As Oregon Binational Health week comes to a close, we want to address the great need of knowledge and awareness for our communities to manage their health.
Not only have our diets changed, but so have our habits. Children are no longer going outside to play as they used to, and instead spend their free time watching television, playing video games or searching the web. This simple change is distressing and carries potentially dangerous consequences, because children are not active. Not making healthy decisions when deciding what to put into our mouths and not doing anything to burn it off, is the biggest contributing factor to Latinos’ unhealthy statistics.
Perhaps another factor contributing to the overweight and obesity epidemic is that the Hispanic culture puts a cuteness factor on being overweight or heavy . Or the easy access to fast food that have low nutritional value. What is clear however, is that the numbers of Latinos being affected by health related diseases are not cute at all or easy to comprehend. According to the Center for Disease Control, the top leading causes of death for Latinos are Diabetes, stroke, and Heart disease, all which are diet related.
Oregon Binational Health week was developed to create awareness of the importance of taking care of one’s health, and to provide easier access so that the Latino community may have the resources to do so. So that families know how to be active with their children and cook healthy plentiful meals for them. The health fairs with free vaccines, free testing and free workshops, have helped create much needed awareness so our community can become more vibrant and healthy. When the community has access to information to better their health, smarter decisions are made and healthier people prosper.