Obesity | VivirLatino

Posts Tagged ‘obesity’

Mississippi is the Fattest State — but Why?

10:48 am By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · Food|Health|Mississippi|society · 1 Comment

1 Jul 2009

1239771393_kfc_bowl The state of Mississippi has won a top ranking on a list it would probably prefer not to be on at all: the obesity list. According to a new study by the Trust for America’s Health and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, adult obesity rates increased in 23 states last year, and Mississippi takes the cake, so to speak, in being obese. The Houston Chronicle reports:

• Mississippi had the highest rate of adult obesity, 32.5 percent, for the fifth year in a row.
• Three additional states now have adult obesity rates above 30 percent, including Alabama, 31.2 percent; West Virginia, 31.1 percent; and Tennessee, 30.2 percent. Ohio ranked 10th with an adult obesity rate of 28.6 percent.
• Colorado had the lowest rate of obese adults, at 18.9 percent, followed by Massachusetts, 21.2 percent; and Connecticut, 21.3 percent.
• Mississippi also had the highest rate of overweight and obese children, at 44.4 percent. It’s followed by Arkansas, 37.5 percent; and Georgia, 37.3 percent.
• Following Alabama, Michigan ranks No. 2 with the most obese 55- to 64-year-olds, 36 percent. Colorado has the lowest rate, 21.8 percent.

What’s perhaps more alarming to me is that Mississippi’s children also lead the nation in obesity. Not surprising (if parents aren’t eating well or exercising, neither are their children) but alarming. And beyond alarming is that Colorado, at nearly 20%, is the U.S.’s “leanest” state.

But to invoke a post by La Macha from earlier this year, as alarmed as we might be by statistics, we need to look at the causes of this problem. Beyond just the superficial “you eat too much junk food” analysis, these statistics have everything to do with access to healthy food, education and everything that goes along with living in impoverished areas or belonging to a traditionally oppressed group.

Instead of just being alarmed, we need to examine the causes and talk about answers to incredibly hard questions: like, is good nutrition really an option for everyone? And what “should” struggling famiilies eat if they only have access to fast food? Aside from the fact that some areas lack access to fresh food, when you are sweating to make ends meet and a bag of organic salad that serves 2 costs $4.99 while you can get a bucket of KFC for the whole family for the same price…is this really even a choice anymore?

What do you think?

Via / Chron.com

Latino Preschoolers Too Fat?

2:45 pm By Jennifer Woodard Maderazo · children|Health · 1 Comment

2 Jan 2007

Latinos tend to think of chubby babies and children as healthy babies and children. According to a new study that very notion may be hurting our children especially as they enter the preschool years.

More than a third of disadvantaged 3-year-olds in Chicago and other major U.S. cities are overweight or obese, according to a new study that supports the notion that the struggle with obesity often begins in early childhood.

Hispanic children were most at risk, with 45 percent either overweight or obese.

The study’s authors at the University of Wisconsin-Madison also identified several practices that may protect kids from excessive weight gain, including breast-feeding for at least six months and not allowing children to take a bottle to bed.

More to Obesity…

10:12 pm By Maegan La Mala · Health · Comments Off

5 Dec 2005

Despite its obvious sizzle, scapegoating junk food isn’t the answer; better school nutrition and less fast food is not the panacea for this public health crisis. A big part of the problem is that many children have very few options after school to do anything other than sit in front of television or computer screens or hang out on their neighborhood streets.

I’ll be the first to admit that it’s very easy to blame the fast food industry and junk food in general for the obesity epidemic that this country is facing. Perhaps there is more to the problem. Who would’ve thought that the socioeconomic condition of some children has a direct effect on whether they are obese and suffer from health illnesses later in their lives. Parents have to take some responsibility but how much is really deserved. Take for instance so called latchkey kids who are home alone because their parents are still away at work when they arrive from school. How can you really blame parents for that when they are trying to make ends meet.

Approximately 5 million children under the age of 12, most of them African-American or Latino, living in poor neighborhoods, spend their time after school home alone. The result is a host of potential problems that compromise their healthy development — social, intellectual, and physical — into adulthood. Among these problems is childhood obesity, which is of epidemic proportions among America’s African-American and Latino children, 9 million of whom are now obese.

Increased Diabetes Risk for Latino Kids

8:45 pm By Maegan La Mala · Health · Comments Off

1 Dec 2005

Overweight Latino children who eat lots of sugar and drink sugary drinks may show signs of poor beta cell function, which is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes, according to the results of a new study.

Another article has come out detailing the negative effects of a diet high in sugar for Latino kids.

It is a well known fact that being overweight puts one at an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Interestingly, Latino children have been shown to have a higher risk of developing diabetes even among overweight children. Latino kids also tend to be overweight more so than other kids. In a society that pushes junk food at every turn, this is a very disturbing finding.

It is good to see though that schools are taking an active role in limiting student sugar intake. Many schools have already done away with peddling soda to kids because of the strong link between soda consumption and obesity. The Los Angeles Unified School District, for example, has done away with soda vending machines and has opted instead to sell fruit based drinks, water and milk.

The question now is whether parents can follow the lead of schools and limit the sugar intake of their children.

Via / Reuters

Are We in the Midst of a Latino Health Epidemic?

7:59 am By Maegan La Mala · Health · Comments Off

3 Oct 2005

The Health Crisis

It seems that everywhere I turn lately, I’m encountering more and more articles telling me that the Latino population is in big trouble when it comes to Health. The topics range from lack of medical insurance to obesity. And as a result of these issues, even bigger problems arise.

According to a recent HispanicBusiness article:

Among California Latinos, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and certain types of cancer, account for 56 percent of all deaths. In addition, 40 percent of California Latino adults are overweight and 29 percent are obese.

A recent study conducted in Washington, D.C. tells us:

The findings show only 41 percent of Latino residents have health insurance, about 32 percent have not seen a doctor in more than two years and 61 percent of the respondents were overweight or obese.

Possible Reasons
I’ve been following similar health issues in Mexico, and dietary change was being blamed for a big portion of the obesity and diabetes.

VivirLatino