Miriam Alvarado asks us to imagine a pill that could reduce our risk of getting colon cancer by 30%, breast cancer by 20%-40%, and even if you had a family history of diabetes, it would reduce your risk by 40%. What is this magic pill? Exercise. But why are only 1in 10 women in Barbados getting enough exercise?

Originally from California, Miriam Alvarado is a mixed methods researcher with a focus on social determinants of health and health disparities. Miriam came to Barbados in 2013 as a Fulbright Fellow, studying women’s experiences with and perceptions around physical activity. She was later affiliated with the Chronic Disease Research Centre and has focused on understanding regional health disparities, population aging dynamics, and the effects of the recent sugar-sweetened beverage tax. Miriam is currently leading a project aimed at making physical activity more accessible to women across the island, called Get Women Moving. Before coming to Barbados, Miriam was a Post Bachelor Fellow at the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation and focused on the Global Burden of Disease and social determinants of health. Miriam received her MPH from the University of Washington, and has a BA in Economics and Development Studies from the University of California, Berkeley.

This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx