Analysis: Hispanic High School Grads Pass Whites in Rate of College Enrollment

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2 weeks ago
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Hispanic enrollmentA record 69% of Hispanic high school graduates in the class of 2012 enrolled in college that fall, two percentage points higher than the rate (67%) among their white counterparts, according to a Pew Research Center analysis of new data from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Hispanic college-going has increased since 2008.

White college-going has decreased over that same span.

But the new isn’t all good.

According to the report: “Hispanic college students are less likely than their white counterparts to enroll in a four-year college (56% versus 72%), they are less likely to attend a selective college, less likely to be enrolled in college full time, and less likely to complete a bachelor’s degree.”

Why the trend?

The report speculates that higher unemployment among Latinos ages 16-24 may have led that population segment to make college a more viable choice or to stay in school longer. It also speculates that Latino families place higher value on college education, with one survey even showing that 88% of Latinos ages 16 and older agreed that college is needed to “get ahead in life,” compared with just 74% of whites who thought the same.

May 9: Bike to Work Day

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2 weeks ago
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Many people will leave their cars parked and ride their bicycles to work on “Bike to Work Day” Thursday, May 9, 2013.

Check out these related videos in English and Spanish.

The videos were posted by Mark Jones.

Study: Unhealthy Food Ads Dominate Spanish TV Shows for Latino Kids

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2 weeks ago
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Latino kid remote TVMore than 84 percent of all foods and beverages advertised to children on Spanish-language television shows are unhealthy, according to a study published in the Journal of Health Communication.

Among companies that pledged to reform their child-directed advertising practices to encourage healthier choices, 78 percent of ads for children on Spanish-language television and 69 percent of ads for children on English-language television were for unhealthy foods or drinks.

The study, “Food Marketing to Children on U.S. Spanish-Language Television,” is the first large-scale effort to analyze food and beverage advertising on Spanish-language children’s television. It was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation through its Healthy Eating Research program.

“All children, and especially Latinos, are bombarded with television ads that sell junk food and sugary drinks,” said Dale Kunkel of the University of Arizona at Tucson and the lead author of the study. “These findings are particularly concerning given the high rates of obesity among Latino youths.”

Kunkel and his colleagues analyzed the ad content for 158 Spanish-language television shows for children and compared them with those found on 139 English-language programs. The ads analyzed for the study were collected between February and April 2009.

The majority of child-directed ads (84% on Spanish shows and 74% on English shows) promoted Whoa products, such as candy, sugary cereals, fries, and sodas, which fall into the poorest nutritional category as defined by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS). Whoa products are high in calories, fat, and/or added sugar. The DHHS recommends very limited consumption of such items.

Other key study findings:

  • Fast-food commercials accounted for nearly half (46%) of all child-targeted food advertising on Spanish-language television.
  • More than three-quarters (78%) of all Spanish-language food ads used popular cartoon characters to market Whoa products. The same was true for 49 percent of English-language ads.
  • Ads for healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, were extremely rare, accounting for just 1 percent or fewer of all ads in either language.

“Our findings suggest that the food and beverage industry’s pledge to self-regulate is not effective, especially on Spanish-language television,” Kunkel said. “Most of the ads aimed at kids feature Whoa products, so clearly there’s a big gap between the industry’s definition of healthy and what nutrition experts say.”

Spanish Videos: Latino Families Can Dance and Have a Healthy Eating Taste Test

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2 weeks ago
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Two new Spanish-language videos show healthier lifestyles, one promoting family activities, such as a father showing his daughter he can dance, and another showing a family having a healthy foods taste test.

The videos aim to challenge children to engage in healthier lifestyles.

Both videos were made possible by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and presented by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health.

Testicular Cancer on Rise in Latino Men

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2 weeks ago
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Hispanically Speaking News

Photo from Hispanically Speaking News

Testicular cancer is most common in white men.

But as the overall testicular cancer rate rises in the U.S., the greatest increase is occurring among Latino men, according to a researcher, Hispanically Speaking News reports.

The report indicates that Dr. Scott Eggener, an associate professor of surgery at the University of Chicago, examining testicular cancer incidence from 1992-2009 and found that:

In 1992, 5.7 of every 100,000 men had testicular cancer; that number rose to 6.8/100,000 in 2009.

