For Parents

Focus on the Family. Eat meals together, and participate in physical activity as a family. If you're not inspired to fight obesity for yourself, do it for your kids and you'll all reap the benefits.

Become a role model for your children. Kids look up to their parents, if you place an emphasis on living healthy, it will transcend to your children.

Get your kids involved in organized sports. Find a physical activity that your child likes and get them involved. Physical activity will drastically reduce the likelihood of becoming obese.

Get active! Enough emphasis cannot be placed on the importance of physical activity. Aim to participate in some kind of physical activity 5 days a week for at least 30 minutes a day. Aerobic and Cardiovascular activities are best, but any activity is better than none.

Make an effort to cook, and cook healthy. Home cooked meals are often more healthy than restaurants, especially fast food. While fast food may be appealing because it is cheap and easy, it is really unhealthy. So do your best to avoid it! Making healthy meals will go a long way for yourself, and your children.

Eat fruits and veggies. Traditionally, Latinos eat a great deal of fruit, and a lot of veggies, too. However, once becoming acculturated in the U.S. these foods slowly see themselves out of the Latino diet. Make a conscious effort to keep fruits and vegetables in your diet!

Substitute ingredients. Latino foods are usually high in carbohydrates, and high in fat. Choose the low-carb tortillas, and low fat or lean beans and meats. Substitute high fat meats, like beef, with healthier choices like poultry. Latinos already eat a lot of fiber, which is good, but they also eat too much fat.

Turn off the TV! This goes for parents, too. Limit your personal use of TV and monitor the sedentary or screen watching activity of your children. No more than two hours a day. Also, do not allow your child to have their own television. Studies have shown that kids with TV's in their rooms are much more likely to become obese.

No late night snacks. Eating before bed deprives the body of any opportunity to burn off the calories ingested. Do not allow your kids to eat within two hours of bed time.

Spread the word! Inform your Latino friends and family members about the dangers of obesity, and direct them to this site. It's a small step that could go a long way in reducing obesity among the Latino community.