Salud y Vida: Healthy Living for Latinos

Newswise — The future and the health of the Latino community will take center stage at a conference in Mission Valley this week. Medical professionals and community health workers from across San Diego and the nation will participate in a two-day conference to discuss how to raise awareness and promote good health practices in the Latino community. The event, hosted by San Diego Prevention Research Center, and sponsored by San Diego State University, University of California, San Diego and San Ysidro Health Center, brings community leaders together to "teach the teachers." Those local leaders return to their jobs and neighborhoods to teach the community at large. Sessions are presented in both English and Spanish, but translation services are provided.

When: 9 a.m. " 5 p.m., Thursday, May 17 9 a.m. - 4:30 p.m., Friday, May 18

Where: Doubletree Hotel, 7450 Hazard Center Drive, Mission Valley, San Diego, CA 92108 (619)297-5466

Speakers: The Keynote Address, "Past, Present, and Future of Community Based Health Programs for Latinos," will be presented by Amelie Ramirez, Ph.D., University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. Other topics include information on making healthy meal choices, combating childhood obesity through physical activity, starting a walking club, working with the media to promote health awareness, becoming an advocate"¦ and more.

Photo/Video Opportunities: Most of the sessions are informational but include breaks, during which participants will practice what they preach, with activities, such as throwing balls, playing games and taking walks.

Background: The San Diego Prevention Research Center, established in September 2004, is the result of a collaborative effort between San Diego State University, the University of California, San Diego, and the San Ysidro Health Center. The center focuses on how to promote increased physical activity among Latinos in order to prevent diabetes, heart disease and other chronic diseases that afflict that group, especially recent immigrants and their families.

One of the program's goals is to make progress toward meeting the Healthy People 2010 Objectives. To meet that goal, adults are encouraged to obtain 30 or more minutes of moderate physical activity, five or more days per week. Nationwide, inactivity decreased between 1988 and 2002, but the rate of decrease has been slower for Hispanics than for non-Hispanic Whites.

The most recent data indicates that fewer Hispanics compared to non-Hispanic Whites are achieving the recommended levels of physical activity, 39 percent to 53 percent. More than twice as many Hispanics report no leisure-time physical activity compared to Whites, 42 percent to 17.5 percent.

The existing research on physical activity focuses heavily on Anglo populations. There is a need for data that identify the risk factors contributing to obesity especially in Mexican-American families. Research from the San Diego Prevention Research Center can help close this gap.