Posts tagged 20-part series

Study: Immigrant Mothers Feel Powerless to Address Weight Problems

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1 year ago
by admin in ,

Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 20 is Dr. Miriam Vega. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Miriam Vega

Dr. Miriam Vega
“La Familia en la Cocina is Speaking Two Languages”

In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Miriam Vega of the Latino Commission on AIDS in New York south interviewed Latina mothers and children to better understand their knowledge, attitudes and communication behaviors related to food consumption and preferences, as well as the built and cultural environments in which they make decisions.

Key preliminary findings include:

  • a large gap exists in the manner in which a mother and child communicate; and
  • many immigrant Latinas felt powerless to address weight issues.

This study suggests a need to focus on the Latino family unit and on programs that target the family members separately to account for differing communication styles. Children ages 10-12 are still bonding with their parents and still see their parents as role models. Yet Latina immigrant mothers may face a critical communication gap with their children, one they may feel powerless to overcome.

Social marketing efforts on nutrition and obesity may fail to recognize the Latina mother as a separate audience from the child—in terms of language, cultural values, etc., on food choices.

Read more here.

Salud America! is an RWJF national program directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

Study: Children in South Texas ‘Colonias’ More Likely to be Sedentary, Obese

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1 year ago
by admin in ,

Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 19 is Dr. Nelda Mier. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Nelda Mier

Dr. Nelda Mier
“Built Environment Policy for Physical Activity in Mexican-American Children”

In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Nelda Mier of the Texas A&M Health Science Center investigated Latino children’s perceptions of environmental factors that influence their physical activity, and documented environmental characteristics in colonias in South Texas.

Colonias are unincorporated settlements along the U.S.-Mexico border where many people live in impoverished conditions and lack basic services such as running water.

Key preliminary findings include:

  • Mexican-American children in colonias do not meet physical activity requirements, are very sedentary and are likely to be overweight or obese;
  • the built environment influences physical activity among children in colonias; and
  • nearly all colonias lack sidewalks, pedestrian signage and parks.

Results suggest that children living in predominantly Latino colonias in South Texas are likely to be both sedentary and obese. Colonias tend not to have a built environment conducive to physical activity, resulting in a lack of activity and high rates of sedentary behavior and obesity among Mexican-American children and their families.

Read more here.

Salud America! is an RWJF national program directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

Study: Exercise Can Boost Latino Students’ Fitness, Math Scores

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1 year ago
by admin in ,

Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 18 is Dr. Zan Gao. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Zan Gao

Dr. Zan Gao
“Impact of Physical Activity on Fitness & Academic Performance”

In his Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Zan Gao of Texas Tech University examined the impact of a structured exercise program (interactive video game Dance Dance Revolution [DDR], in which players stomp on a dance mat to mimic steps of an on-screen dancer; aerobic dance; and jump rope) on physical fitness and academic performance in urban Latino children.

Key preliminary findings include:

  • children who participate in a structured exercise program at school are more likely to improve their 1-mile run performance and math scores over time; and
  • interviews revealed that students believed the DDR intervention program benefited their physical fitness and academic performance.

Results suggest that implementing a structured school-based exercise program could significantly improve 1-mile run performance and math grades over time among urban Latino children. Such findings provide preliminary empirical support for using interactive dance-based exercise to improve children’s cardiovascular fitness and academic performance.

These findings can aid academics and schools as they aim to alleviate achievement gaps that are common in underserved Latino communities.

Read more here.

Salud America! is an RWJF national program directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

Study: Young Latino Children More Likely to Be Obese

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1 year ago
by admin in ,

Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 17 is Dr. Claudia Galindo. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Claudia Galindo

Claudia Galindo
“Obesity Among Young Latino Children: Disparities and Changes Over Time”

In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Claudia Galindo of the University of Maryland studied factors and behaviors that may affect weight, nutrition and physical activity among Latino youth.

