Sugar-conscious cities across the nation



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 ...

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Illinois re-introduces the HEAL act



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 ...

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Watsonville Latino communities rally around soda tax proposal



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 ...

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Evantston kicks off a “Rethink Your Drink” challenge



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 ...

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Healthier and caring environments help kids grow up healthier



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 ...

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El refresco de dieta pudiera estar ligado a la obesidad y diabetes



Investigadores de la Universidad de Purdue han encontrado pruebas de que el refresco de dieta puede no ser la opción más saludable si usted está tratando de perder peso o mejorar su salud. De acuerdo con numerosos estudios revisados por el grupo de investigadores dirigido por la profesora Susan Swithers el refresco de dieta puede no ser la solución para combatir la obesidad, de hecho, puede conducir a la obesidad, diabetes y otras enfermedades "La preocupación de que estos endulzantes de pocas calorías pudieran no ser saludables es un mensaje que muchas personas no quieren oír, sobre todo porque la prevalencia de edulcorantes artificiales va en aumento", dijo Swithers. Si quiere mantenerse en forma y saludable la bebida saludable siempre será el ...

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Free water and water bottles for San Antonio events in May



Thirsty? May is the month of free giveaways of water and reusable water bottles from San Antonio Water System (SAWS) asking the city to 'Rethink your Drink' with water! Kicking off the National Drinking Water Week happening from May 1st to May 7th, SAWS will be giving away free water and water bottles at various locations around the city. The SAWS water tanker will be giving out free water in the following locations: Where SAWS water tanker will be (approximately 2 hours at each location)*: Tuesday, May 3 (noontime): The Pearl, near the Pearl Stable and The Area Foundation Wednesday, May 4 (3-5pm): UTSA Main Campus, near the UC and H-E-B Business building Thursday, May 5 (7-9am): Woodlawn Lake, near the walking trail Thursday, May 5 (noontime): TriPoint YMCA at Mulberry ...

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Trading sugary drinks for water across the city



Tennessee Clean Water Network is working to "Bring Tap Back". The nonprofit organization promotes clean water and healthy communities and has been a part of local visits to schools to encourage to use free water bottles to drink water and educate kids about the importance of consuming fewer sodas and sugary beverages. The "Bring Tap Back" initiative was funded by a three-year Project Diabetes grant from the Tenn. Dept. of Health. that has helped provide water bottle refill stations across the state. In Knoxville, Tenn. 80 water bottle refill stations have helped people trade sugary drinks for water to reduce risks of obesity and diabetes. Sodas, sports drinks, unnaturally sweetened juices and other sugary beverages are known to increase risks of diabetes and obesity in Latino ...

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Healthy schools campaign cooks up healthy cafeteria changes



Students across the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), participated in the Healthy Schools Campaign healthy cooking contests. Students were challenged to create a nutritious lunch that includes fresh fruit and vegetables, meets USDA nutrition guidelines, be under 760 calories and costs less than $1.70. The challenge allows students to win a chance to represent Los Angeles across the state and serve the model meal in an all-expenses paid Cooking up Change competition in the capitol. The winner could go on from there to serve the meal to congress and become a model meal for schools across the country. Having healthy options and creative ways to get kids involved in creating healthy meals is a innovative way to change school food environments. Studies show that when ...

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