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Study: Labels Can Help Consumers Make Healthier Food Choices


grocery store

In a new study published in the British Journal of Nutrition, a team of researchers led by the University of Surrey, has found that front of package nutrition labels can enable consumers to make healthier food choices. "Front of package food labeling is an important tool in helping consumers to make healthier choices and to encourage the industry to provide healthier foods," said Professor Monique Raats from the University of Surrey who led the research. Read more ...

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Tell Taco Bell: Quit Pushing Sugary Drinks


Tell Taco Bell

One word can describe Taco Bell’s drink lineup: Sugary. Taco Bell recently added six new sugary drinks and became the first fast-food giant to offer Manzanita Sol, an apple-flavored soda most popular in Mexico, a nod to it menus. Manzanita Sol packs a whopping 56 grams of sugar in a 16-ounce drink, and four of the six new drinks contain more than 20 grams of sugar in the chain’s smallest available size. Tell Taco Bell to stop offering Manzanita Sol and other sugary drinks to customers! Kids don’t need more sugar-bombs disguised as thirst-quenchers, they already drink many sugary drinks, pushing up their risk for obesity and diabetes. Taco Bell continues to launch new unhealthy beverages, including new flavors of sugar-filled slushy drinks called Freezes. The company ...

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23,000+ People Tell Kellogg’s that Families Want Healthier Food Options!


Tell Kellogg's

More than 23,000 people across the nation recently wrote letters to urge the Kellogg Co. to stop marketing sugary foods to families on their Dias Grandiosos website. The letters, which highlighted how Kellogg’s targets Spanish-speaking moms with family-oriented messages for meals that are high in sugar and salt, were collected by Salud America!, an obesity research and communication network funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Salud America! leaders delivered the 23,000 letters to Kellogg’s this week. We will post their response here in coming days. Why is this effort so important? Food and beverage marketing influences kids’ diets and disproportionately focuses on unhealthy products, studies show. We believe families need healthy food options—rather ...

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A Fresh Food Station Lands in Fairfax County, Va.



In the Fairfax County Public School District in Fairfax, Va., a parent group called Real Food for Kids had rid school cafeterias of highly processed junk foods and improved the nutrition of school snacks and menus. But the change was not very visible to students. So the group, led by parent JoAnne Hammermaster, helped bring a fresh food stations showcase the healthier selections—and add new ones—for students at district schools. The Need for Healthy School Food Awareness: Childhood obesity is a priority for the parent group Real Food for Kids (RFFK), which pushes for healthy changes in the Fairfax County Public School District (FCPSD), a 22% Latino district in Fairfax, Va. In 2012, for example, RFFK drove FCPSD leaders to remove foods with artificial dyes, additives, and ...

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Watch the Award-Winning ‘Salud Heroes’ Video Series


Rick Carrillo

The Salud Heroes video series shows how real people have made healthy changes for kids across the country, to inspire others to make similar changes. Now the series can be called "award-winning." More than 40 awards have been given to the Salud Heroes video series and the Salud America! website. Salud America! is a childhood obesity research and communication network funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and led by Dr. Amelie Ramirez of the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio. The recognition is from the AVA Digital Awards, Communicator Awards, Telly Awards, Aurora Awards, Web Health Awards, HERMES Awards, Davey Awards, and W³ Awards. Just this week, Rick Carrillo, Salud America! TV producer/director, was named a finalist for the "Best in ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 3/24/15: Why You Should Keep an Eye on Vision Health


this Healthy Vision Month in May.

Many people struggle with their eye health. They have a high risk of glaucoma, diabetic eye disease, and blindness. Let’s use #SaludTues on March 24, 2015, to tweet information and resources you need to help prevent, reduce their risk, or manage eye health problems: WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: "Why You Should Keep an Eye on Vision Health" DATE: Tuesday, March 24, 2015 TIME: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT) WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues HOST: @SaludAmerica CO-HOSTS: National Eye Health Education Program, Bascom Palmer Eye Center at the University of Miami (@BascomPalmerEye) Be sure to use the hashtag #SaludTues to follow the conversation on Twitter/X and share your stories and resources. #SaludTues is a Tweetchat on Twitter/X that focuses on a ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 3/3/15: Celebrating Health: Habits & Heroes


Maternal Health

March is Women’s History Month, a time to celebrate the achievements women throughout history have made that make our world a better place. In honor of this month, we’re celebrating health and the women who inspire us to live life to the fullest . Join us and our co-hosts as we tweet about health and the women who inspire us at the next #SaludTues Tweetchat. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “Celebrating Health: Habits & Heroes” DATE: Tuesday, March 3, 2015 TIME: Noon CST (1:00 PM ET) WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues Co-HOSTS: @SaludAmerica, @EmpowHER, and @LatinaLista Be sure to use the hashtag #SaludTues to follow the conversation on Twitter/X and share your stories and resources. #SaludTues is a Tweetchat on Twitter/X that focuses on a ...

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Tell Kellogg: Stop Marketing High-Sugar Recipes to Families


BerkeleyPasses Ban Junk Food in Store Checkout Aisles

Moms often have final say over family meals. Marketers know this. Kellogg Co., the name behind brands like Fruit Loops, Pop-Tarts, and Eggo Waffles, has a new digital marketing campaign, Días Grandiosos, that targets Spanish-speaking moms online and on social media like Facebook and Pinterest with recipes they tout as saludable (healthy). But many of their meals are high in sugar and salt. In other words, NOT saludable. Tell Kellogg to stop pushing moms to give their kids unhealthy, sugary foods, and instead add more healthy options! Almost all the campaign’s recipes—19 of the 29 recipes on its website—qualify as desserts based on their high sugar content, according to an independent nutritionist. Like: Five recipes using Rice Krispies and marshmallows; ...

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#SaludTues Tweetchat 2/24/15: How Moms Can Fight Junk Food Marketing


mom at home

Moms often have final say over family meals. Let’s use #SaludTues on Feb. 24, 2015, to help moms fight back against unhealthy food advertising by tweeting resources and strategies: WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “How Moms Can Fight Junk Food Marketing” DATE: Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015 TIME: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT) WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues HOST: @SaludAmerica CO-HOSTS: The Center for Science in the Public Interest (@CSPI), Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity (@UConnRuddCenter), and MomsRising (@MomsRising) Be sure to use the hashtag #SaludTues to follow the conversation on Twitter/X and share your stories and resources. #SaludTues is a Tweetchat on Twitter/X that focuses on a variety of different health issues. From September 2014 to ...

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