American journal of preventive medicine
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The acculturation hypothesis proposes an overall disadvantage in health outcomes for Hispanic immigrants with more time spent living in the U.S., but little is known about how generational status and language may influence Hispanic children's relative weight and activity patterns. ⋯ The hypothesis that Hispanics lose their health protection with more time spent in the U.S. was not supported in this sample of Hispanic children.
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A systematic review of the literature to assess the effectiveness of alcohol tax policy interventions for reducing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms was conducted for the Guide to Community Preventive Services (Community Guide). Seventy-two papers or technical reports, which were published prior to July 2005, met specified quality criteria, and included evaluation outcomes relevant to public health (e.g., binge drinking, alcohol-related crash fatalities), were included in the final review. ⋯ According to Community Guide rules of evidence, these results constitute strong evidence that raising alcohol excise taxes is an effective strategy for reducing excessive alcohol consumption and related harms. The impact of a potential tax increase is expected to be proportional to its magnitude and to be modified by such factors as disposable income and the demand elasticity for alcohol among various population groups.
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Similar to the well-documented racial inequities in health status, disease burden, healthcare access, and hospitalization, studies have generally found higher rates of hospitalization resulting from ambulatory care-sensitive conditions for blacks compared to whites. Beyond identifying disparity in rates of disease or risks of hospitalization, identifying disparity in age at hospitalization may provide deeper insight into the social and economic effects of disparities on individuals, families, and communities. ⋯ Racial disparities in age at preventable hospitalization exist across a spectrum of conditions. This difference in age at hospitalization places an undue burden on individuals, families, and society with long-term health and financial sequelae. Promoting equity in disease prevention, management, and treatment should be a priority of any healthcare reform efforts.
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Low-income and minority children have higher rates of obesity and overweight. Greater understanding of their food access is important. Because of higher rates of walking to school in these populations, these children likely have greater exposure to the food environment immediately around their schools. Mobile food vendors are an understudied aspect of the food environment in U.S. urban areas. ⋯ Mobile food vendors in urban areas contribute to after-school snacking among children, and should be considered as a component of the school food environment.
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Interventions to increase children's physical activity have had limited success. One reason may be that children and their parents overestimate children's levels of physical activity, although there is a small amount of data on this topic. ⋯ Most parents of inactive children wrongly consider their children to be sufficiently active; parents of children with a lower fat mass index appear to assume that their children are adequately active. Increasing awareness regarding health benefits of physical activity beyond weight control might help reverse misperceptions of physical activity levels and encourage behavior change.