Key preliminary findings include:

  • Latino children are more likely to be obese than White and Asian children at all points of observation;
  • among Latino children from different countries and regions of origin, Central American, Puerto Rican and Mexican children have the highest obesity levels; and
  • rates of obesity among Latino children decrease as socioeconomic status (SES) increases.

These preliminary results indicate that, from kindergarten through 5th grade, Latino children were more likely than their White peers to be obese, and these disparities increased with age.

Read more here.

Salud America! is an RWJF national program directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

Study: Teaching Latinos How to Buy Healthier Foods

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1 year ago
by admin in , ,

Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 16 is Dr. Dharma Cortes. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Dharma Cortes

Dr. Dharma Cortes
“Improving Food Purchasing Selection among Low-Income Latinos”

In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Dharma Cortes of the University of Massachusetts Boston used an educational intervention (i.e., guidelines geared to ease understanding of nutrition) to try to improve food purchasing behaviors and thus increase healthy eating among low-income Spanish-speaking Latino families with children under age 18.

Key preliminary findings include:

  • low-income Latino families spent one-third of their income on food;
  • much of the food purchased by Latino families was calorie-dense, low in fiber and high in fat, sodium and carbohydrates;
  • giving feedback to families about their food receipts’ nutritional analyses provided an opportunity for researchers to recommend changes in purchasing patterns; and
  • many families adopted instructions on buying budget-friendly, healthier alternative foods.

Results suggest the need to develop tailored social marketing messages and other communication strategies to promote healthy food purchasing and consumption practices among Latinos.

Specifically, this project observed the need to deliver messages that are developed with an understanding of Latino food preferences and the challenges that low-income families face when shopping for healthier food.

Read more here.

Salud America! is an RWJF national program directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

Study: Exposure to Recreation Center Increases Use by Latino Families with Young Children

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1 year ago
by admin in , ,

Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 15 is Dr. Shari Barkin. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Shari Barkin

Dr. Shari Barkin
“Exposure to Recreation Center Increases Use by Latino Families with Young Children”

In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Shari Barkin of Vanderbilt University Medical Center assessed how exposure to a community recreation center affects whether Latino families with young children use the center for physical activity.

This assessment was conducted one year after families participated in a culturally-relevant healthy-lifestyles program at the center.

Key preliminary findings include:

  • programmed exposure to a community recreation center led to self-reported increases in physical activity use one year later by Latino parents and their children.

This study suggests an effective, low-cost approach that could be used to promote Latino families’ use of recreation facilities for increased physical activity.

Policymakers should be aware that building or renovating a center may not be the only step needed to support a community’s healthy lifestyle—creating programs that encourage families to “walk through the door” and learn how to use a community recreation center can lead to sustainable behavior change to support improved health through routine physical activity.

Read more here.

Salud America! is an RWJF national program directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

Study: Latino Children Face Many Barriers to Healthy Eating, Physical Activity

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1 year ago
by admin in , ,

Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 14 is Dr. Myriam Torres. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Myriam Torres

Dr. Myriam Torres
“Voices of Latina Mothers and School Staff on Childhood Obesity”

In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Myriam Torres of the University of South Carolina brought together public health researchers, community leaders and Latino families to study and develop effective policy recommendations regarding physical activity among Latino children from a growing immigrant settlement in West Columbia, S.C.

Key preliminary findings include:

  • main barriers to healthy eating and physical activity among Latino children include lack of infrastructure that supports walking and biking and unhealthy school lunches; and
  • community stakeholders and school staff agreed that lack of transportation, Spanish-speaking parents and the cost of out-of-school sports were the main barriers that keep Latino children from participating in organized sports.

The study suggests that Latina mothers understand the variety of factors that impact their children’s diets and levels of physical activity. These barriers demonstrate the need to develop policies that support healthy changes in our environments and schools.

Read more here.

