Canned vegetables contain high amounts of sodium. If canned vegetables are the only option, drain the fluid out of the can and rinse the vegetables to wash off some of the sodium.

Visit the Eating Right section to learn more facts like this about obesity.

Cultural Conflicts in the Weight Loss Experience of Overweight Latinos
By V.A. Diaz, A.G. Mainous III, and C. Pope
From the International Journal of Obesity (2007) 31: 328–333

This article presents recent information that can be used by health-care providers to develop culturally appropriate weight loss strategies for this population. It describes weight-loss experiences, attitudes towards weight loss, and barriers to weight loss among overweight Latino adults that should be considered when developing weight-loss interventions.

Key Facts About Childhood Obesity in the Latino Community
From the National Council for La Raza Fact Sheet on Health (2006)

Latinos and their children have been particularly affected by the growing prevalence of overweight and obesity. This fact sheet from the National Council for La Raza provides some quick facts about who is at risk for obesity, its effects on the community, and what can be done to prevent it.

Viva la Familia Study: Genetic and Environmental Contributions to Childhood Obesity and its Comorbidities in the Hispanic Population
By Nancy F. Butte, Guowen Cai, Shelley A. Cole, and Anthony G. Comuzzie
From the American Journal Clinical Nutrition (2006) 84: 646–54

The Viva la Familia Study was designed to genetically map childhood obesity and its comorbidities in the Hispanic population. The objectives of this report were to describe the study design and to summarize genetic and environmental contributions to the phenotypic variation in obesity.

Preventing Childhood Obesity in Lower-Income Communities: A Focus Group Report of African-American and Latino Families’ Understanding of Healthy Lifestyles, Barriers, and Challenges
By the HSC Foundation, February 2007

The HSC Foundation conducted a series of focus groups aimed at identifying ways to reverse the trend of overweight and obesity in lower-income African-American and Latino children and adolescents. The findings of this research indicate that for many of these families, issues relating to daily survival such as employment, safety, limited finances, and education take priority over the issues of overweight and obesity. By gaining a clear understanding of how to effectively communicate with lower-income Latino and African-American families about childhood obesity and its associated health risks, results of this study can help to inform messaging, programs, and policies created to address the epidemic.

One out of Three Latino Adolescents Overweight or At Risk
By Michael A. Rodríguez, Marlena Kane, Lupe Alonzo-Diaz, and George R. Flores
A joint publication of the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research and the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, April 2005

This fact sheet examines how policy solutions to the obesity epidemic must consider the unique social, cultural, and environmental circumstances that face Latinos; the impact of immigration, social and environmental inequities, and cultural experiences on behaviors contributing to obesity; as well as to uncover the most effective means to prevent overweight among Latino youth.

Obesity in Latino Communities: Prevention, Principles, and Action
by the Latino Coalition for a Healthy California, December 2006

While the rising trend in obesity rates cuts across all social classes, the prevalence of obesity is higher and the severity of consequences from obesity-related diseases, such as diabetes, is greater in certain places and among particular populations. California’s Latinos are disproportionately affected by obesity and its complications. Furthermore, Latinos are the fastest growing population group in California. One out of three Californians is Latino, comprising over one half of children born in California, and constitute 47% of children attending public school in California. This paper addresses not only the biological causes of obesity, but also the culture, values, resources, and environments that influence eating and physical activity behaviors and choices in California’s Latino communities.

The Future of Children Series: Childhood Obesity
A Publication of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University and the Brookings Institution. Volume 16, Number 1, Spring 2006

This volume is a collection of articles that present up-to-date literature reviews and analyses written by leading researchers and experts from many disciplines. The goal of the issue is to promote effective policies and programs targeting childhood obesity by providing timely, objective information based on the best available research on this topic.

Obesity Among US Urban Preschool Children: Relationships to Race, Ethnicity, and Socioeconomic Status
By Robert C. Whitaker, MD, MPH; Sean M. Orzol, MPH
From the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, Volume 160, June 2006

To determine whether there are racial/ethnic differences in the prevalence of obesity among preschool children and to determine whether these differences are explained by socioeconomic factors, this paper examines the high prevalence of obesity among Hispanics in a sample of preschool children drawn from 20 large US cities, relative to their black and whites schoolmates.

The Latino Childhood Obesity Epidemic: Rates, Risks and Remedies
By Amelie G. Ramirez, DrPH.
Presented at the Twenty-eighth Annual Meeting of the Society of Behavioral Medicine, March 2007

This PowerPoint presentation by the Director of the Institute of Health Promotion Research at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio describes the current and growing state of childhood obesity in Latinos and explores how families can participate with the health-care community in reversing this dangerous trend.

Starting Earlier: What We Know About Preventing Overweight In Children from Birth to Five Years Old
From the California WIC Association, February 2006

This paper reviews existing literature and provides a profile of overweight among children from birth to five years old, describes current approaches to preventing overweight for these children, and discusses the potential role of various programs and policies in advancing the goal of prevention. The primary focus is on environmental causes of overweight among young children and the strategies that involve environmental or policy changes that can help prevent overweight in the earliest years.

The files on this page will require Adobe Acrobat reader to view and print.