Photo: Jeff J. Mitchell / Getty Images
By: Janet Hernández, Highland Park resident
Tuesday, November 26
Businesses and families can collaborate to improve our health
Our community is going through a health crisis. Obesity and diabetes are more frequent in Latino communities and affect the quality of life of adults and children.
Inequality in the care of health has many reasons. Most are related to poverty, and families have no control over these health problems. True access to health care is often determined by family income, which is why so many diseases, including covid – 19, have a greater impact on the Hispanic and black community.
Many Hispanic families live in low-income neighborhoods that do not have a good-quality, low-priced supermarket. Expecting a working mother to drive miles to find cheap fruits and vegetables and other healthy foods is unreasonable. There is not enough day for everything you have to do! But often, that’s the right thing to do to serve healthy meals.
There are certain things that we do have control over. The main cause of obesity and diabetes is from consuming too many low-nutritious calories. We parents teach our children about good nutrition and prepare healthy meals, but that is not enough. We need everyone in the community to work together to find a solution.
Supermarkets and warehouses should offer more healthy options and more fresh fruits and vegetables; restaurants should add low-calorie dishes to their menu. Community groups should work with businesses to make sure people know there are options to cut calories.
A good example of companies in action is what the soft drink industry does by investing in the Balance Calories Initiative (BCI). Beverage companies collaborate with local community groups to spread the word about what people need to do to account for the sugar they consume in soft drinks. BCI is dedicated to reducing sugar calories consumed in beverages and focuses on communities like East LA, in addition to other specific cities across the country. This is having an impact on these communities and national trends, as consumption of regular sodas has decreased since the year 2000.
A local example of how it works is the changes made by Los Cincos Puntos, a butcher-restaurant in East LA. It offers regular drinks to its customers, but on its menu, the walls, and the counter, there are prominent images of water and calorie-free drinks. Owners have noticed that when these options are highlighted, their customers end up buying them. And by the way your business benefits.
I see more advertising than before for sugar-free soft drinks, and it is very useful to see a lot of options in the Beverage racks, such as calorie-free sports sodas and flavored water. I’ve started to see 8-ounce canned drinks, which means fewer calories and less junk at large family gatherings. (When it comes to cleaning, there are no more half-consumed cans!)
We can all support this campaign and applaud the companies that make your part. I hope these efforts are successful and show the way for others.
Also, we can do something for our neighbors. When we don’t see the types of drinks we want in our local stores, we should ask for them. Tell homeowners you want to shop at local businesses, but you also want to buy good health products.
As a mother, I know it is hard to get my kids to eat healthy and exercise, especially teens. If we work together to solve this health challenge that we all face, we will be taking a good first step towards the solution.
Janet Hernández is a mother and has lived in Highland Park for a long time