Salud America! Targets Latino Child Obesity During Nat’l Childhood Obesity Awareness Month
Sep 2nd
Salud America! The RWJF Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children, which is led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, is observing National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and encouraging people to join us and get involved.
Earlier this year, a resolution was unanimously passed in both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate designating September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, to bring attention to this growing epidemic.
Mexican-American children are more likely to be obese or overweight (38%) than children overall (31.9%), putting them at greater risk for chronic disease and shorter lifespans.
In repsonse, Salud America! formed in 2008 to increase the number of researchers, policy-makers and community leaders engaged in research to prevent obesity among Latino children. We have:
- Developed a network of more than 1,600 people interested in preventing Latino childhood obesity.
- Developed first National Latino Child Obesity Research Agenda.
- Funded, through the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, 20 pilot research projects working in and with Latino communities on a variety of nutrition, physical activity and policy issues.
- Developed the SaludToday Web site and blog to spread positive Latino health stories and messages.
And we’ve also produced an award-winning dramatic video that uses shocking statistics and actual child voices to document the multi-faceted epidemic of Latino childhood obesity, “Did You Know?/¿Sabía Usted?”
Roundup: September Obesity Conferences
Sep 2nd
Check out these upcoming events focused on childhood obesity issues:
Webinars on Obesity
The Yale Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity is launching a Webinar series on obesity issues from September 15 to December 8, 2010.
Southern Obesity Summit
The 4th Annual Southern Obesity Summit, set for September 12-14, 2010, in Atlanta, will launch the Southern Strategy, a new way to connect agencies and community based organizations who are implementing the First Lady’s Let’s Move goals.
National Food Policy Conferences
The 33rd National Food Policy Conference, set for September 22-23, 2010, in Washington, D.C., will focus on nutrition and health and explore issues like food labeling.
Obesity Congress
The World Congress 5th Annual Obesity Congress is set for September 28-30, 2010, in Washington, D.C.
Roundup: Funding Opportunities in Child Obesity Research
Sep 1st
Check out the latest funding opportunities in Latino childhood obesity research:
Healthy Eating Research Rapid Response Grants
Healthy Eating Research, an RWJF national program, is seeking grant proposals for studies examining policy and environmental strategies that have a strong potential to promote healthy eating among children to prevent obesity, especially among low-income and racial/ethnic populations. Concept papers are due Sept. 1.
NIH Pioneer and New Innovator Awards
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) seeks proposals for 2011 NIH Director’s Pioneer Awards and New Innovator Awards, which support scientists who take innovative, high-impact approaches to major challenges in biomedical or behavioral research. application deadlines are Sept. 13 and Sept. 20, 2010.
Ladder to Leadership
Ladder to Leadership: Developing the Next Generation of Community Health Leaders seeks to help local, early- to mid-career professionals serving vulnerable populations develop leadership skills. The next opening, for Kansas City, Mo., is scheduled for Fall 2010.
Active Living Research Grants
Active Living Research, an RWJF national program, is seeking proposals for studies of emerging or anticipated changes in physical activity-related policies or environments. Grants are awarded on a rolling basis. Letters of intent may be submitted until July 1, 2011.
Grant Listings
Several other entities compile a variety of obesity-related research funding opportunities that are currently seeking applications:
NIH Obesity Grants
NCCOR Obesity Grants
Live Smart Texas
Workshop: The Latest in Metastatic Breast Cancer Care & Treatment
Sep 1st
CancerCare, in partnership with Redes En Acción, which is led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, will offer a free Connect Education Workshop, Update on Metastatic Breast Cancer: What’s New?, from 1:30 to 2:30 p.m. EST on Oct. 14, 2010.
In the tele-workshop, expert speakers will discuss updates on metastatic breast cancer, the current standard of care and new treatment approaches, how clinical research improves care, diagnostic testing and technologies, communicating with your health care team, and more.
Other upcoming CancerCare workshops include: The Importance of Clinical Trials, Sept. 24; The Importance of Taking Your Pills on Schedule, Oct. 5; Update on the Treatment of Liver Cancer, Nov. 9.
The breast cancer workshop is free and no phone charges apply.
To register, visit the CancerCare Web site.
NCLR Launches 12-Part Series to Address Latino Nutrition
Aug 31st
The National Council of La Raza (NCLR), the largest national Latino civil rights and advocacy organization in the U.S., has introduced the third edition of its “Profiles of Latino Health” series, titled Profiles of Latino Health: A Closer Look at Child Nutrition.
The 12-part weekly series examines critical factors affecting Latino children’s nutrition, including trends in hunger and obesity, as well as family access to healthy foods and other resources that play important roles in children’s nutritional outcomes.
“Earlier this month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced that obesity rates—already alarmingly high—have increased yet again. The nation is also experiencing unprecedented rates of hunger, particularly in the wake of an economic crisis that has devastated many American families,” said Janet Murguía, NCLR President and CEO. “America’s children are suffering as a result. As U.S. leaders combat the crises of childhood hunger and obesity, NCLR hopes to inform the national discussion by providing insight into trends within the Latino community.”
Hispanic children currently make up more than one in five children in the U.S. and are expected to represent nearly one in three children by 2030. They are also the hungriest in America—composing almost 40% of the one million children living in hunger. Ironically, they have one of the highest risks of obesity; researchers estimate that nearly two-fifths (38.5%) of Latino children ages two to 19 were overweight or obese in 2008.
