Students in Virginia are weighing in on the impact of soda and sugary beverages through the local public health "Rev Your Bev" campaigns. The campaign that aims at fighting obesity in kids and teens, where, according to a local article, 30% of teens are either overweight or obese, and according to the state's campaigns site, 33% of 5-19-year-olds consume at least one sugary beverage a day. The Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth (VFHY) representatives have been visiting schools with the "Rev Your Bev" educational campaign informing students of the high amount of sugar in their favorite sugary drinks and having students taste test other healthier options, like infused waters. Even youth are getting in on the movement, where Virginia's largest youth-led movement, "Y-Street" ...
After certain business's like Providence Health & Services removed sugary beverages in 2015 as part of a healthier dining initiative, the city is now discussing it's view of sugary drinks. A once cent per ounce tax on sugary beverages is being proposed by a portland nonprofit, hoping to fund $22 million a year for children's health and education programs. Like the proposed tax in Philly, the funds from taxes would be for programs that promote healthier foods in schools, more physical activity and Pre-K for low-income families. Mel Rader, Upstream Public Health's Executive Director, explained in a recent article, that the tax would not only fund critical initiatives but also help reduce consumption of empty calories, linked to diabetes and other health conditions. To ...
Southern California schools are about to get help and funding from an unexpected source, a local grocery store. According to a recent article, the ALDI grocery store has recently partnered with Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) to invest in 15 Southern California area schools to improve overall wellness environments through grants and technical assistance for the 2015 to 2016 school year. The investment from ALDI of $175,000 will go towards helping the schools expand and implement school wellness programs like AFHK's Game On program, and engage community members, parents and ALDI employees to promote wellness at school and home environments. In 2011, the company helped schools through partnering with AFHK in Chicago and hopes to continue to expand and benefit the more than 11,000 ...
A new proposed ordinance for all food establishments to offer water and milk as default beverages on kids menus is being discussed among the Chula Vista City Council. The new ordinance is a joint effort between city staff members, the San Diego County Childhood Obesity Initiative, Community Health Improvement Partners and the California Center for Public Health Advocacy in hopes to decrease childhood obesity. A districtwide survey of student's height and weight in 2010 had found that 39.8 percent of students in the survey were overweight or obese. However, recent efforts to decrease childhood obesity by increasing physical activity in schools , revamping wellness policies, making healthy fundraising changes, ending unhealthy school snacks and removing chocolate milk from the lunch ...
Many cities are being more thoughtful in the amount of sugar that is in food, even purposing soda taxes, or sugary beverage warning labels to decrease sugars found in many convenient food and beverages options throughout stores and restaurants. According to reports from YouGov, some cities are more concerned with sugar consumption than others, noting reports on soda's and other sugar-filled products to add to health risks like obesity, diabetes, and tooth decay. The data shows the percent of people in each city that say they are concerned about sugar levels in the food they consume, with Denver at the highest percent concerned of sugar levels, 50%, and the lowest concerned city about sugar as Houston at 29%. The data also reported the cities that consume the highest amount of ...
The Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) proposal is being reintroduced to help invest in better nutrition and more physical education for schools as well as create healthier communities in Illinois. The proposal was put into motion in Springfield, Ill, in May 2016, by the bipartisan group of state legislators looking to help fund Medicaid and invest in the health of their communities. Estimated to raise over six million dollars a year, the HEAL act would tax sugary drinks at a penny-per-ounce and go to support low-income and least healthy communities to have farmers markets, healthy food access, bike lanes, parks, and sidewalks.
CEO of the Illinois Public Health Institute and Executive Director of the Illinois Alliance to Prevent Obesity said in a press release, "Obesity costs the ...
Soda tax considerations in cities are growing in interest across the nation and in other countries around the world. Watsonville, a majority Latino community (81.9% Latino), is working on their own proposals in California, hoping to encourage other small town minority-majority cities, that if they can pass taxes on sugary drinks, any small-town city has a chance. Groups and organizations in the city are all working together to rally voters and get petitions signed that would propose a 2-cent-per-ounce sugary beverage tax. Christian Garcia, one of the organizers, gathered over 2,000 signatures from voters who were "very receptive" for the taxes, Garcia explained in a local video, stating how groups went door-to-door to collect signatures from around the city. Garcia and his ...
The Mayor of Evanston, Elizabeth Tisdahl along with the local health department officials, kicked off the "Rethink Your Drink" challenge today, which encourages consumers to think about the sugar content in the beverages they consume on a daily basis. The goal of the campaign is to help people understand the importance of drinking more water and less sugary sweetened beverages as research has shown brings greater risks to consumers for heart disease, type two diabetes, and obesity. Health and Human Services Director, Evonda Thomas-Smith, doctors and local cardiologist Timothy Sanborn were among those encouraging citizens to drinks more water, and pledge to consider drinking only water for the next thirty days. Officials also passed out pledge cards and asked all attending to ...
The partnership good4growth is working to help connect parents and caregivers to resources and tips to help their children grow up healthier through creative play, healthy snacks, and a caring environment. Their goal is to help all children get the very best start in life and have asked all who know a child in their life to take the 7 Day Connect Challenge. The 7 Day Connect Challenge asks people to connect with a child in their life and promote healthier, smarter kids for seven days and spread the message! Thier site also gives valuable toolkits and a Talk with a Doc area that builds education on how to help kids in all areas of life to grow up healthier. Learn more about the importance of creative play, healthy food and a caring environment on their ...
