Uncover the True Health of Your Town!



Is it hard to find healthy food in your town? Or places to play? Or health care? What does local health look like, compared to other areas? The new Salud America! Salud Report Card has these answers and much more. You can select your county and automatically generate customized data on local obesity, food access, physical activity, and health equity issues compared to the state and nation, and comparing Latinos to non-Latinos. The Salud Report Card also offers policy solutions, case studies, and share-ability to inspire people and policymakers to start and support healthy changes in their communities. Enter your location for your own free Salud Report Card! "Moms, dads, teachers, local leaders and more can use the Salud Report Card to find out what health issues are ...

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The Unhealthiest States in the U.S.



Currently, more than 75% of all American adults today are classified as either overweight or obese. According to data released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and a report from the JAMA Internal Medicine journal, for the first time in history, the number of obese people has surpassed that of the overweight, Wallethub reports. Wallethub studied new data published by the Physical Activity Council to compare the 50 U.S. states and Washington, D.C., to determine which were the unhealthiest. Focusing on 17 indicators of weight-related health problems, including the percentage of adults that were overweight or obese and sugary-beverage consumption by adults. In 2015, about 81.6 million Americans were completely inactive. Factors such as genetics, emotional ...

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Latina Teen’s Weight Loss Inspires Family toward Health


maryflor latina teen weight loss

Maryflor Peña of Phoenix started to gain weight in sixth grade. She’d gained 65 pounds by the seventh grade, eating more pasta, more tacos, more everything. At age 12, Maryflor was diagnosed with high blood pressure, high cholesterol and a fatty liver — ailments common in overweight and obese children and adults. A pediatric specialist told Maryflor and her parents that she must start eating healthy and exercising or would face a future of heart disease and diabetes. The teen, with the help of her parents, embarked on a weight-loss journey that has helped improve her vital signs and eventually spurred health improvement among her family members, according to a profile story by the American Heart Association. Latino children are far more obese and overweight than their ...

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High School Dropout Rates Have Declined Among Latinos, Report Finds


Hispanic Student And Family Celebrating Graduation

Latino dropout rates have significantly declined from 32 percent in 1990 to 12 percent in 2013, according to a new report by the American Institutes for Research (AIR) and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The report also shows a growing trend in college enrollment among Latinos. In 2013 Latinos represented 17 percent of undergraduates compared to 6 percent a decade ago. “Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Groups 2016 is the latest in a series of reports since 2003 on educational progress—from preschool through graduate school—among different groups. It draws on surveys and administrative records from students, teachers, school, local and state education agencies, and colleges and universities. Data sources include the National ...

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Being Overweight or Obese Ages the Brain 10 Years, Study Finds



Researchers from the U.K. have found a correlation between being overweight or obese (a condition that affects close to 80% of Latino adults) to the loss of white matter in the brain, BBC News reports. According to researchers the reduction of white matter in the brain “represents around a decade of brain aging.” For the study, investigators looked at data from 473 adults ages 20-87 and found that obesity had the most impact on the brains of middle-aged adults. “Middle-aged adults who were overweight or obese had a white matter volume that was comparable to those of lean adults who were 10 years older; for example, the white matter volume of a 50-year-old overweight adult was on par with that of a 60-year-old lean adult,” researchers ...

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Sitting for More Than 10 Hours Linked to Heart Disease


stress depression help man

If you sit for too long, 10+ hours to be exact, you may be at risk for heart disease—a condition that affects millions of Latinos in the U.S., according to a new study by UT Southwestern Medical Center, Univision reports. For their research investigators studied 700,00 adults for over 11 years and concluded that those who spend 10 or more hours a day sitting or lying down increased their risk for heart disease and the longer you sit the higher the risk. “We would like to encourage people to maintain an active lifestyle and avoid prolonged sitting", lead researcher Ambarish Pandey told Univision. To lower your risk experts recommend that you do at least 30 minutes a day of physical activity and that workplaces offer standing desks to their ...

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Brain Games Could Lower Alzheimer’s Risk


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Alzheimer’s Disease, a type of dementia that causes “problems with memory, thinking and behavior” affects more Latinos than Whites and other ethnic groups, but according to researchers playing brain games may delay the development of this disease and dementia in healthy adults, NBC Health reports. The findings presented at the Alzheimer’s Association International Conference showed that brain games cut the risk of dementia by up to 48% among healthy adults. “The new findings would be quite promising if they hold up through peer review and publication in a scientific journal,” Dr. John King, an expert in social research at the National Institute of Aging told NBC Health. What are some popular brain games? The most popular brain games in the market that offer a free ...

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What High School Grads Need to Do Before Leaving for College



By Eric Moreno, Research Area Specialist Salud America!  The U.S. Department of Education has compiled a checklist of 7 things every high school graduate needs to do before leaving for their first semester of college. Make sure your school has your financial aid ready. Many students fill out an application for financial aid. Early and/or mid-summer is an opportune time to check with the financial aid office to make sure all your paperwork is complete. It is also important to make sure that you have enough money to cover any gaps between the cost for school and your financial aid award. Find a part-time job. If this is something you’d be interested in, it would be a good idea to start checking out opportunities in the area of campus before classes start. Working during school ...

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3 Million U.S. Teens Suffer from Depression Each Year



Nearly three million U.S teens suffer from depression—a condition that affects more Latinos than other ethnic backgrounds—according to a new government study, CBS News reports. "Adolescence is a critical time in a person's development, and battling with depression can be devastating for teens unless they receive effective treatment," said Paolo del Vecchio, director of the Center for Mental Health Services at the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). According to the report, the rate of depression among teenagers increased to 11% between 2013 and 2014, up from 9.9% the previous year. "Effective treatment is available, but parents, teachers and all concerned members of the community must work to assure that adolescents in need get help," del ...

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