SPOTLIGHTS

ELVA ARREDONDO

Meet a member of the Salud America! National Advisory Committee

When she was just a teenager, Elva Arredondo got a first-hand taste of acculturation when her family moved from her native Mexico to Seattle.

Her mother worked two jobs and had little time for the healthy homemade meals they had traditionally cooked in Mexico—so fast food picked up the slack.

Watching TV helped teach them English—and many unhealthy food messages, too.

“I remember being so thrilled my mother took us to McDonald’s, it felt like we were living the American life,” Arredondo said. “But we all gained a little bit of weight. I’ve seen how acculturation can impact your health.”

Arredondo’s experience spurred her to get her PhD and become a professor dedicated to preventing obesity and its health complications among foreign-born and U.S.-born monolingual Spanish-speaking and bilingual populations.

Today, Dr. Arredondo works at San Diego State University and studies the cultural influences and psychosocial mediators of preventive behaviors, such as physical activity and dietary practices among Latinos.

“One way to make a difference in the world is to improve people’s health,” she said.

One of her programs, Caminando Con Fe (Walking with Faith), promotes more physical activity among church-going Latinos and advocates for environmental changes that facilitate physical activity.

Dr. Arredondo also is involved with Aventuras Para Niños (Adventures with Children), to promote healthy eating and exercise in many culturally appropriate ways—teaching parents effective ways to engage their family in healthy behaviors, training teachers to deliver healthy messages to students, and hiring community health workers to advocate for better parks and more fruits and vegetables in grocery stores.

“It’s important to involve researchers, community leaders, etc., to really address Latino childhood obesity at many levels,” said Dr. Arredondo, a member of the Salud America! National Advisory Committee. “That’s the most effective ways to tackle the epidemic.”

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