Nutrition is an important issue for all people, but it is an especially important issue for Latinos. Good nutrition is not only about eating right, but it also ties in issues of economics, marketing, and social policy. In 1981, 11% of Latino children were obese. Today, 39% of Mexican-American children are obese. Marketing of fast food, the cost of healthy food, the time it takes to prepare healthy food, TV, physcial inactivity, and genetics all play into the increase in obesity across the board. We need to educate families and teach to accomodate the socioeconomic issues of nutrition. Robert Woods Johnson Foundation has made a commitment of $500 million to education and policy work to combat obesity.
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