Dallas City Council members are working toward healthier weights at city hall, saying no to Dr. Pepper and Coca-Cola as concerns about obesity rise. A recent article reports that of the 21,000 people employed by the city, nearly 80 % are overweight or obese. The city is concerned as obesity is linked to chronic disease and health care costs, where the city contributes more than $65 million tax dollars to its health plan each year. The two beverage companies have been giving away free sodas to council members and setting up "healthier" vending machines proposals for the city facilities. Many council members even question if sugary drinks should be sold at any city facilities. The vote by the Budget, Finance, and Audit committee was 5 to 1, rejecting Coca-Cola and Dr. Peppers' ...
Did you know that only six percent of schools sell fruits and vegetables in vending machines, school stores or snack bars? The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has produced new tips for parents to get more involved in their child's school health initiatives. These set of resources, called, Parents for Healthy Schools, helps schools and school group associations, engage parents in creating and sustaining healthy school environments. The resources within CDC's toolkit give helpful ideas and tips for parents to see how to get active in schools by helping kids have: Healthier School Snacks
Healthy School Fundraisers
Available Drinking Water
Healthy Student Rewards More facts are also available on the site, showing parents that 74% of schools sell soft drinks ...
Mayor Stephanie Rawlings began a movement toward healthier vending machines in city-owned facilities back in 2013 when she announced a Healthy Vending pilot project with a full commitment of implementation by 2015. On October 23, 2015, the city officially launched their Healthy Vending in all vending machines across the city. Now hundreds of public vending machines in libraries, community centers, parks, pools, museums, and skate rinks are full of healthier options including fifty percent of foods that are: Low fat: not more than 35% of total calories from fat and not more than 10% of calories from saturated fat.
Low sugar: not more than 35% total weight from sugars and caloric sweeteners.
Low calorie: no more than 200 calories per label serving. Beverages also must have ...
SaludToday Guest Blogger
Jefferson Dental Clinics What’s scarier than ghosts, goblins and witches this Halloween? Sugar. One night of trick-or-treating and candy-eating may not be a big deal, but prolonged consumption of sugary treats can wear on tooth enamel. Dental health is a good reason for parents to teach moderation when it comes to sugary treats, helping kids learn that treats are special and not for snacking on all day or night long. A good time have limited treats is after a large meal, when saliva production is at its peak from breaking down your food. Here's five things to avoid or allow on Halloween: 1. Avoid: Hard candies. Jawbreakers and suckers that slowly dissolve in your mouth can be especially harmful because of the amount of time the sugars sit ...
Water bottle sales have nearly tripled compared to the falling rates of soda consumption, reports the New York Times. Prompting the question, do the studies showing the link between obesity and consumption of sugary beverages make an impact? J. Alexander M. Douglas Jr., president of Coca-Cola North America, was quoted in the same article that, “Health and wellness are a major enduring trend and each brand has to compete in that environment." But healthier beverage options are not just trending across certain states, they are being proven as recent market reports show a noticeable decrease in soda consumption. Sugary beverage taxes are not popular in all states, as in California, but a growing amount of sugary beverage consumers may be realizing the health warnings associated ...
Nearly 70% of food ads on Spanish-language TV viewed by Latino kids and teens promoted fast-food and other restaurants, candy, sugary drinks, and snacks, according to a new report released by the Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at the University of Connecticut, the African American Collaborative Obesity Research Network and Salud America! Only 3% of food ads promoted yogurt, other dairy, 100% juice, water, fruits, or vegetables. The report reviewed public statements and market research data from 26 companies (and 267 of their brands) that spent at least $100,000 in advertising in 2013. Latino-focused results include: Heavy spending on Spanish TV. Three companies spent more than $65 million in Spanish-language TV advertising: McDonald’s, Mars, and General Mills. ...
Can a rap song or graffiti art help kids eat healthier? Dr. Kevin Strong wanted to give it a shot and compete with the unhealthy marketing that kids—especially Latinos—are bombarded with daily. So founded the “Dunk the Junk” movement to work in schools and through social media to tailor health messages to kids in a fun way to counter junk food advertising. He uses rap, hip-hop dance, basketball, and graffiti art to change what kids think is cool to eat. “I love basketball and I would see a million junk food ads every time I watched,” Strong told Style101 Magazine. “I was just really saddened by the all children that are coming in [to my clinic] real young, devastated by junk food exposure.”
The Need for Counter Marketing
In his many years as a community ...
Can you pop open the idea of drinking healthier? States across the nation are showing trends on taxing sodas shows a recent news article. Vermont started taxing sugary drinks in July, hoping to help the state close a million dollar gap between revenue and spending. Also other states and cities have jumped on the soda tax bus including Illinois in 2015 and Berkeley, California. Hospitals in San Francisco have taken out sugary juice drinks for kids, and just a month ago San Antonio started a campaign against sugary beverages. Studies show Latino kids drink more sugary beverages, so helping them think about drinking more water and consuming less sugary beverages may be a start in the right direction. The Wall Street Journal recently reported that 30.9% of Latinos drink ...
To inform and educate the San Antonio community on just how much sugar is in the beverages people consume daily, health officials and community leaders partnered to launch the bilingual Sugar-Packed marketing campaign. After San Antonio’s previous attempts to tackle sugary drink consumption fizzled out, Nelson Wolff, judge of Bexar County, which includes San Antonio, and his partners reignited a campaign against sugar with hopes to change the way residents look at sugar in beverages and its effect on health. The campaign includes print and online materials, including a sugar calculator tool, educational brochures, and posters.
EMERGENCE
Awareness: In 1997, Bexar County’s Health Collaborative formed as a coalition of health agencies that aim to improve the health status of the ...