In 1992, 4 of every 100,000 Hispanic men were affected; that number rose to 6.3/100,000 in 2009.

“The incidence of testicular cancer appears to be increasing very slowly but steadily among virtually all groups that we studied,” said Eggener, according to the news report. “The novel finding is that the most dramatic increase is in Hispanic men.”

Testicular cancer prognosis is generally good, and but a testicular exam should be part of a routine medical exam, experts say.

For more info on testicular cancer, go here.

Infographic: Federal Obesity Prevention Efforts Could Save Billions of Dollars Over 75 Years

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3 weeks ago
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The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates the costs of proposed federal legislation over a 10-year timeframe.

That might not be long enough to account for total savings inherent in the proposed legislation.

If the CBO extends that window from 10 to 75 years, it could better account for all of the costs and savings attributable to various obesity-prevention efforts, according to a new report by the Campaign to End Obesity.

The report identifies billions of dollars in potential savings that are attributable to four specific obesity-prevention strategies that would prevent obesity and related chronic conditions in the long run, thus helping save money by reducing health care costs and increasing wages.

Check out the report’s key findings in this infographic:

obesity prevention

Profile: The Rise of Mexican-Origin Hispanics in the U.S.

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3 weeks ago
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mexico chartThe Mexican-origin population in the U.S. has risen dramatically over the past four decades—from less than 1 million in 1970 to 33.7 million in 2012—a result of one of the largest mass migrations in modern history, according to a new report by Pew Hispanic Center.

Of these 33.7 million, about 11.4 million are immigrants born in Mexico.

Compared with 1990, Mexican immigrants in 2011 were less likely to be male, considerably older, and better educated, according to the Pew report.

Other interesting tidbits include:

  • Language: 66% of Mexican-origin Hispanics ages 5 and older speak English proficiently.
  • Age: Mexican-origin Hispanics are younger (median age of 25) than both the U.S. population (37) and Hispanics overall (27).
  • Education: Mexicans have lower levels of education than the Hispanic population overall.
  • Health insurance: Fewer Mexicans than all Hispanics have health insurance (33% vs. 30%).
  • Poverty: More Mexicans live in poverty (27%) than Hispanics overall (25%).

Read more here.

Tips from Latino Ex-Smokers

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3 weeks ago
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mariano ex-smokerMariano, a Hispanic living in Illinois, started smoking at 15.

At age 47, Mariano woke up one morning feeling sick and dizzy. He was sweating a lot. He went to the doctor, who told him his blood pressure was extremely high. He was hospitalized that day.

Three days later, he had open heart surgery to replace blocked blood vessels in his heart.

“I smoked my last cigarette the day I was told I needed heart surgery,” he said. He hasn’t smoked since. “I was given a second chance to live.”

Mariano, who loves to cook and noticed that he has more energy since he quit smoking, is part of a new effort from the CDC and the National Latino Tobacco Control Network (NLTCN) to raise awareness among Latinos about the dangers of tobacco use and second-hand smoke.

The campaign, Tips from Smokers, features real-life stories from ex-smokers like Mariano.

Read more about Mariano here or watch his video in Spanish.

What Are Health Disparities?

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3 weeks ago
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crowdHealth disparities are differences in incidence, prevalence, mortality, and burden of diseases and other adverse health conditions that exist among specific U.S. population groups.

Latinos, for example, suffer various disparities in cancer, chronic disease, obesity and other conditions.

To learn more, visit the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

You also can check out the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Health Disparities & Inequalities Report. The report analyzes recent trends and ongoing variations in health disparities and inequalities.

Report: Multi-Level Changes Needed to Reduce Latino Obesity Epidemic

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4 weeks ago
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obesity coverA combination of regulation of unhealthy foods, support from community organizations, and individual behavior changes is crucial to reducing high rates of obesity among Latinos, according to a new report released this week by The Hispanic Institute.

The report, “Obesity: Hispanic America’s Big Challenge,” details the impact of diabetes and heart disease on the Latino community, which suffers from those obesity-related conditions at rates higher than Whites.

The report also offers recommendations and examines the positive roles of diet, exercise, and technology.

“Of course, we’re responsible for what we eat and drink, but we’re also subject to the effects of massive advertising and misleading promotional campaigns—especially on our children and the poor,” said Gus West, president of The Hispanic Institute, in a statement.

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