Bridging the Gap, a Robert Wood Johnson funded national research program focused on understanding how policy and environmental factors affect the health of today's youth, has created the new interactive website about school snack foods and beverages State Laws for School Snack Foods and Beverages. The website covers laws in all fifty states over the course of seven school years and displays the information in colorful, easy to understand visuals. A map of a school is found on the website, which is interactive and allows users to click on each area where foods and beverages may be served at school. By clicking on an area the user gets an up to date summary on the current national status of laws for that topic, and is given links to more specific related issues. Bridging the Gap ...
Minority women, particularly Hispanic women, tend to be less aware of the increased risk of cardiovascular disease they face by being overweight or obese, according to a new study, Healio reports. The study, published in Journal of Women's Health, compared Hispanic and non-Hispanic white women based on their knowledge of heart disease risk factors and their perceptions of their own weight. Among the key findings, as reported by Healio: Hispanics (27%) were less likely than non-Hispanic whites (88%) to correctly identify the leading cause of death among women.
Hispanic women were less likely to know the symptoms of a myocardial infarction or stroke (59% vs. 81%).
Hispanics (69%) were less likely than non-Hispanic whites (83%) to correctly estimate weight. Specifically, in ...
U.S. Obesity leveled off since last year, the first time since 1998 that obesity rates have not worsened, according to the new United Health Foundation’s 2013 America’s Health Rankings, an annual comprehensive assessment of the nation’s health on a state-by state basis. Here are the key nationwide health trends from last year to this year: Smoking rates dropped from 21.2% of the adult population to 19.6%.
Physical inactivity dropped from 26.2% of the adult population to 22.9%.
Obesity remained about the same, about 27% of the adult population. At the state level, Hawaii has taken the title of healthiest state. The state scored well along most measures particularly for having low rates of uninsured individuals, high rates of childhood immunization, and low rates of ...
New research shows that kids with stressed parents are more likely to be obese. Hispanic mothers and fathers who were stressed saw the greatest impact on their children’s body mass index (BMI) compared to any other ethnicity in the new study, Voxxi reports. The study, led by St. Michael’s Hospital in Toronto, found that kids with high-stress parents have a 2% higher BMI than kids with low-stress parents. Researchers speculated that stressed parents were less likely concerned with healthy food options and exercise. According to the article:
Hispanic children, who made up more than half of the test subjects, were the most predominantly affected by the stress of their parents, a finding study authors feel may indicate Hispanic children are more likely to experience hypherphasia ...
Check out this excellent story by Eli Saslow of the Washington Post about how the food stamp diet is making people obese—but also leaving them hungry—in the largely Latino region of South Texas. Here's a little insight into the situation in Hidalgo County, Texas:
“El Futuro” is what some residents had begun calling the area, and here the future was unfolding in a cycle of cascading extremes:
Hidalgo County has one of the highest poverty rates in the nation . . . which has led almost 40 percent of residents to enroll in the food-stamp program . . . which means a widespread reliance on cheap, processed foods . . . which results in rates of diabetes and obesity that double the national average . . . which fuels the country’s highest per-capita spending on ...
Childhood obesity can lead to type 2 diabetes. A new website, notmykids.net, offers healthier recipes, tips on how to eat healthier, and ideas about how to help families be more physically active, to promote healthy lifestyle changes and prevent obesity. The site is produced by the California Department of Public Health’s Network for a Healthy California. Watch their video here or ...
Diabetes and obesity are the two most significant health threats in South Texas, according to a new report published online in Springer Open Books by the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) in the School of Medicine at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. The South Texas Health Status Review, originally self-published in 2008, was updated this year to study more than 35 health conditions and risk factors and how people in South Texas may be differently affected than those in the rest of Texas or nation. The Review, in addition to singling out diabetes and obesity, also indicates that the South Texas region faces higher rates than the rest of Texas or nation for: Cervical, liver, stomach and gallbladder cancers
Child and adolescent ...
When a city works together to make healthy changes, incredible things can happen quickly!
In just 2 years, obesity rates in San Antonio and Bexar County dropped from 35.1% in 2010 to 28.5% in 2012 on the heels of new health and fitness initiatives across the city, said San Antonio Mayor Julián Castro and local health officials at a press conference July 31, 2013.
The city now has a lower rate of obesity than the current Texas average (29.3%). "We now have evidence that our investments are paying off and positively impacting the health of our families and the overall quality of life in San Antonio," Castro said. Overall, 70,000 of adults in Bexar County moved into a healthier weight category from 2010 to 2012. Obesity rates also decline among local racial/ethnic minority ...
A recent study by the Children's Nutrition Research Center in Houston, Texas has discovered an interesting correlation between obesity and peanut consumption. According to their study, Mexican-American children who consume peanuts at least once a week are less likely to be overweight or obese. Currently, 39% of the Mexican-American children are classified as overweight or obese, compared to the 32% of all children in the United States- a fact that prompts studies like this, that explore what factors and foods affect childhood obesity. Studies have long shown the health benefits of nut consumption for adults, aiding in lower lipid levels, lower body mass indices, and reduced risk of coronary artery disease. This study looks specifically at how these benefits relate to children. It ...
