Avoid Sugar on Easter Sunday



Easter Sunday is just a few days away! If you’re like many Latino families then you will most likely have a barbacoa in the park and spend quality time with los abuelos, tios y primos. Unfortunately, vegetables and carnitas are not the only foods we eat on Easter Sunday—especially our children. A regular chocolate bunny packs a whopping 20g of sugar! Over 30% of Latino children in the U.S. are obese/overweight (which contributes to cancer) and binging on candy on Easter Sunday will not make them any healthier. Here are 3 ideas on how your children can have a blast on Easter Sunday and stay healthy: Toys instead of candy: Do something different this year and instead of giving your children and sobrinos candy in their Easter baskets give them small toys! Tasty ...

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Southern U.S. Is a ‘Hotbed’ for Heart Disease


Heartache

Although fewer Americans overall are dying from heart disease than 40 years ago, researchers have found that the top “hotbeds” for heart disease have migrated to the Southern U.S. In the 1970s, the counties with the highest heart disease rates were clustered in the northeast, according to a new study, HealthDay reports. Now, they are concentrated in what is considered the “deep” South, a region where the Latino population is large. The U.S. southwest, for example, is by far the most Latino region of the country, but the entire Latino population is booming in the South, according to a report. The study has not determined the causes for the shift, only the trend. “[From] other studies we know the socioeconomic conditions of a county can affect rates of smoking and ...

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Happy Birthday, ACA!



Today, March 23, marks the 6th anniversary of the passing of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law by President Barack Obama. An estimated 20 million people have gained health insurance since the ACA went into law in 2010. Latinos have been some of the biggest beneficiaries of the ACA; in 2014, an estimated 8 in 10 uninsured Latinos qualified for Medicaid, the Children’s Health Insurance Plan (CHIP), or lower costs on monthly premiums through the Health Insurance Marketplace. The ACA is providing the tools to help transform our health care system to one of better care, smarter spending and healthier people. More than 6 million uninsured young adults have gained health insurance coverage since 2010. For Latinos, 4.2 million between the ages of 18-64 gained health insurance ...

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Our Children’s Future Is in Danger. Will You Step Up?



Latino kids face dire rates of obesity, diabetes, and related conditions. Can you be a Salud Leader for kids? Salud America!, a Latino childhood obesity prevention network, is recruiting Salud Leaders to join a national movement to start and support healthy changes in communities and schools. A Salud Leader is a parent, school personnel, or community leader who drives healthy changes like working to unlock playgrounds for use after school hours, pushing for healthier food options, starting a farmers market, removing sugary drinks from daycares, etc. If you sign up, you get (for free): A spot on our national Salud Leader map. The ability to connect with other local leaders and see trending policies and stories. Customized data about the health issues in your area (a ...

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Workshop 4/12: How Business Leaders Can Help Solve Obesity


Amelie Ramirez

It will take all sectors of society to solve the obesity crisis. That's why on April 12, 2016, Dr. Amelie Ramirez and the rest of the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions will conduct a workshop on how business leaders can get involved in fighting obesity. Tune in here for the free workshop, which is set for 9 a.m. EST Tuesday, April 12, 2016. The workshop will feature expert speakers and discussion on why and how to encourage the business community to be involved in obesity solutions, identify reasons why businesses might be interested in being involved, and demonstrate ways they can be engaged with a focus on community level multi-sector collaborations. Ramirez, director of SaludToday, Salud America!, and the Institute for Health Promotion Research at the UT Health Science Center ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 3/22/16: How YOU Can Be a “Salud Leader” for Latino Kids



Latino kids need your HELP! Over 39% of Latino kids are overweight or obese in the U.S., and many have poor access to fresh fruits and vegetables and face rising diabetes rates. Let’s tweet about what you can do to become a Salud Leader for Latino kids! WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: How YOU Can Be a “Salud Leader” for Latino Kids” TIME/DATE: Noon CST (1 p.m. EST) Tuesday, March 22, 2016 WHERE: On Twitter #SaludTues HOST: SaludToday (@SaludToday) CO-HOSTS: Community Commons (@CommunityCommon) & Moms Rising (@MomsRising) Be sure to use the hashtag #SaludTues to follow the conversation on Twitter! #SaludTues is a weekly Tweetchat about Latino health at 12p CST/1p ET every Tuesday and hosted by @SaludToday, the Latino health social media campaign for ...

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Study: Half of What We Eat is Junk Food



A new study reveals that a whopping 60% of what we eat in the U.S. is considered "junk food" loaded with fat, salt, and sugar that we’re not supposed to eat, NBC Health reports. The study reports that this is evidence of why two-thirds of Americans and why 60% of Latinos in the U.S. are overweight or obese. "The most common ultra-processed foods in terms of energy contribution were breads, soft drinks, fruit drinks, and milk-based drinks; cakes, cookies, and pies; salty snacks; frozen and shelf-stable plates; pizza and breakfast cereals," Dr. Carlos Augusto Monteiro of the University of São Paulo and colleagues there, and at Tufts University in Boston, wrote in their report. The study found that just under 650 calories of the average 2,000 calorie-a-day-diet were from fruits ...

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Zumba Time! Dancing May Reduce Heart Disease Risks



A new study found that moderate-intensity dancing can lower a person's risk of dying from heart disease, which disproportionately affects Latinos, Reuters reports. The study included questions about frequency, duration, and intensity of dancing and walking over a four-week period. Only about 3,100 of the 48,000 people surveyed reported dancing of any intensity, and nearly two-thirds said they walked at any intensity. In the study's follow-up, heart disease had caused 1,714 deaths. People who reported moderate-intensity dancing and walking were less likely to die from cardiovascular disease than those who did not. “It is not surprising that moderate-intensity physical activity is protective against cardiovascular disease mortality,” lead author Dafna Merom of the University ...

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Latinas: Eating One Strip of Bacon a Day Can Double Cancer Risk



Latinas who eat more processed meat (about a strip of bacon a day) had almost double the risk of breast cancer than Latinas who ate little or no meats, according to a new study, the Sacramento Bee reports. The study, led by the University of Southern California (USC) and one of the few to explore Latinas' meat consumption, found that Latinas who consumed daily more than 20 mg of processed meats, like sausage, bacon, and lunch meat, were 42% more likely to be diagnosed with breast cancer than Latinas who consumed less. The researchers didn't find a similar difference among white women who ate more processed meat. Addressing causes for the higher cancer risk among Latinas was not part of the study. The authors and researchers were solely focused on exploring whether eating ...

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