Nutrition Series: "What's Eating You?" Is Coming Soon!

One of the most popular New Year's resolutions is to lose weight. There has been no shortage of ads promoting weight loss since the beginning of the year. The choices are endless and may be overwhelming. Before you invest in prepackaged meals, start counting points, or join extreme bootcamps, turn your attention to nutrition.

Barring any medical issues, weight gain is tied directly to what you eat and your level of physical activity. And if you are consuming the wrong foods at the wrong proportions, your health and fitness attempts will be futile.

Starting on February 13, 2012, we will be launching our Nutrition Series: "What's Eating You?". We are looking for medical, nutrition, and fitness pros to contribute their expertise to this effort. Bloggers and authors are welcome! Contributors will be allowed to promote their websites, blogs, and books in exchange for their articles. Find our Guest Blogger Guidelines HERE.

If you are seeking an interview regarding your published book and/or professional services, find our guidelines HERE.

We also want to hear from our readers! What questions would you like answered about your nutrition and weight loss efforts? Submit your questions HERE.

Be good to yourself! More next time...

It's Not Hard to Say Goodbye...

This is the last day of 2011. Like many of you, I had an action-packed year. I am sure that each of you has had just as many triumphs as failures. It is not unusual to take a moment and be reflective about all of the things that you did or didn't do, things that did or didn't happen, the people who came into and went out of your life, the people who loved you and hated on you, the people who stuck with you and who turned their backs on you, all of the lessons you learned, and so on...But reflection is one thing, and holding on to "what had happened" is something else.

There is a lesson in everything--that is what the living is all about--so be present in every moment. See people for who they are and recognize that they are in your life to teach you something. Some will support and inspire you while others serve as an example of what NOT to be. Embrace that. Don't waste time on petty vendettas. Accept that we all have insecurities about something and those insecurities manifest themselves in our attitudes and behaviors. We can often feel threatened by the successes of others if we don't understand that the gifts we have are what we are supposed to have. There is a place in this world for everyone. The only person you should compete with is YOU. Stay in your lane, define your success on your own terms, and keep it moving (moving forward, that is).

If I am blessed to be here tomorrow, I vow to try harder than I ever have, challenge myself more than I ever have, ignore distractions and detractors, believe in myself, have faith in what Allah (God) has in store for me, strive to be a better sister, mother, partner, and friend, embrace love, shun jealousy and envy, and help somebody who needs it. I encourage each and every one of you to do the same.

So in case I don't "see" you, Happy New Year! Make it your best year yet!

Be good to yourself! More next time...

New Research Briefs Examine Obesity Epidemic Among Latino Youths

Briefs analyze factors contributing to Latino childhood obesity, recommend policies to help prevent it
Published: Dec 07, 2011

Related

• Read the brief: Influence of Media on Overweight and Obesity Among Latino Youth
• Read the brief: Addressing Nutrition, Overweight and Obesity Among Latino Youth
• Read the brief: Physical Activity, Overweight and Obesity Among Latino Youth

Salud America!, a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), has released a comprehensive collection of research briefs examining the obesity epidemic among Latino children and teens.
Three of the new national briefs review current evidence with respect to Latino youth in three major areas: the availability of healthy, affordable foods; opportunities for physical activity; and the impact of food marketing on diets and obesity rates. These briefs also provide policy recommendations, including the following:

• Efforts to bring healthy foods into neighborhoods and schools should particularly focus on Latino communities, since they are disproportionately affected by the epidemic.
• Policies that can help people be physically active in their neighborhoods should emphasize Latino populations because they are more likely to live in areas that do not support such activity.
• Efforts to reduce exposure to unhealthy food and beverage marketing should consider that Latino youth are particularly targeted by advertisers.
• Health programs and messages should be culturally sensitive, relevant for all populations and produced in both English and Spanish.

In addition to these three briefs, 20 pilot grantees funded by RWJF through Salud America! have produced briefs highlighting their own, new research. The new briefs analyze a wide range of issues, from the impact of menu labeling in small restaurants in south Los Angeles, to how after-school programs can help Latino youths to become more active, to how community gardens can help lower-income Latino families eat more fruits and vegetables. These briefs are available on the Salud America! website.
Latinos are currently the most populous and fastest growing ethnic minority in the United States. Over the last decade, the Latino population has grown by more than 40 percent. And according to recent estimates, nearly 40 percent of Latino children and teens are overweight and more than 20 percent are obese. The new briefs provide a snapshot of the state of the epidemic among Latino youths and describe how leaders and policy-makers can more effectively address it.
Salud America!, the RWJF Research Network to Prevent Obesity Among Latino Children, is a national network of researchers, community leaders, policy-makers and other stakeholders who are working together to increase the number of Latino scientists seeking environmental and policy solutions to address Latino childhood obesity.

Be good to yourself! More next time...