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Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Advertisement Email Story to a Friend May 2, 2006 Maria Valencia, front, teaches aerobics in Spanish recently at the Medford YMCA. Organizers say they believe the class to be the area�s first in Spanish. (Mail Tribune / Denise Baratta) As easy as ... Uno, dos, tres? Hispanics welcome Spanish-language step class, but agree health is a food issue, too By JOHN DARLING for the Mail Tribune To a salsa beat and numbers barked out en Español, Latinos are starting to trickle in to what organizers believe is the Rogue Valley's first Spanish-language workout class — and trying to move past a cultural tradition that calls for meaty, high-carb meals and little exercise. "It's welcoming to understand what people are saying and to feel the more familiar rhythms," says Elizabeth Godinez after the recent step aerobics class at the Medford YMCA. But more important, she adds, is adopting a tradition of regular exercise and taking a hard look at the Hispanic diet. "What Anglos eat for a meal is for us a snack," says Godinez. "We have our meat, beans, tortillas, guacamole and rice — and we have lots! I tried to give my kids a chicken salad and, after eating it, they said, mom, where's dinner?" For Hispanics adjusting to American culture, traditions rapidly can head onto a collision course with modern ideas about health, says Milo Salgado of Medford, who started eating smaller portions and exercising after his doctor warned him to get rid of 20 pounds. Advertisement "We haven't learned yet that eating well is different from eating right," says Salgado. "Once it happens to you, you know the benefits. ... I share it with people and try to help educate about balancing the food groups. In our tradition, we don't know what food groups are." Godinez and Salgado aren't alone in taking another look at Hispanic traditions around diet and exercise. According to the 2005 National Health Interview Survey of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, at least one of every four Hispanic adults living in the United States is obese, which is defined as having a body mass index, or BMI, of 30 or more. Hispanic children under age 10 have a 50 percent lifetime risk of developing type 2 diabetes, according to a 2003 American Medical Association study. Being overweight and suffering from obesity also increase risks for other illness, including heart disease, stroke and certain forms of cancer. Complicating tradition is the fact that Hispanic people find themselves extremely busy balancing jobs, school and children, says Maria Ramos Underwood of La Clinica del Valle in Phoenix. They often don't have time, she says, to cook dinner, a move that finds them munching American fast food, a tempting meal because it's cheap and resembles the meaty high-fat Latino diet. "The Hispanic diet leans to meat and away from vegetables. It's higher in fat, and a lot of dishes are prepared in lard. It's very rare to have a leafy salad," says Underwood. "It's like what you get at a taco stand — meat, beans, tortilla." The lure of meaty, high-carb fast food is one that even step aerobics teacher Maria Valencia can't resist. "I love fast food. You can eat it if you work out like I do. I know what's healthy — water, fruit, salad, cereal with milk. But I love a big pizza with Valencia. "But, rain, shine or snow, I go out at 5:30 every morning with my 16-year-old daughter and run two to five miles, then work out with weights. I'm in good shape." In addition to her step aerobics, workout student Maria Guiterrez has found another way to shortcut the Hispanic tradition of sitting down to three meals. Like a lot of Anglos, she skips breakfast. She also is starting to introduce fruit on the table, a rarity in Latino tradition. Gathering to feast, eating big and having seconds are all part of the Hispanic tradition, agrees Maria bel Resugio Sandoval of White City, another student in the step class. "They want you to be happy," she says, "and if you eat more, you are happy. If you're skinny, they tell you to eat more. When they invite you to their homes, they grill lots of meat and it's hard to say no. They host will feel bad if you refuse. They think you didn't like their food. It's hard to change tradition." Hispanics face the same challenge as Anglos, when in the mid-20th century the rise of labor-saving machines and the explosion of fast-food outlets brought in a wave of obesity and heart trouble that still persists. "It's a recipe for disaster and Hispanics will be paying the consequences of our diet and inactivity later," says Underwood, noting that her parents, by "bringing their eating habits with them" and doing much less physical activity, became 30 pounds overweight soon after coming to the States. La Clinica conducts educational programs for introduction of more antioxidants, especially leafy greens, and tries to get the whole family involved in diet and lifestyle changes. "Unless everyone's involved," she says, "it's not going to be a success. We're completely surrounded here by high-sugar and high-carb foods." As the Latino population here swells, some are joining gyms and adapting to the American way of workouts. About 15 percent of the Medford Y membership is Hispanic, and more Spanish-language programs are in the works, says fitness director Jeni Beck. John Darling is a freelance writer living in Ashland. E-mail him at [email protected]. About the Spanish-language aerobics class About the class The Medford YMCA's step aerobics class in Spanish is held from 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. Tuesdays and Thursdays at the YMCA, 522 W. Sixth St. It's free with membership or $10 a class with a daily pass. Details: 772-6295 or " target="_blank">www.rvymca.org. 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