Salud America! is an RWJF national program directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

Study: Crime, Fear Keep Latino Children from Seeking Physical Activity

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1 year ago
by admin in , ,

Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 13 is Dr. Monika Stodolska. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Monika Stodolska

Dr. Monika Stodolska
“Crime, Physical Activity and Outdoor Recreation among Latino Adolescents”

In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Monika Stodolska of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign examined the relationship between crime and physical activity among Latino youths.

She and her team evaluated the behavior of Latino youth ages 11-14 in three environments: school yards and grounds; community parks; and neighborhood streets, sidewalks, alleys and yards in a Chicago neighborhood.

Key preliminary findings include:

  • Latino children witness many acts of violence in their neighborhoods;
  • Latino children are greatly concerned about their safety, and fear of crime affects their participation in physical activities in different recreation environments;
  • Latino parents were deeply concerned about their children’s safety and restrict their leisure behavior; and
  • children devised strategies to stay away from crime and increase safety when participating in physical activities.

This study suggests that providing supervised indoor physical activities through schools or community organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs, and increasing police presence in outdoor recreation environments such as parks and school grounds particularly in the evening hours, may help increase physical activity levels among Latino children

Read more here.

Salud America! is an RWJF national program directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

Study: After-School Fitness Programs Can Improve Children’s Health

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1 year ago
by admin in , ,

Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 12 is Dr. Rebecca London. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Rebecca London

Dr. Rebecca London
“Community-Based After-School Programs and Youth Physical Fitness”

In her Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Rebecca London of Stanford University examined the fitness and overweight status of 1,105 5th and 7th grade students in California.

It followed the same students over four years to analyze whether participating in after-school programs had an effect on whether a student was physically fit, and on whether he or she was overweight two years later, when they were in 7th and 9th grades, respectively

Key preliminary findings include:

  • Latino students and “initially unfit” students were less likely to participate in primarily fitness-focused programs after school; and
  • participation in primarily fitness-focused after-school programs—but not other types of enrichment programs—increased the likelihood of being physically fit.

Findings from this study point to the importance of identifying and engaging youth in fitness-focused activities after school, and if possible, focusing on student populations less likely to participate.

It also suggests that children’s health can be improved by existing local youth-serving organizations that promote youth fitness after school.

Read more here.

Salud America! is an RWJF national program directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

Study: ‘Photovoice’ Empowers Latino Youth to Spark Health Policy Change

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1 year ago
by admin in , ,

Editor’s Note: This is a 20-part series featuring new research briefs on Latino childhood obesity, nutrition, physical activity and more by the 20 grantees of Salud America! Part 11 is Dr. Robert Dudley. Find all briefs here.

Dr. Robert Dudley

Dr. Robert Dudley
“Healthy Tomorrows for Latina Teens”

In his Salud America! pilot research project, Dr. Robert Dudley of Community Health Center, Inc., evaluated Health Tomorrows for Latina Teens, a five-year, federally-funded obesity prevention and advocacy training program for adolescent girls in New Britain, Conn.

To identify factors that promote or prevent physical activity among Latina teens, Dr. Dudley’s team taught girls Photovoice—a research method that puts cameras in people’s hands to assess community problems and assets, and then connects them to policymakers to pursue change.

Key preliminary findings include:

  • barriers prevent Latina teen activity;
  • photovoice can address these barriers; and
  • photovoice can expedite policy change by facilitating direct, informal dialogue between policymakers and Latino youth.

The project spurred the local school district to add a P.E. credit recovery program. Two of the project’s participating teen girls also made a stirring presentation to their city council asking to clean and reopen two closed pools at local parks to add more activity options in town (see video below).

Results indicate that Photovoice is a viable, low-cost means of empowering Latina teens to develop leadership and advocacy skills. Further, the program helps to generate community support for increased physical activity.

Read more here.

Salud America! is an RWJF national program directed by the Institute for Health Promotion Research at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, the team behind SaludToday.

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