Latino Nutrition Month Sept. 15 - Oct. 15

To build awareness that making healthy food and lifestyle choices can reduce the rise of chronic disease facing the Latino community, Oldways and the Latino Nutrition Coalition (LNC) announce Latino Nutrition Month from September 15 through October 15 to coincide with National Hispanic Heritage Month.

To build awareness that making healthy food and lifestyle choices can reduce the rise of chronic disease facing the Latino community, Oldways and the Latino Nutrition Coalition (LNC) announce Latino Nutrition Month from September 15 through October 15 to coincide with National Hispanic Heritage Month. 

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, as of July 1, 2006, there were 44.3 million Hispanics in the United States accounting for 14.8% of the total U.S. population. Between 2000 and 2006 Hispanic growth rate (24.3%) was more than three times the growth rate of the total population (6.1%). 

Faced with a number of health risks, data shows that 10.4% of Hispanics aged 20 years or older have been diagnosed with diabetes. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that during 2006?2008, the age-adjusted estimated prevalence of obesity overall was 25.6% among non-Hispanic blacks, non-Hispanic whites, and Hispanics. Hispanics had a 21 percent higher obesity prevalence compared with whites. Hispanics in the Northeast had lower obesity prevalence than Hispanics in the Midwest, South or West. 

The goal of Latino Nutrition Month is to introduce consumers to a variety of ways to cook, eat and enjoy the Latino diet pattern. This includes the introduction of an updated Latin American Diet Pyramid stressing the importance of fruits, veggeies, nuts, beans, and spices. 

This is an excellent opportunity for retailers to reach out to their Latino shoppers, taking advantage of the resources offered for Latino Nutritional Coalition. Latino Nutrition Month consumer and health care professional programs featured on the Oldways and LNC websites include:

•    A Latino Month Calendar, featuring a tip-a-day for following the healthy Latin American Diet.

•    A 7-Day Healthy Latino Menu: 7 days of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, and snacks, with calorie counts.   

•    Affordable Latino meals, including recipes and price information for families, seniors, college students and others stretching their food dollars.

•    An updated Camino Mágico, a downloadable, bi-lingual supermarket shopping guide to help Latino shoppers make healthy choices among the endless food options available at supermarkets today.

•    Latin American Diet Recipe Contest on the LNC site and The Oldways Table Blog.  Look for contest rules on the Oldways and LNC websites and at http://oldwaystable.org.   

•    A 2' X 3' poster with an updated illustration of the Latin American Diet Pyramid will be available at The Oldways Store.

•    Latino Health Professionals Tool Kit featuring meal planning tips, recipes, handouts and more is available to Health Professionals and Supermarket RDs who request this free resource by emailing or calling Erika Ross (eross@oldwayspt.org, 617- 896-4850).
 

For more information visit http://www.latinonutrition.org/.