FH Hispania Plaza

Niños, Watch Calories Instead of TV Commercials

According to a new report from the John Hopkins Children’s Center, Hispanic children are doing more than just being entertained while watching Spanish-language TV, they're also gaining weight.

The Hopkins team monitored commercial breaks and found that Hispanic stations "averaged two to three food commercials an hour, with one-third of them specifically targeted to children.  Almost half of all food commercials promoted fast food, and more than half of all drink commercials featured soda and drinks with high sugar content.”

This is a particularly important topic of concern in our community because Hispanic children have the highest rates of obesity, as documented by the CDC and other sources.

Latino Health

In the last week, we’ve seen multiple studies regarding Latino health, including one report from the Tomás Rivera Policy Center on the Latino Health Paradox, another called “Physical Activity Patterns Among Latinos in the United States: Putting the Pieces Together,” and a third called “Energy Balance Feasibility Study for Latinas in Texas: A Qualitative Assessment.”

Why are these important? Because in our field, if we are working with health, wellness or food-focused clients, as examples, it is important to understand the challenges and barriers related to the health of Latinos in the U.S. Most importantly, the statistics are of great concern. As an example, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), nearly one in every two Latino babies born in the United States will develop diabetes later in life; Hispanic Americans are 1.5 times more likely to have diabetes than non-Hispanic whites of a similar age and Mexican-Americans more specifically are more than twice as likely to have diabetes.
Investing in this type of research to have a better understanding of cultural, behavioral, environmental and genetic factors will allow private and public entities to develop effective behavior change programs for Latinos in the U.S. 

And speaking of health, congratulations to Elmer Huerta, MD, MPH, who was named last week as the new president of the American Cancer Society, making him the first Latino to lead this organization in its 94-year history. ¡Felicidades!