“I’m never going to be Hispanic. I can say
Buenos Dias. We need to beef up the community that represents the Latino population,” said Dr. Carol Goodenow, Director of Coordinated School Health, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, opening up the second day as the morning’s keynote presenter: ”Identifying and Addressing Physical Activity and Nutrition Disparities—Dietary Patterns and Latino Youth.” Her goal: identify adolescent populations most at risk of poor nutrition and obesity; and use multiple strategies to help schools address those issues.
Dr. Goodenow said the achievement gap between Hispanic students and white/Anglo students is larger in Massachusetts than in the country as a whole. Massachusetts teachers took an online course called “Food, Culture and Community” where they learned about cultural differences in foods. “We asked the teachers to become ethnographers and ask students: ‘what food did your grandmother serve at Christmas? What are your celebration foods?’” She said one solution for nutritious and healthy items is to offer “homestyle” cultural foods like beans and rice. “They’re not expensive and without the lard, they’re good for you. Nutrition is so much more than the American diet. Don’t ask kids to check their culture at the door. The kids should say what they want. Ask them. Encourage students to get involved in the action.”
“I’m never going to be Hispanic. I can say Buenos Dias. We need to beef up the community that represents the Latino population,” said Dr. Carol Goodenow, Director of Coordinated School Health, Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, opening up the second day as the morning’s keynote presenter: ”Identifying and Addressing Physical Activity and Nutrition Disparities—Dietary Patterns and Latino Youth.” Her goal: identify adolescent populations most at risk of poor nutrition and obesity; and use multiple strategies to help schools address those issues.
