Studies have shown that mascots, cartoons, and familiar faces often influence children's choices on food and unfortunately usually unhealthy foods. Marketing companies have targeted kids in various ways over the years, bringing in familiar cartoon characters or brand mascots into the commercials of high fat and high sugar food products, influencing food choices. Many companies have moved away from unhealthy food marketing to children and have joined the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), which commits companies to only market healthy products to children younger than 12. However, recent research from Healthy Eating Research shows that there are still opportunities for food and beverage companies to ensure healthier foods and beverages are the only ...
Easter Sunday is just a few days away! If you’re like many families then you will most likely have a barbacoa in the park and spend quality time with los abuelos, tios y primos. Unfortunately, vegetables and carnitas are not the only foods we eat on Easter Sunday—especially our children. A regular chocolate bunny packs a whopping 20g of sugar! Many children in the U.S. are obese/overweight (which contributes to cancer) and binging on candy on Easter Sunday will not make them any healthier. Here are 3 ideas on how your children can have a blast on Easter Sunday and stay healthy:
1 Toys instead of candy.
Do something different this year. Instead of giving your children and sobrinos candy in their Easter baskets give them small toys!
2. Tasty fruits.
Give tasty fruits ...
We’re excited to announce that two organizations, Salud America! and The San Antonio Report (formerly the Rivard Report), are partnering to highlight challenges and solutions to health and obesity. The Rivard Report is a non-profit online news source in San Antonio that tackles city issues and spotlights innovative solutions. Salud America! is a national health communication program. For the partnership, Salud America! will make monthly article contributions to The Rivard Report on new ways to address the rising epidemic of obesity plaguing San Antonio. San Antonio is a historic, culturally rich, and diverse (63.2% Latino) city. But it also is currently ranked 8th in the nation for obesity. Obesity leads to numerous challenges that the city must face, such as increased ...
New cooking classes at Weymouth Middle School are helping kids think twice about how to make a pizza crust and how to eat at home with new ingredients in their recipes. John Mullaney, the health class teacher said this idea came up after brainstorming ideas, and he discussed the idea of creating new healthier recipes with the school district's dietitian, Kelsey Massis of Chartwells Food Service. He wanted to help kids come up with new ingredients that use less sugar and less flour with his student's recipes while cooking in class. Mullaney hoped that kids would be creative, and they were. Students like Brook Pelley used skim milk and low-fat cheese in her macaroni and cheese, and Brook Ferbert who used a salsa that had a variety of fresh vegetables. Other students used ...
A new study from the University of Iowa is researching if obesity rates are affected in communities where restaurants label calorie counts on menus. Since 2011, the study has collected calorie-labeled menus from various restaurants where local ordinances require restaurants to publish calorie counts. Researchers have revealed that early evidence from the study suggest that the body mass index (BMI) has fallen over time in areas with required menu labeling, compared to nearby counties. However, David Frisvold, the main researcher and assistant professor of economics at the Tippie College of Business, said in an article that most of the early studies on local menu-labeling laws have evaluated items ordered at large chain restaurants and shows no to little changes in diner's ordering ...
It will take all sectors of society to solve the obesity crisis. That's why on April 12, 2016, Dr. Amelie Ramirez and the rest of the Roundtable on Obesity Solutions will conduct a workshop on how business leaders can get involved in fighting obesity. Tune in here for the free workshop, which is set for 9 a.m. EST Tuesday, April 12, 2016. The workshop will feature expert speakers and discussion on why and how to encourage the business community to be involved in obesity solutions, identify reasons why businesses might be interested in being involved, and demonstrate ways they can be engaged with a focus on community level multi-sector collaborations. Ramirez, director of Salud America! and the Institute for Health Promotion Research at UT Health San Antonio, is a member of the ...
Healthy cooking challenges are not just popular on TV. Now schools in Fairfax Count, Va. are cooking up healthier meals in the Real Food For Kids (RFFK)'s Culinary Challenge and Wellness Expo to change school menus, offering kids the chance to cook up something different, healthy and tasty. To help change school menus to offer more healthy and tasty foods, the challenges gives kids the chance to cook up something different, healthy and tasty and help sprout new ideas into the school menu, all while staying in school budget limits. Twelve Fairfax County Schools competed for awards in three categories, including Smart snacks, Grab 'N Go, and Makeover Lunch Challenge. The challenge was to make a meal that would work within the schools nutrition, portion and cost standards. ...
Montezuma County (12.2 % Latino), Colorado, was once well known for its blooming apple orchards. Back in 1904, three Gold Medals were awarded to the county at the St. Louis World’s Fair. But for years, these fresh apples weren’t always available to kids at local schools. Now, with the help of farm-to-school leaders like Sarah Syverson and other groups, Cortez Middle School is growing a garden and an entire apple orchard to bring new fresh foods to local school cafeterias and to the school’s farmers market.
Fresh Fruit and Produce and the Community
Awareness: Sarah Syverson, director of the Montezuma School to Farm Project (MSTFP) in Montezuma County, Colo., was proud of the school garden at Cortez Middle School (CMS). Established in 2013, the schools garden was a place ...
Are you wearing green? Today is St. Patrick’s Day most commonly known among Latinos as the Irish 5 de Mayo. Here are three ways you can celebrate in a healthy way:
1. Drink a Licuado Verde (Green Smoothie)
This green smoothie packs vitamins and proteins that will give you an energy boost! Watch San Antonio-based celebrity Chef Johnny Hernandez demonstrate the recipe. https://youtu.be/4SzD8YVkxp4
2. Jog
Lace up your tennis shoes and go for an evening jog around your neighborhood. A 20-minute jog will give you the right amount of boost to get you through your day like a champ!
3. Dance
Play your favorite salsa/merengue tunes. Research has shown that dancing not only is good for your physical health but also for your mental health. Happy St. Patrick’s ...
