Survey: Hispanics Eat Fewer Fruits/Veggies, Drink More Sugary Sodas, Struggle with Health Care

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kids with soda - smallerHispanics consume fewer fruits/veggies and more sugary sodas, are less likely to have a usual source of health care, and worry more about care costs than blacks or whites, according to a new survey.

The new bilingual survey, from the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, polled 846 Americans.

Key findings include:

Soda Consumption. About half (53%) of Hispanics and blacks (51%) report drinking sugary soda daily or weekly compared to 37% of whites.

Fruits and Vegetables. Hispanics (7%) and blacks (8%) are significantly less likely than whites (18%) to report eating 5 or more servings of fruits and vegetables on average each day.

Usual Source of Care. About one in four (27%) of Hispanics report not having a usual place to go to when they are sick or need advice about health compared to 17% of blacks and 7% of whites.

Worry About Cost of Care. 40% of Hispanics report that they would be very worried about affording care if they got sick or had an accident compared to 22% of blacks and 11% of whites.

“Hispanics have the longest life expectancy but based on this poll we are at a tipping point in Hispanic health with risks on the horizon from drinking sugary sodas, not eating five or more servings of fruits and vegetables each day, and lack of access to health care,“ said Jane Delgado, leader of the National Alliance for Hispanic Health, in a press release.

What can be done?

Visit the Salud America! Growing Healthy Change website to see how you can make a change—healthier marketing, improved access to healthy food, and physical activity options—for Hispanic kids.

“You can input your own address find what changes are happening in your own town or your children’s schools, whether it’s a new community garden that’s just getting underway or efforts to open a school playground to the public after class hours,” said Dr. Amelie Ramirez, director of Salud America! (funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation) at the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday. “Or you can see what’s happening 1,000 miles away and how you might be able to make that happen in your area.”

By The Numbers By The Numbers

20.7

percent

of Latino kids have obesity (compared to 11.7% of white kids)

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