During the months of September and October, we commemorate National Hispanic-Latino Heritage Month. This month, the Ethnicity and Health in America Series will be raising public awareness about mental health and obesity among Hispanic-Latinos. For Latino communities, the obesity epidemic has reached a crisis, with many states and communities reporting Latino obesity at overwhelming proportions. In 2009, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) found that two-thirds of adults and nearly one in three children were overweight or obese. The CDC also reported Latinos as the minority group with the second-highest obesity prevalence in adults, with a staggering rate of 47.8 percent. In comparing overweight rates, which include obesity rates, Latinos surpassed the general population by ten percentage points. These statistics, coupled over the growing population of Latino/Hispanic Americans, the Ethnicity and Health in America Series is raising awareness about obesity among Latino populations.
We are featuring the work of Guadalupe X. Ayala, PhD, a professor of public health, associate dean for research in the College of Health and Human Services, and co-director of the San Diego Prevention Research Center at San Diego State University. Her work focuses on the development of family and community-based interventions to improve dietary behaviors, increase physical activity and promote diabetes control among Latinos. Most have resulted in improvements in health behaviors such as healthy eating and improvements in health status such as reductions in waist circumference. Ayala's work emphasizes the importance of involving the community in programs. She works with grocery stores and restaurants on obesity prevention programs and evaluates whether these programs promote healthier food shopping and eating at restaurants. Some of her recent research projects include “The Peers for Progress-funded Puentes hacia una major vida study,” “Entre Familia: Reflejos de Salud,” and “Familias Sanas y Activas.”