Issue 1 of the new series deals with Latino child hunger and family food insecurity.
For more details on NCLR’s series, go here.
IHPR’s Dr. Ramirez Named to Prestigious ‘Council of Experts’ on Cancer Prevention
Aug 27th
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez
Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez, director of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday, has been named to a prestigious Council of Experts to help achieve the goals of the National Call to Action on Cancer Prevention and Survivorship.
The National Call to Action (NCTA) was unveiled in 2008 by cyclist and cancer prevention activist Lance Armstrong and four former U.S. Surgeon Generals—Drs. Antonia C. Novello, Joycelyn Elders, David Satcher and Richard H. Carmona—to outline a battle plan in the new war on cancer. The NCTA also serves as a roadmap for cancer survivors, health care professionals, policymakers, employers, educators, insurers, and scientists to identify the best strategies for cancer prevention and survivorship and make both cancer prevention and survivorship a national priority.
The NCTA Council of Experts will provide strategic guidance to the NCTA Community, a collective of individuals and organizations who share the mission of advancing the NCTA by conducting projects focused on improving the health and well-being of the whole person at all stages along the cancer continuum.
“I very honored and excited to join this Council of Experts,” said Dr. Ramirez, who also is co-director of the Cancer Prevention and Population Science research program at the Cancer Therapy and Research Center (CTRC), the UT Health Science Center’s National Cancer Institute-designated Cancer Center. “I believe this council will be able to make great strides in preventing cancer and increasing access to screening, diagnosis, treatment and survivorship resources throughout the cancer continuum.”
Read more about the council here.
Just the Facts: Obesity Among Latino Youths
Aug 25th
Leadership for Healthy Communities, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, has updated its Overweight and Obesity Among Latino Youths fact sheets, which highlights the prevalence, consequences and causes of overweight and obesity among Latino youths, in both English and Spanish.
While childhood obesity has increased significantly throughout the general population, children from minority communities have been disproportionately affected.
Sharply higher rates of overweight and obesity have occurred among Latino, African-American and Native American children and adolescents.
We at SaludToday hope you read the fact sheet and get motivated to do something about it.
Latinos, Get More Obesity News in Spanish from RWJF
Aug 20th
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has launched its Multicultural Newsroom, a dynamic online resource that aims to provide extensive health-related information for anyone involved in improving the health and health care of African-Americans and Latinos in the U.S.
Through a multicultural lens and bilingual messaging, the site presents information, images and videos on the RWJF work under way in African-American and Latino communities across the country, such as:
- Profiles of key leaders, programs and projects that RWJF supports in these communities
- RWJF news releases, fact sheets and research findings that are of particular relevance to African-Americans and Latinos.
- Speeches, commentary and discussion by RWJF leaders and experts on issues such as disparities in health care, reversing the childhood obesity epidemic and the impact of social factors on health.
We encourage you to give www.rwjf.org/multicultural a look and listen. It’s an important resource for anyone involved in improving the health and health care of African-Americans and Latinos in the U.S.
Texans, You Can Weigh in on Obesity-Reduction Efforts
Aug 19th
Texas adults are the 15th-most obese in the nation and 40% of Texas children are overweight or obese, which can lead to serious health concerns and increased health care costs.
Obesity is a multi-faceted problem and will require a comprehensive, collaborative systems change approach involving families, workplaces, schools, communities, organizations, business and industry, academic institutions, and local and state governments.
Salud America! The RWJF Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children is among the initiatives in the state that are addressing the burden of obesity.
CPRIT invites comments on the following questions:
- Given current efforts in Texas that address obesity research, prevention, and control, where are the gaps? What other evidence, research, programs, or services are needed to fill these gaps?
- Given CPRIT’s mission to fund innovation in cancer prevention and research, what unique niche, if any, should CPRIT attempt to fill?
You are invited to e-mail an answer to these questions (no longer than one page) to RFI@cprit.state.tx.us by Sept. 20, 2010. All ideas submitted will be reviewed by and distributed to CPRIT program staff and advisory groups. CPRIT will use these ideas to consider its role in addressing the burden of obesity in Texas.
Last Chance to Weigh in on Ideas to Reverse Childhood Obesity Epidemic
Aug 11th
More P.E. classes in schools? Taxes on snacks and sodas? The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is issuing a last call for suggestions on the best ways to reverse the childhood obesity epidemic.
Share your thoughts in RWJF’s online forum, where our program officers are leading discussions about ensuring nutritious foods in schools, building more sidewalks and bike lanes, restricting food marketing, and unlocking school gyms and blacktops for community use outside of school hours.
Give us your two cents before the forum ends this Monday, Aug. 16, 2010.
More than 100 comments have been posted so far, with the topic of physical fitness in schools attracting the liveliest discussion. But what about other strategies, such as:
- Making certain foods and drinks cheaper—fruits, vegetables and water, for instance—to shift consumption from the high-fat, high-sugar stuff;
- banning french fries from school cafeterias—and cupcakes from classroom parties; or
- dispatching mobile recreation vans, filled with balls, jump ropes and other fun, to communities with little access to parks and programs.
RWJF has committed $500 million to reverse childhood obesity by 2015. The more input we receive on our policy priorities, the better chance we have of achieving that goal. Tell us what you think, what you see as the best strategies. Just be sure to do so by Aug. 16!