good for your physical health but also for your mental health. Happy St. Patrick’s ...
This is part of our Latina Mom and Baby Health: A Research Review »
Benefits of breastfeeding
The benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and baby are well established in the literature, and yet breastfeeding rates in the United States remain below desired levels.38,39 According to recommendations from The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) and The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG), mothers should exclusively breastfeed their infants for at least the first 6 months of life, with continuation for 1 year or longer. In addition, breastfeeding infants should not receive supplemental formula unless advised by a health care professional.39,40 As part of the Healthy People 2020 initiative, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services outlined several ...
This is part of our Food and Latino Kids: A Research Review » Increased access to healthy foods in low-income neighborhoods does not necessarily ensure that it will lead to improvements in residents’ diets.
Some studies some no affect on dietary improvement
Two studies of low-income neighborhoods that have reported findings without sub-analyses have shown that increased access to healthy foods does not affect diet quality in low-income neighborhoods. A national study using longitudinal data observed that proximity to a supermarket was not related to diet quality in low-income young to middle-aged adult populations.27 In addition, the first controlled (one intervention neighborhood and one comparison neighborhood), longitudinal study of a PFFFI-funded project found that exposure ...
This is part of our Food and Latino Kids: A Research Review »
Many people face financial challenges to healthy eating
Focus groups of Latino mothers have revealed that the most significant barrier to establishing healthy eating habits for their children is financial constraint.82 Many Latino families experience intermittent or chronic food insecurity; however, food is usually given the highest priority. Because of financial constraints, lower-income Latino mothers’ food purchases are driven almost exclusively by price.83 Mothers have expressed that they commonly travel to several different locations to purchase specific items at the lowest prices available.82 These practices demonstrate that Latino mothers’ desire to provide healthy meals for their families and protect ...
Latinos tend live in neighborhoods with few supermarkets and other sources of healthy, affordable food options, but several promising solutions are emerging, according to a new package of research from Salud America!, a national network for childhood obesity prevention and communication funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Salud America!’s Better Food in the Neighborhood research package includes an in-depth review of the latest science on the U.S. food environment and recommendations based on that research. It also includes an issue brief, animated video, and infographics. The research shows that Latino neighborhoods have one-third as many supermarkets as non-Latino ones, corner stores with few healthy options, and more marketing of unhealthy foods. Promising ways to ...
Bishop Jose Torres, a father of three girls who plays volleyball in his spare time, was concerned about the lack of health awareness among his congregation in Severn, a suburb of Annapolis, MD. He wanted to do something about it. So with a few dedicated partners, he created a Health Festival for his community. For over five years, the Health Festival has provided much-needed health information and services to hundreds in the community and has even saved a few lives.
Concern Over a Community's Health
Located in Severn, a suburb of the city of Annapolis, MD (16.8% Latino), the Heritage Community Church has a sizeable Latino population. Bishop Jose Torres and the rest of the Church leadership were concerned about the health and health literacy of their congregation ...
A farmer's market is a lot of fun—for parents only, usually. Kids often just tag along, glumly, as their parents busily shop for fresh fruits and vegetables. That is, until the Market Sprouts Kids Club. Kaely Summers and other farmer's market managers in Oregon teamed up to create the Market Sprouts Kids Club program to teach local kids who come to the market about farming, fresh produce, and healthy eating. Now kids ages 5-12 who visit local markets, like Summers' Forest Grove Farmer's Market in Forest Grove, Ore., (23.1% Latino), do fun, interactive activities alongside farmers and volunteers who teach about healthier foods and healthier choices!
Farmer's Markets and Children in Oregon
Officials with Adelante Mujeres, a non-profit organization fin Forest Grove, have been ...
In a Florida school district that didn’t provide health classes in high schools, a health educator, Risa Berrin, and her sister, Valerie Berrin, worked together to raise the bar on health education with their Health Information Project (HIP). HIP is a peer-to-peer program that allows students to teach each other about health problems, prevention, and how to access to local health resources toward reducing obesity and other issues.
The Need for Health Education in Schools
Awareness: Risa Berrin was a health reporter for her college newspaper when she first started seeing how teens were unaware or misinformed about health and prevention. She became part of the solution, starting a career as a certified human growth and reproductive health educator. While teaching law classes at ...
In El Paso, Texas, kids are priority No. 1 thanks to a community-school partnership that prioritizes physical activity and health for children. The El Paso Independent School District (EPISD) created and its Get HIP Now program to provide elementary- and middle-school students with integrated school health programming, alongside before- and after-school physical activity.
Physical Inactivity in Schools
Awareness: As early as 2005, leaders at the El Paso Independent School District (EPISD), an 83% Latino school district in El Paso, Texas, were becoming aware of student obesity issues. It seemed obvious that students could benefit from improvements to physical activity programing, according to John Adams, a P.E. instructor at the time who would eventually become the EPISD ...
