Salud! Addressing Latino Health Challenges
July 29-31, 2002

The University of Georgia
College of Family and Consumer Sciences
Department of Foods and Nutrition
In partnership with
DrTango, Inc. and the Latin American Association

Tuesday, July 30th, 2002
4:00-5:30 p.m.

Session: Developing Latino Cultural Competence: Dietary Concerns and Needs of Hispanics

Speaker: Eleazar Lara, Vice President, Health Product Development, DrTango, Inc.

o Diet and Physical activity --à Lifestyle
o Obesity-à heart disease, increased blood pressure, Diabetes, Cancer
o The rate of decline in heart disease in the general population has occurred at a lesser rate among Latinos
o 1:10 Latinos Vs. 1:20 whites, are diagnosed with diabetes
o 1:4 Latinos over the age of 45 have diabetes
o Hispanics are diagnosed with diabetes at twice the rate of whites

o Contributing Factors
o Diet and physical activity
o Rural (hard working open spaces) Vs. Urban (less fresh produce, food availability dependant on economics)
o Short Cooking Time--à
o Easy to use------------à Usually higher fatty foods
o Low cost--------------à
o International Migrations -
o Increased quantity, Decreased nutritional quality diet
o Low levels of activity

o Latinos tend to seek care only when they feel sick
o Obesity, High BP, Hypercholestrolemia, Cancer-à Have no early symptoms

o Main difficulties
o Lack of insurance
o Lack of cultural sensitivity in programs

o 3 A's
o Availability
o Accessibility
o Acceptability

o Dr. Tango
o 13,000 pages, graphs, 1500 diseases
o Used to breakdown language barrier b/n different Latino communities
o South California-Chicano Spanish
o Texas-Mexican Spanish
o Florida-Cuban Spanish

o Pills Vs. Life-easier to take pills versus teaching lifestyle changes

o Eighty-five percent of medical malpractice cases are based on communication issues

o Mi Dieta-Part of Dr. Tango.com
o Developed at a high school education level
o However, low income families have lower education levels and do not have access to computers