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.
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.
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.
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!
Join Salud America! & Help Fight Latino Child Obesity
Jul 28th
Join Salud America! and receive news about the latest research, events, funding opportunities and other activities in the fight against Latino childhood obesity.
Salud America! The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children aims to unite and increase the number of Latino researchers and advicates seeking environmental and policy solutions to address Latino childhood obesity.
Salud America! is led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.
Latina Author Lauds Salud America! Latino Childhood Obesity Video
Jul 26th
The dramatic Salud America! “Did You Know” Latino childhood obesity video, which frames the challenges of the epidemic, already has won several film awards and been seen more than 5,000 times on YouTube.
Now Latina author Barbara Trujillo Gomez has written about the video in a new blog post.
Trujillo Gomez, author of “…Barbara por Atras” A Latin Woman’s Guide to Fitness, wrote that the video sent chills up her spine and helped illustrate the reasons behind Latino childhood obesity.
How is it we can sit and continue to watch this happen? There is an epidemic in childhood obesity and Latinos are affected by far more so than non-Latino whites and African Americans. Our Latino kids are suffering from diabetes and heart disease, have a higher BMI, and indulging in junk food. Latinos kids are becoming less active and more involved in video games and social media. We need to educate and motivate.
Watch the video in English here or below, or in Spanish here.
The video was produced by Salud America!, which is led by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.
Latinos, Make Your Voice Heard on How to Create Healthier Schools, Communities
Jul 23rd
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) has launched a special online forum to start an open dialogue about the best ways to implement their six policy priorities for reversing the childhood obesity epidemic by 2015, including creating healthier schools and communities.
The discussion forum consists of six topic threads—one for each policy priority:
- Built environment
- High-quality, affordable foods in communities
- Pricing Strategies
- Food and beverages in schools
- Physical activity in school
- Marketing to children
Latinos, this is a perfect opportunity to weigh in with your throughts on efforts to solve childhood obesity.
Please don’t hesitate to visit the RWJF site and enter your comments—RWJF staff members are acting as hosts and will post messages frequently to respond to comments and offer their own thoughts.
Funding Opportunities in Child Obesity Research
Jul 20th
Check out the latest funding opportunities in childhood obesity research, brought to you by Salud America! The RWJF Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children.
Partnerships Active in Communities to Achieve Health Equity
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services seeks proposals for Partnerships Active in Communities to Achieve Health Equity. The program aims to curb health disparities and promote quality health outcomes. Applications are due August 2, 2010.
Healthy Eating Research Grants
Healthy Eating Research, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), is seeking grant proposals for studies to promote healthy eating among children to prevent obesity, especially among low-income and racial/ethnic populations at highest risk. Applications are due September 1, 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.
NIH Obesity Grants
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) compiles a wide variety of obesity-related research funding opportunities that are currently seeking applications.
NCCOR Obesity Grants
The National Collaborative on Childhood Obesity Research (NCCOR), which aims to improve childhood obesity research and reverse obesity, conducts a grants roundup.
Salud America! is a program of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.