Civil Rights Organizations Unite to Fight Latino Childhood Obesity
Sep 8th
A $2 million initiative of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is bringing together five civil rights organizations with the prominence and strength to help reverse childhood obesity, especially in African-American and Latino communities where the epidemic continues to hit hardest.
Over the next 16 months, the groups will aim individually and collaboratively to advance the public advocacy and policy changes critical to creating healthier communities. The initiative recognizes the power of their work to solve systemic issues of racial and social injustice.
The organizations include the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC); Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF); National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP); National Council of La Raza (NCLR); and National Urban League (NUL).
Dr. Risa Lavizzo-Mourey
“These national organizations are coming together to take a stand,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of the Foundation. “They will help ensure that all communities benefit from the policy and environmental changes we know are necessary to reverse childhood obesity.”
RWJF’s announcement of the initiative coincides with September’s designation as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. Prevention is acutely needed in communities of color given the troubling disparities that persist in rates of childhood obesity and related health problems.
RWJF also has a national program, Salud America!, led by the team behind SaludToday, to increase the number of researchers and the amount of research to reduce the childhood obesity epidemic among Latinos.
RWJF also has a Multicultural Newsroom covering Latino and African-American health care issues.
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?”
Latinos Among Activists Honored for Transforming Health/Health Care in Vulnerable Communities
Aug 26th
The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) is proud to announce the recipients of the 2010 Community Health Leaders Award, honoring 10 individuals who have overcome daunting odds to improve the health and quality of life for vulnerable men, women and children in underserved communities across the U.S.
The Community Health Leaders Award elevates the work of these outstanding individuals to bring national visibility to their extraordinary contributions. Each awardee receives $125,000 to support their work.
“The 2010 Community Health Leaders have created their own solutions to address the shortcomings in our health care system and to build healthier communities,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, M.D., M.B.A., president and chief executive officer of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. “These leaders have taken personal and professional risks to help the people in their communities live healthier, better lives. Each of them, through their creativity, compassion and hard work, is revolutionizing health care and the meaning of health in this country―one person and one community at a time.”
The 2010 Community Health Leaders, including several Latinos, are:
- Susan Rodriguez, president and founding director, Sisterhood Mobilized for AIDS/HIV Research and Treatment (SMART), New York.
- Judy Berry, founder, Lakeview Ranch Dementia Care Foundation, Darwin, Minn.
- Dana Harvey, M.S., executive director, Mandela MarketPlace, Oakland, Calif.
- Joe Hollendoner, M.S.W., chief program officer, Howard Brown Health Center, Chicago.
- Roseanna Means, M.D., president and chief medical officer, Women of Means, Wellesley, Mass.
- Fran Rooker, co-founder and board member, Brain Injury Services of Southwest Virginia, Roanoke, Va.; The Jason Foundation, Radford, Va.
- Shira Shavit, M.D., director, Transitions Clinic, San Francisco.
- Kris Volcheck, D.D.S., M.B.A., dental director, Central Arizona Shelter Services (CASS) Dental Clinic for the Homeless, Phoenix.
- Andru Ziwasimon-Zeller, M.D., founder, Casa de Salud Medical Office, Albuquerque, N.M.
- Josephine Mercado, J.D., founder, Hispanic Health Initiatives, Inc., Casselberry, Fla.
Mercado, for example, retired from her career as a lawyer in New York and moved to Florida, learning quickly that there was little or no statistical information to document the delivery of basic health care services or information specifically to Hispanic or Black populations. Using her legal background, Mercado founded Hispanic Health Initiatives, which empowers Central Florida’s Hispanic community to make informed decisions about their health, wellness and care options. Mercado rallied an army of volunteers to educate migrant and uninsured communities about wellness and disease prevention. Since June 2000, her organization has provided health forums, health fairs, health classes and screening events to thousands of Central Florida families.
Find out more about each award winner 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.
Obesity Rate Stabilizes Among Latino Youth, Rises or Drops for Others
Aug 16th
Obesity rates among Latino youth leveled off at 26 percent from 2001-2008, according to a new study released today in Pediatrics that reveals the very mixed trends in racial disparities that underlie a plateau in childhood obesity rates nationally.
The study, which examined data from more than 8 million California students (about half Latinos), is the first to find significant differences in racial and ethnic trends over time for obesity prevalence among youth.
From 2001 to 2008 in California, obesity rates increased steadily among Black and American Indian girls to 22 percent and 23 percent, resectively, compared with fluctuating rates for Black and American Indian boys. And among White and Asian children, rates fell starting in 2005 to 12 percent and 13 percent, respectively. The overall obesity rate for the groups was 20 percent.
The study also found the greatest racial disparities among California’s most obese children. American Indian and Black girls were more than three times as likely as White girls to be in the highest obesity percentile.
“The stabilization of obesity among Latinos is encouraging, but Latino youth still have the highest rates of overweight and obesity in the state,” said lead author Kristine Madsen, M.D., MPH, of the University of California, San Francisco. “As our country becomes increasingly diverse, it’s critical that we act quickly to address these disparities.”
Researchers analyzed data from more than 8 million fifth-, seventh- and ninth-grade students, collected between 2001 and 2008 as part of California’s mandatory school-based body mass index (BMI) screening program. About one in eight U.S. children lives in California, and the study’s authors suggest these results show population-level trends that are applicable to other states.
The study, “Disparities in Peaks, Plateaus, and Declines in Prevalence of High BMI Among Adolescents,” was supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through its national program, Active Living Research.
See Who’s Stepping Up Vs. Latino Child Obesity
Aug 16th
How does Cookie Monster help Latino pre-schoolers eat right, exercise? How does Marathon Kids get children to “run” from obesity? How does Dharma Cortes teach low-income Latinos to shop, eat healthier?
Find the answers and more in the latest Salud America! E-newsletter.
Also find out the latest in Latino childhood obesity policy, news and updated on Salud America!
Salud America! is a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation network to pevent obesity among Latino kids. The network is directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, which developed SaludToday. To sign up to receive Salud America! E-newsletters, go here.
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.