Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a common disease often found in children who also deal with obesity, and is the most common chronic liver disease in children in the U.S. According to numerous adult studies on NAFLD, genetic and environmental factors are the major responsible triggers for the development and progression of NAFLD. Diets like the Mediterranean diet that is rich in fruits, complex carbs, vegetables, nuts, and olive oil has been associated in various studies to help prevent obesity and overweight related risks of NAFLD. Population-based studies over the last decade have shown that people who commonly consume diets like the Mediterranean diet (MD) show lower risks of cardiovascular diseases, metabolic disorders, and several types of cancers. In this new ...
Stress has long been a risk factor associated with obesity in adults, and now a new study from researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York found that stressed Latino adults were more likely to have children with obesity as well. The data from the Study of Latino Youth (SOL Youth) showed a relationship between child weight status in the Latino population and parental stress. "Obesity and chronic stress were both prevalent among this Latino population, with more than one-quarter (28%) of children ages 8-16 with obesity, and nearly one-third (29%) of their parents reporting high levels of stress," said Dr. Isasi in a report from News Medical. The study looked at Latinos living in the Bronx, Chicago, Miami and San Diego areas, and followed guidelines from the ...
Many restaurants offer the same sugary beverages on kids meals with unhealthy options like high-sugar sodas, lemonades and juices. Now Maryland lawmakers are considering a bill to help ban sodas and other sugary drinks from kids menu's in all restaurants. Wanting to help parents and kids make the healthy choice the easy choice, the bill would change kids menus to offer healthier choices like water, low-fat milk or 100 percent juices at regular price. "The choice that comes with 80 percent of restaurant kids' meals is a soda or a fruit punch, and in those cases families are always welcomed to ask for a healthy drink, but it sometimes costs $2 or $3 more to get a milk," Robi Rawl, the Sugar Free Kids Maryland Executive Director said in a recent article. According to the Center ...
Urbi(c)ulture Community Farms are making school lunches look a little more like a garden with their new school garden programs. Teachers plant alongside students, helping them understand what it takes to grow food, and be more open to eating a variety of fresh fruits and vegetables. Students harvest the fresh produce from the 6,500 square-foot garden to bring to the cafeteria for all students to try and enjoy.
The Need for Healthy Food
Awareness: Columbian Elementary School teacher Brenna Larson Brooks enjoyed gardening at home in Denver. She wanted to use her backyard for a food garden, so she reached out to Urbi(c)ulture Community Farms, a Denver nonprofit that turns donated land into gardens that grow food for the community. Urbi(c)ulture helped Brooks design and build her ...
Sugar has been a hot topic in the news. Recent research shows the negative health impacts such as diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. But does sugar impact kids' brains? A new study shows that not only does consumption of sweets and sugar filled products hurt the body, and cause oral health decay, but also consuming sugar can cause changes in the part of the brain that control emotional and cognitive function. The study was published in the Frontiers in Molecular Neuroscience, where researchers found that sugar water diets given to rats had the same effect on the brain as if rats were exposed to early life issues or abuse. Over consumption of sugary sweetened beverages is a concern especially for young children the researchers explained, as this can cause ...
A move in the right direction for healthier kids menus, the fast food chain Jack-in-the-Box, is taking soda and sugary beverages like Hi-C punch and lemonade off of their kids' menu. The new kids' menus offering healthier beverage options will take place in all 2,200 of the chain's locations nationwide. Groups like Moms Rising and the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) have worked with parents across social media and stakeholder groups to help encourage these changes toward healthier beverage options and less promotion of sugary beverages in restaurant chains across the country. Jack-in-the-Box now joins Dairy Queen, Burger King, and others in removing sugary drinks. More is needed to be done to help kids see healthier options as the easier and more appealing ...
Two architecture and planning graduate students from the University of Texas San Antonio (UTSA) recognized good fruit from fruit trees were being left to rot in urban areas of San Antonio, Texas, where many families live in need of fresh foods. Working together for a class project, the friends created a blossoming non-profit to make sure families in need can access a variety of fresh fruit.
A Local Healthy Food Problem
Awareness/Learn: In summer 2013, UTSA grad student Melissa Federspill started a class focused on health planning, called “Health in the Built Environment.” Students in the class were advised to visualize solutions to inner-city health problems. The class analyzed a neighborhood close to campus, the Avenue to Guadalupe neighborhood in the West Side of San ...
Children who lived closer to supermarkets increased fruit and vegetable consumption and reduced their body mass index (BMI), according to a study published in the American Journal of Public Health. Researchers examined about 500 children ages 6-12 with a BMI of or above the 95th percentile. There are other factors still needing further research. The researchers of the study suggest focusing on household income, other non-medical drivers of health, the drive to lose weight, and other factors, which could determine weight loss or gain, too. Having close access to fruits and vegetables has also been shown to assist families and help reduce the BMI of kids, studies show. To learn more about this study, click ...
According to a recent poll directed by The California Center for Public Health Advocacy, 78 percent of California voters are in support for putting warning labels on sugary beverages. The poll was conducted through telephone where voters were asked if they would support warning labels that explain that daily consumption of sugary drinks is linked to health risks like diabetes, obesity, and tooth decay. Over fifty percent were "strongly" in favor of the warning labels, with 85 percent of Latino voters supporting the labels. Why? Many consumers (28%) wanted to have the "right to know the truth" about products they purchase and stated that labels may help parents make healthier choices and help reduce sugar consumption for their children. Studies have shown that having health ...
