Which federal policies are most effective for reducing childhood obesity? According to a recent study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, two of the top policies are: 1. a penny-per-ounce ($0.01/ounce) tax on sugar sweetened beverages (soda tax); and 2. 60 minutes of daily after school physical activity for children. Through a microsimulation analysis, researchers were able to project the long-term impact of three federal policies, including the two named above, in addition to a policy that would ban fast food commercials on TV. While all three policies have the potential to reduce childhood obesity, the penny-per-ounce policy was deemed to have the highest impact. Not only would a soda tax reduce obesity by an estimated 2.4 percentage points ...
Are you interested in making a difference in the life of a child? If so, then learning about effective policies and programs for childhood obesity prevention can be the ticket to better health in you community. In order to equip you with the tools you need to get started, the Texas Pediatric Society is hosting the "Be Our Voice Advocacy Training," on Saturday May 17, 2014 from 8:30am-4:30 pm at the Texas Medical Association Building in Austin, Texas. Teams of 3-5 community members with at least one health professional (community healthy worker, social worker, researcher, clinician) are invited to register by April 21, 2014. Groups that are selected will participate for free. The training will discuss topics such as: Partnerships, collaboration, and the obesity prevention call ...
The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) is bringing together groups from the private, public and non-profit sectors to come up with solutions to the nation's childhood obesity epidemic. In a recent meeting which took place during March 2014, at the PHA's annual summit eight new organizations, including four hospital systems, announced their commitment to battling childhood obesity. FirstBIKE, a company that produces training bikes for children ages 2-5, committed to donating at least 1,300 bikes a year to YMCAs across the nation for the next three years. Knowledge Universe, the largest private early childhood education provider, agreed to implement policies that reflect healthy lifestyle choices in 95% of their early childhood centers over the next three years. Other groups ...
Sugary drinks are a large component of added calories in the American diet. Latino kids have increased their consumption of sugary drinks—such as soft drinks, sports drinks, fruit-flavored drinks, and flavored milk—between 1991 and 2008, research shows. In Contra Costa, Calif., where 24% of the population is Latino, one of every three kids from low-income families are overweight or obese. A county organization worked with an advertising agency to develop a bilingual social marketing campaign, called Sugar Bites, to urge parents to choose water for their kids instead of sugary drinks.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: First 5 California is a state organization funded by Proposition 10, a statewide ballot initiative passed in 1998, to conduct health and education programs to benefit children ages ...
Editor's note: This editorial by Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez was part of a MomsRising blog carnival on Oct. 30, 2013. Food marketing to kids is a huge piece of the U.S. obesity puzzle. Latino kids are a prime target for food marketers, largely because of their large population numbers—they comprise 22% of all U.S. youth and will rise to 30% by 2025. But there are other reasons they are such a target. Latino kids have higher rates of exposure to media—TV, computers, video games, etc.—in a typical day than do their white peers, about 13 hours compared with 8.36 hours. And Latino teens have been called “superconsumers” of soda, candy, and snacks spending 4% more than non-Latino teens. The result? About 84% of kid-targeted food and drinks ads on Spanish-language TV ...
Salud America! and MomsRising invite you to a #FoodFri tweetchat about the connection between sugary drink consumption and Latino childhood obesity at noon CST (1 p.m EDT) Friday, Nov. 1, 2013. #FoodFri is a weekly tweetchat hosted by MomsRising on Twitter every Friday to provide a platform for our food policy partners and the larger food justice community to address food and beverages in schools, food marketing to children and other topics. Be sure to follow @MomsRising and @SaludToday and use the hashtag #FoodFri to participate. DATE: Friday, Nov. 1, 2013
TIME: 1:00 PM EDT (noon CST)
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #FoodFri
WHO: @MomsRising, @SaludToday and YOU! For instructions on how to join a #FoodFri tweetchat, go here. For Salud America! research on sugary drinks ...
Check out these new videos from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation that discuss progress in reversing childhood obesity. This video features Genoveva Islas-Hooker, regional director of the Central California Regional Obesity Prevention, about how California and Latino families are addressing the epidemic. This video features Eduardo Sanchez, MD, deputy chief medical officer, American Heart Association, provides his take on what needs to be done to address the childhood obesity epidemic. To learn more, go ...
Maryvale on the Move works to influence and bring about healthy changes to Maryvale and Canyon Corridor--two predominantly Latino neighborhoods in Phoenix. Residents from the Maryvale neighborhood of Phoenix met for a series of workshops to provide input as to what improvements needed to be made in their community. Some expressed concern over a lack of lighting and a need for more physical activity and less junk food in their neighborhoods. Residents also made recommendations like installing a roundabout to calm traffic and establishing Farmers' Markets. After meeting with groups of local residents from these neighborhoods, and community organizations, Maryvale on the Move identified four goals. The four goals are: (1) create community gardens; (2) increase availability of ...
Although video games are often viewed in a negative context, for possibly keeping kids from participating in physical activity, researchers from George Washington University School of Public Health and Health Services in Washington, D.C., are finding that active video games may provide a new avenue for kids to participate in physical activity. Already many schools have begun to use interactive video games as part of their curriculum. ...
