Archive for May, 2012

Infographic: When We Eat Matters

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1 year ago
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Check out this infographic from MassiveHealth:

LOL is Serious Business for People with Lupus

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1 year ago
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Launched in celebration of Lupus Awareness Month in May, Lupus Out Loud (LOL) is a new online movement and video developed to encourage people with lupus to speak “out loud” about their symptoms.

The movement was inspired by the results of a recent Roper survey that found 52% of lupus patients surveyed reported that they minimize their symptoms when speaking with their doctor.

Lupus facts:

  • Prevalence: About 90% of people diagnosed with lupus are women.
  • Prevalence: Lupus is more common in women of African American, Hispanic, Asian, and Native American descent than in Caucasian women.
  • Symptoms: Affect multiple parts of the body, range from mild to severe and may come and go over time.
  • Diagnosis: Challenging and may take years and a number of doctor visits to confirm.

Patients participated in the filming of LOL “Voices”, which highlights how to communicate more effectively with physicians, friends and family, and the benefits of talking frankly.

Infographic: The Growth of American Food Portions

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1 year ago
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Check out another neat infographic from MassiveHealth:

Infographic: Being Active in Nature Makes Kids Healthier

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1 year ago
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The National Environmental Education Foundation (NEEF) Health & Environment Program released an infographic, Children & Nature: Being Active in Nature Makes Kids Healthier, to show the many benefits of being active in nature for children, Active Living Research reports on its blog.

Some of the facts include:

    • Children living within a 1/2 mile of a park are more likely to have higher levels of physical activity.
    • Children who spend more time outdoors are less likely to be overweight by 27-41%.
    • Children have lost 25% of playtime and 50% of unstructured outdoor activity over recent decades.

Dramatic, Poetry-Infused PSAs Target Diabetes Among Young Minorities

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1 year ago
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Check out these cool youth-oriented videos on diabetes.

“The Corner,” a diabetes public service announcement performed by Jose Vadi:

“Death Recipe,” performed by Erica McMath Sheppard:

Infographic: Eating Habits Are Contagious

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1 year ago
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Check out this cool infographic from MassiveHealth:

Activity Breaks: A Promising Strategy for Keeping Children Physically Active at School

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1 year ago
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Only one in four U.S. public elementary schools offered students physical activity breaks apart from physical education class and recess during the 2009–11 school years, according to a new report.

The report, Activity Breaks: A Promising Strategy for Keeping Children Physically Active at School by the Bridging the Gap program, examined the percentage of schools that provide physical activity breaks, including breaks for stretching, yoga, and other movement during and between classroom activities, outside of P.E. class and recess. It also considered the type and total duration of breaks and explored whether the use of activity breaks varies by school characteristics or by provision of other opportunities for activity.

Although most schools do not offer activity breaks, evidence suggests that students and teachers may benefit from such breaks.

Students in schools that offered physical activity breaks received an average of almost 40 minutes per week in such breaks. Previous studies have shown that offering students activity breaks during classes increases their levels of physical activity. Studies also confirm that allocating school time for physical activity does not adversely affect students’ academic performance. Further, scheduling brief activity breaks could be a promising strategy for promoting physical activity during the school day without creating additional challenges for teachers, administrators and students.

How You Can Help Celebrate National Prevention Week May 21-26

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1 year ago
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The first-ever National Prevention Week (NPW), which will take place from May 20 to 26, 2012, is expected to bring communities together through local events that focus on the prevention of substance abuse and the promotion of mental, emotional, and behavioral well-being.

Find a local event in your community to raise awareness around these important behavioral health issues.

Each weekday of National Prevention Week, supported by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), will focus on a suggested behavioral health topic. Communities are encouraged to promote any of these themes in their events throughout the week:

  • Monday, May 21 – Prevention of Underage Drinking
  • Tuesday, May 22 – Prevention of Prescription Drug Abuse and Illicit Drug Use
  • Wednesday, May 23 – Prevention of Alcohol Abuse
  • Thursday, May 24 – Suicide Prevention
  • Friday, May 25 – Promotion of Mental, Emotional and Behavioral Well-Being

How else can you get involved during National Prevention Week 2012?

  • Commit to a healthy lifestyle free of substance abuse by taking the Prevention Pledge in Spanish, and download and print copies for others in your community.
  • Use fact sheets and information in the National Prevention Week Toolkit during and after National Prevention Week to help spread awareness about behavioral health issues. Additional Spanish-language resources are available as well.

Visit the National Prevention Week Web site for more information about how to get involved in this national observance, SAMHSA’s Strategic Initiatives and the National Prevention Strategy, and community and programmatic resources related to the five themes of National Prevention Week.

EVENT 5/23-26/12: New Insights into Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity

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1 year ago
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The 2012 International Society for Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity Annual Meeting, set for May 23-26, 2012, in Austin, Texas, is a unique opportunity to learn about behavioral nutrition and physical activity, interact with a broad constituency of leaders, and gain new insight into innovations in research, policy and practice.

Register here. See a list of key speakers and special features here.

Salud America! The RWJF Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children, is an event sponsor. Salud America! is led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

Salud America! Director Dr. Amelie Ramirez is chairing two sessions: Environmental Determinants of Nutrition in Latinos (featuring the menu labeling work of Salud America! grantee Dr. Carmen Nevarez) at 9:30 a.m. CST and Combating Latino Childhood Obesity (featuring IHPR researcher Dr. Deborah Parra-Medina) at 4:30 p.m. CST on May 24. Dr. Parra-Medina also is involved in several other sessions as well.

Salud America! grantee Dr. Nelda Mier is part of a group presenting on personal and cultural influences on healthy behaviors among older Hispanics with diabetes born in the U.S. and Mexico at 2:30 p.m. CST May 24.

Salud America! grantee Dr. Meizi He is part of groups presenting two posters (perception and media-related intervention strategies to address obesity among Hispanic communities; college students’ perception of initiating a farmers’ market on campus) at 12:30 p.m. May 25, and is presenting her work on faith-based childhood obesity prevention at 3 p.m. May 25.

Other sessions involve Salud America! Advisors Drs. Amy Yaroch (food systems as an avenue for health promotion at 10:30 a.m. CST May 24), Elva Arredondo (physical activity promotion and obesity prevention in Latin America at 11 a.m. CST May 25) and James Sallis (perceived neighborhood environmental attributes associated with adults’ transport-related walking and cycling at 9 a.m. May 26).

VIDEO: A California Farmers’ Market Delivers Fresh Food to Low-Income Neighborhoods

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1 year ago
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What does it take to make a farmers’ market viable in a low-income community?

The answer is complicated in a neighborhood like Watts, where some people still remember when 103rd Street, which now borders a lively Saturday Farmers Market, was nicknamed “Charcoal Alley” because of the fires that burned buildings to the ground during the Watts Riot of 1965, ReportingonHealth reports:

Many unhealthy conditions persist today that contributed to the powder keg atmosphere in South Los Angeles in the 1960s and again during the Rodney King Riot twenty years ago: high rates of unemployment, poverty and crime. Neighborhood schools continue to battle high dropout rates. Gang violence makes some people reluctant to visit unfamiliar territory — including the Farmers’ Market.

In a neighborhood park on the corner of 103rd and Central Aves., an effort is underway to take steps toward a healthier South L.A.— by providing an affordable and welcoming place to buy fresh produce and to get good advice on nutrition. We took our most recent group of California Endowment Health Journalism Fellows to the Watts Healthy Farmers’ Market to hear from market founders and vendors, who detailed the successes and challenges they’ve encountered since the market opened in July 2007.

Check out a video of the effort here.

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