Health News

Chicago food deserts hit hard at residents’ health

Medill Reports Chicago     March 10, 2010

At the intersection of Madison Street and Western Avenue on Chicago's Near West Side, a Walgreens banner reads "New expanded food center."

Walking through the food center, customers find produce, dairy and fresh meal options alongside the predictable canned foods, TV dinners and snack packs. But the fresh options are precious in an area where access to mainstream grocery stores is limited-a food desert.

A Heavy Problem

March 12, 2010     The Huffington Post

... Americans are fat. Latinos in America are fatter still, with almost one out of five Latino kids overweight, and some one out of six obese. There is some genetic predisposition to put on weight, that is, a physical tendency to get fatter than other people eating the same food. But the real problem, said our panelists, was not genetic but caloric. We eat too much food, too much of the wrong foods, and exercise too little. Aggravating factors for these food basics include schools serving fattening lunches, selling sugary drinks, and providing too few opportunities to exercise. 

A cry for affordable, fresh foods

March 11, 2010     Tri-State Defender

Healthy eating is good for your waistline but hard on your wallet. A sausage and biscuit from your favorite fast-food restaurant might sell for 99 cents while the more healthy fruit and walnut salad is priced at $2.99. 

So Bobbie Richard, a long-time resident of the Douglass community usually does her grocery shopping at Easy Way, Kroger and Wal-Mart - stores that are more than 10 miles away from her home. Since she does not drive, she depends upon her children to provide her with transportation to these stores, which offer better variety and lower prices.

Health Problems Fuel Achievement Gaps, Study Says

March 9, 2010     Education Week

If educators and federal officials are serious about closing academic-achievement gaps, they need to better coordinate efforts to address the health disparities that impede learning for students from disadvantaged groups, according to a study scheduled for release today.

Ex-Surgeon General: U.S. has means to heal racial gaps in health care

March 5, 2010     TheDay

The strong evidence of the racial and ethnic health gap in this country and good understanding of many of its causes means that at least some of the solutions are also within reach, former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher said Thursday.

Tackling health inequity? It's about changing the dynamics of political power

March 1, 2010     The Crikey Health Blog

Continuing the Croakey series on health inequalities, Marilyn Wise, manager of the healthy public policy team at the Centre for Health Equity Research Training and Evaluation (CHETRE) at UNSW, suggests that there are several possible ways forward.

But if we really want to prevent health inequities, she says we need to consider ways of expanding "the political power of the people and populations who have been excluded by our current structures and processes from decision-making about the distribution of social resources".

Congressional Black Caucus calls for more racial equality in health care reform

February 25, 2010

In twin letters sent to President Barack Obama and top Democratic congressional leaders in advance of today's White House health-care summit, the Congressional Black Caucus is appealing for tougher efforts to reduce racial disparities in the health system.

Michelle Obama speaks frankly about race

Politico     February 19, 2010

In tackling the problem of childhood obesity, first lady Michelle Obama is doing something that her husband rarely does - talking about an issue bluntly in terms of race and helping urban America.

NEWS RELEASE: Obama Administration Details Healthy Food Financing Initiative

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services     February 19, 2010

The Obama Administration today released details of an over $400 million Healthy Food Financing Initiative, which will bring grocery stores and other healthy food retailers to underserved urban and rural communities across America. The initiative was announced today in Philadelphia by Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner and Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. The two cabinet members appeared with First Lady Michelle Obama, who recently launched theLet's Move! campaign to solve the epidemic of childhood obesity within a generation. The initiative is a partnership between the Departments of Treasury, Agriculture, and Health and Human Services.

Insurer Delays Rate Increase in California

Wall Street Journal     February 14, 2010

Health insurer Anthem Blue Cross will postpone its much-criticized plan to raise rates for some California residents who buy insurance on their own, after reaching a deal Saturday with state regulators.

Anthem's planned rate increase, which the state estimates would affect about 700,000 customers, averaged 25% and would have been as high as 39% for some.

Jacksonville agencies urge citizens to take up movement of health equity

Jacksonville News     January 25, 2010

They want people to stand up and demand better.

Better access to healthy foods, cleaner neighborhoods and more affordable health care - to name a few things.

In another era, they might have been called agitators. But now the ideas of social justice and health equity have become so mainstream that the movement's leaders are familiar names: the Jacksonville Human Rights Commission and the Duval County Health Department.

Black Journalists' Group to Hold Conference on African-American Health and Health Care Disparities

January 20, 2010     PR Newswire

The National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) will hold its annual conference on Health Disparities, March 4-6, 2010 at the Barbara Jordan Conference Center at Kaiser Family Foundation in Washington, D.C. The conference will provide journalists the tools to effectively report on the impact of health, health policy and health care reform on communities of color. This annual conference has garnered the attention of headliners and newsmakers in the fight including former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher, Marian Wright Edelman of the Children's Defense Fund and Phill Wilson, Founder of the Black AIDS Institute.