Obesity in Children

Why are Hispanic children at greater risk for obesity, as well as diabetes caused by obesity? Watch this video and find out...


Manantial de Salud -- Dove Springs Health Network -- will confront all of the major health challenges in our community, starting with obesity, which causes high rates of diabetes among Latinos, along with hundreds of preventable deaths.

In Austin, Texas 40% of Hispanics suffer from diabetes...while only 20% of Non-Hispanic Whites suffer from this terrible disease. It's clear that obesity has become an epidemic in our city, particularly in our Hispanic communities. 

The red zones in the map below show the high concentrations of overweight and obese children -- most of them are in the Dove Springs area.

"Obesity is a terrible affliction for Latinos in Austin," comments Dr. Stephen Pont, Health Director for the Austin Independent School District (AISD). "We need to do many things to fight obesity, and one of the easiest and most important things we can do is to not give our children sodas or other sugary drinks. I ask Latino families to accept this challenge and promise to not drink sodas during the school week. This will help your children's health and education."

It's a serious problem, and sometimes it's complicated. But let's start with an easy solution!

All of us -- especially our children who are at a critical time in their lives where they are developing physically and mentally -- should make it a point to drink less soda and more water. 

The challenge we present to you, on behalf of the Manantial de Salud Dove Springs Health Network, is to not drink any sodas (including sports/energy drinks or juices with lots of sugar or artificial sweeteners) during the school week.

The next challenge we present is to set weekly exercise goals - at LEAST 1 1/2 hours per week, but we  encourage you to aim for the gold level of 5 hours per week.

Say NO to soda!


Get active!

What do you think of these challenges? Let us know...