It’s time for the second annual series of workshops dedicated to supporting and fostering healthy lifestyles and positive health outcomes through nutrition and physical activity. Growing Healthy Texas offers FREE 2-day training events in six different regions of Texas over the summer. Whether you are an educator, health professional, government leader or community organizer, if you are interested in supporting healthy lifestyles then you belong at these training events. Following is a list of courses offered under the three education tracks: education and innovation; success and sustainability; and communities in collaboration. Education and Innovation: Identifying Healthy Choices It's More Than an App: Technology Innovations that Educate and Promote Healthy ...
South Carolina, a state with one of the highest childhood obesity rates, is refocusing the efforts begun in 2005 to get the state back in shape. In late September 2014, South Carolina officials released The South Carolina Obesity Action Plan, which focuses on specific improvements and setting achievable goals. According to a news article in The Slate, all the goals fall into one of four target areas: communities, workplaces, school/childcare, and health care. The plan calls for many specific ways the public and private sectors can work towards a healthier South Carolina, like equipping more farmers' markets with the ability to accept SNAP benefits or encouraging more workplaces to create space for breastfeeding moms. With the launch of the new action plan came a new website, ...
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) provides more than 8 million low-income pregnant women, new mothers, infants, and young children with monthly nutritious foods, nutrition education, and increased access to health care. 41% of WIC participants are Latinos. The WIC food packages were revised in 2007 to align the authorized food with the latest nutrition science and guidance, and the revisions were viewed positively by a majority of participants. As seen in this report, there is a growing body of evidence that suggests the revised WIC food packages have favorable impacts on dietary intake, breastfeeding outcomes, and obesity rates. In addition, emerging studies suggest an important role for WIC in improving neighborhood food ...
Maryland has one of the most diverse Latino populations in the country, many of which are children. Tens of thousands of Maryland children who attend licensed child care centers will enjoy healthier drink choices and activities starting next year, thanks to a bill passed by the Maryland General Assembly and signed by Governor Martin O’Malley in May 2014. The “Child Care Centers – Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Act” requires centers to provide healthier drinks to children in their care, better support mothers who are breastfeeding, and reduce non-educational screen time. Many of these standards are based on the successful “Healthy Child Care” program in Howard County. In addition to Sugar Free Kids Maryland, the legislation had the support of both the Maryland ...
On Wednesday March 19, 2014, members of a statewide task force that had been studying the rise in childhood obesity in North Carolina came together with other heath care professionals, policy and public health experts, child care providers and parents to go over the task force’s final report, which includes detailed recommendations for how to tackle the problem. The summit was the first public opportunity to discuss the 169-page “Promoting Healthy Weight for Young Children: A Blueprint for Preventing Early Childhood Obesity in North Carolina.” The blueprint was the culmination of two years of work by the N.C. Institute of Medicine’s Task Force on Early Childhood Obesity. It was created in collaboration with the Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation and the ...
Students at West Seattle Elementary---a low-income school with a 20% Latino population---get extra minutes of physical activity by participating in a walking school bus. To show his support for this healthy change, Governor Jay Inslee of Washington State recently joined students on a 1-mile walk to school. According to a news report from the Houston Chronicle, the walking school bus is part of a four year study conducted by the Seattle Children's Hospital, to learn more about the health benefits of walking to and from school. This action falls in-line the Governor's efforts to improve the weight of children in the state of Washington. In a recent policy brief, the governor proposed his Healthiest Next Generation Initiative, which focuses on supporting: Breastfeeding-friendly ...
Obesity rates among children ages 2-5 dropped from 14% in 2003-04 to 8% in 2011-12, a decline of 43%, according to new federal data. The data, from the CDC and published in the February 26 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, doesn’t cite precise reasons for the decline. But it offers potential reasons: Child care centers improving nutrition and fitness standards.
Children are consuming fewer sugary drinks.
And more women are breastfeeding, which can help stave off obesity in children. First Lady Michelle Obama—who on Feb. 25 announced new proposed rules to limit marketing of unhealthy foods in schools by phasing out advertising of sugary drinks and junk food and ensuring that other promotions in schools were in line with health standards—cited ...
Obesity rates among children ages 2-5 dropped from 14% in 2003-04 to 8% in 2011-12, a decline of 43%, according to new federal data. The data, from the CDC and published in the February 26 issue of the Journal of the American Medical Association, doesn't cite precise reasons for the decline. But it offers potential reasons: Child care centers improving nutrition and fitness standards.
Children are consuming fewer sugary drinks.
And more women are breastfeeding, which can help stave off obesity in children. First Lady Michelle Obama—who on Feb. 25 announced new proposed rules to limit marketing of unhealthy foods in schools by phasing out advertising of sugary drinks and junk food and ensuring that other promotions in schools were in line with health standards—cited ...
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 ...
