Doctor Jamie Jeffrey now stands for a sugary beverage tax within her patient's diets, stating that after her extensive research and scientific findings, she encourages West Virginia to take a "bold action" for kids by implementing a sugary drink tax. "Over the past 5 years, my patients have suffered more from the insulin resistance disease spectrum presenting as rapid weight gain, high triglycerides and a dark rash around their neck and on their knuckles known as acanthosis nigrican," Jeffrey told Charleston Gazette-Mail. West Virginia has had an increase in obesity rates from 14.4 percent to 16.4 percent in their younger population, where nearly 40% of West Virginians consume sugary sweetened beverages daily and 60% of 18-24-year-olds consume sweet drinks daily. Now West ...
Unhealthy food and beverage marketing ads are targeted more at Latinos and minorities on TV, social media and more, according to recent research. The Praxis Project, led by Latino advocate Xavier Morales, and others filed a legal complaint against Coca-Cola and the American Beverage Association for deceptive marketing practices that push sugary drinks to communities of color. The complaint was filed in federal court in California is confusing the public, and indicates “the world’s largest soft-drink maker and the trade association run ads that tout the energy boost from drinking soda, and disregard scientific findings that sugary beverages can lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart problems,” according to a CBS News report. Both Coca-Cola and the American Beverage ...
The city can now move forward with the taxing of sugary beverages as a ruling on Monday dismissed the American Beverage Association and other Pennsylvania food and beverage associations lawsuit in "its entirety", meaning there is no going back after January first when the tax is scheduled to take effect. Signed by Mayor Jim Kenney, the 1.5 cents per ounce soda tax is estimated to generate around $91million dollars annually and is to be used to fund universal pre-k, support community schools, revitalize parks and fund police body cameras. Judge Glazer dismissed the ruling against the tax, stating that the tax does not violate the uniformity clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution nor does it conflict with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program as argued by opposers of the ...
Hawai'i is a place known for its beauty, but now it may be known for more than beauty as it strives for health and wellness with Kaiser Permanente Hawai'i who has awarded nearly $800,000 dollars towards supporting nonprofits that focus on behavioral health support, preventive screenings, and healthy eating. The commitment behind Kaiser's support is to reduce health disparities in Hawaii, where the Latino population (10.4%) saw a 165% growth since 1990 and continues to grow consistently, according to Hawaii News Now. Taking a stand to help all those in Hawaii, Kaiser Permanente is working in low-income communities to help improve access to healthy lunches in schools, vision and oral screenings, education, mental health and more. Over eight non-profits have received the funds and ...
A new policy for a sugary drink tax was recently proposed by Mayor Javier Gonzales to help fund Santa Fe, New Mexico (51.2% Latino) to expand early childhood educations programs. However, after much discussion about the proposed tax, the city council requested information about finances and if the tax could generate the projected funds of up to ten million dollars a year. The Mayor had presented an economic study in the previous proposals to the city council, stating that ten million dollars would be needed to expand prekindergarten classrooms. Now the plan for the tax has been redefined for the tax to be implemented only within city limits and excludes artificially sweetened beverages will be presented by Mayor Gonzales in January 2017. By limiting the tax to city limits, ...
Ever had a song stuck in your head before? Well if it's Minneapolis youth's "Grow Food" song, it may just help you think more about healthy food. Rapping to encourage people to grow healthy food, teens from Minneapolis with the non-profit Appetite For Change (AFC), have made veggies like broccoli into latest and greatest rap song of 2016, according to Vibe. After working in the summer of 2016 with AFC's Youth Employment & Training Program that also worked with Beats & Rhymes, youth in Northern Minneapolis were inspired to create the "Grow Food" song, which has garnered over 136,138 likes and counting. The catchy song that raps phrases like "pullin' veggies out the garden" and "drinking water living longer, no processed drama", inspires youth to change their unhealthy ...
There are many options for dining out these days, but which restaurants offer healthier and more sustainable options for families? REAL, standing for Responsible, Epicurean, and Agricultural Leadership, is a nationally recognized mark of excellence for food and foodservice operators committed to holistic nutrition and environmental stewardship. The United States Healthful Food Council (USHFC), established in 2012, works to help restaurants become REAL Certified in three areas that show conscious health for the environment and the people. The goal is to make sure healthy choices are highlighted and offered, and that unhealthy options are limited or changed for families dining out. Through this certification, healthy changes are being made in restaurants all over the ...
The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 left many cities deserted and families without access to grocery stores or healthy food access, but New Orleans took the rebuilding opportunity in 2011 with the Fresh Food Retailer Initiative (FFRI), seeded with $7 million to help invest in healthy food access for all New Orleans residents. On November 29th, eighteen legislators from states plagued with food deserts visited healthy food retail outlets in New Orleans, which were funded by their city’s Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI), to learn how they could create similar programs in their states to benefit their constituents. HFFI's are a tool for state and local governments to bring new supermarkets and grocery stores to low-income, underserved communities and have been shown ...
The American Heart Association recommends that children's dietary intake of added sugars be less than six teaspoons of added sugars per day, but a small 12-ounce soda contains over that amount by 4 teaspoons of sugar. One way to help reduce the intake of added sugars in children's diets is to reduce the consumption of drinks with added sugars, like sodas, flavored milk, juices, sweet teas and lemonades. The Center for Science in the Public Interest and Voices for Healthy Kids Action Center is working to continue efforts of removing sugary beverages from kids' menus by bringing awareness of chain restaurants that have committed to removing soft drinks from kids menus and pointing out some of the biggest American Restaurant chains that continue to push sugar drinks on their kids' ...
