Studies have shown that mascots, cartoons, and familiar faces often influence children's choices on food and unfortunately usually unhealthy foods. Marketing companies have targeted kids in various ways over the years, bringing in familiar cartoon characters or brand mascots into the commercials of high fat and high sugar food products, influencing food choices. Many companies have moved away from unhealthy food marketing to children and have joined the Children's Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (CFBAI), which commits companies to only market healthy products to children younger than 12. However, recent research from Healthy Eating Research shows that there are still opportunities for food and beverage companies to ensure healthier foods and beverages are the only ...
Easter Sunday is just a few days away! If you’re like many families then you will most likely have a barbacoa in the park and spend quality time with los abuelos, tios y primos. Unfortunately, vegetables and carnitas are not the only foods we eat on Easter Sunday—especially our children. A regular chocolate bunny packs a whopping 20g of sugar! Many children in the U.S. are obese/overweight (which contributes to cancer) and binging on candy on Easter Sunday will not make them any healthier. Here are 3 ideas on how your children can have a blast on Easter Sunday and stay healthy:
1 Toys instead of candy.
Do something different this year. Instead of giving your children and sobrinos candy in their Easter baskets give them small toys!
2. Tasty fruits.
Give tasty fruits ...
We’re excited to announce that two organizations, Salud America! and The San Antonio Report (formerly the Rivard Report), are partnering to highlight challenges and solutions to health and obesity. The Rivard Report is a non-profit online news source in San Antonio that tackles city issues and spotlights innovative solutions. Salud America! is a national health communication program. For the partnership, Salud America! will make monthly article contributions to The Rivard Report on new ways to address the rising epidemic of obesity plaguing San Antonio. San Antonio is a historic, culturally rich, and diverse (63.2% Latino) city. But it also is currently ranked 8th in the nation for obesity. Obesity leads to numerous challenges that the city must face, such as increased ...
The Vision Zero Network conducted a case study to identify the key elements that distinguish Vision Zero from traditional approaches to traffic safety. What makes Vision Zero an innovative road safety policy with the potential to make our streets safe? Reframing traffic deaths as preventable
Focusing on system failure
Reducing the impact of collisions
Adopting a Safe System approach
Data-driven decision-making
Road safety as a community issue The U.S. often lags behind other countries in traffic safety. Read the case study ...
A new study from the University of Iowa is researching if obesity rates are affected in communities where restaurants label calorie counts on menus. Since 2011, the study has collected calorie-labeled menus from various restaurants where local ordinances require restaurants to publish calorie counts. Researchers have revealed that early evidence from the study suggest that the body mass index (BMI) has fallen over time in areas with required menu labeling, compared to nearby counties. However, David Frisvold, the main researcher and assistant professor of economics at the Tippie College of Business, said in an article that most of the early studies on local menu-labeling laws have evaluated items ordered at large chain restaurants and shows no to little changes in diner's ordering ...
Salud America! Guest Blogger
Jefferson Dental Clinics Some adults suffer 2.5-times as much gum disease as their peers. Gum health is just as critical as teeth health; swollen or bleeding gums and gum recession all can signal a greater oral health issue that, if left unchecked, can cause severe infection or even tooth loss. What causes swollen gums? Swollen gums can be an early indicator of gum disease, which in its early stages is known as gingivitis. Inflamed gums can cause serious discomfort and pain, particularly while eating and drinking. Additional causes of gum inflammation are tobacco use, poor nutrition, diabetes, and certain medications. What causes bleeding gums? Healthy gums should not bleed during routine brushing and flossing. Gingivitis can cause ...
A study from Preventing Chronic Disease showed that after district-wide policies were implemented across Boston schools, students had less access to sugar-sweetened beverages. The data showed that after a ban of sugary drinks in 2004, 89.6% of all schools studied met beverage nutrition standards, with elementary schools showing the most compliance at 93.6 percent. Through the study, researchers also found that when these nutrition standards were met at 85.5 percent of schools studied, only four percent of students had little to no access to competitive beverages or sugary beverages at school. Rebecca S. Mozaffarian, MS, MPH of the department of social and behavioral sciences at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health explained in a recent article that these findings from the ...
Are you wearing green? Today is St. Patrick’s Day most commonly known among Latinos as the Irish 5 de Mayo. Here are three ways you can celebrate in a healthy way:
1. Drink a Licuado Verde (Green Smoothie)
This green smoothie packs vitamins and proteins that will give you an energy boost! Watch San Antonio-based celebrity Chef Johnny Hernandez demonstrate the recipe. https://youtu.be/4SzD8YVkxp4
2. Jog
Lace up your tennis shoes and go for an evening jog around your neighborhood. A 20-minute jog will give you the right amount of boost to get you through your day like a champ!
3. Dance
Play your favorite salsa/merengue tunes. Research has shown that dancing not only is good for your physical health but also for your mental health. Happy St. Patrick’s ...
Marketing companies often promote junk food ads to kids, who are at risk of not growing up with a healthy weight. The Council of Better Business Bureaus announced that six candy companies have now agreed not to advertise their brands to kids. These brands, Brach's, Lemonhead, Ghirardelli, Jelly Belly, Mike and Ike, and Welch's Fruit Snacks, are all now part of the first companies to participate in the Children's Confection Advertising Initiative. One way to ensure that the candy industry uniformly rejects advertising to children, explains the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), is to recognize the progress these companies have made. CSPI encourages those interested in supporting these healthy efforts, to share a "thank you" to these companies on social ...
