Looking for the next best place to eat or buy the freshest local veggies? Eat Well Guide app can help you do just that. A movement to know were your food comes from and eat sustainable products is becoming increasingly popular. Technology may help build the bridge for consumers with looking for healthier options. Created by GRACE Communication Foundation, the app allows users to find local farmers market or the closest restaurants with sustainable products. Leslie Hatfield, GRACE’s communications director in a recent article stated, “We want to show people that there are places that are better than McDonalds.” On their website, Eat Well Guide state that it help's people "eat local, even when your not" a local. Access to healthy options through free or easily applicable ...
In 2011, a community in central North Carolina launched a grassroots, community campaign to encourage all children and adults to be physically active through enhancement of the built environment and establishment of sustainable opportunities for active living. The purpose of this project was to evaluate the effect of the community campaign on physical activity levels in elementary school children. The study reports that community-based initiatives are effective forms of preventing obesity by increased physical activity in school aged children. To learn more, read the full ...
Urban environments can increase risk for development of obesity, insulin resistance (IR), and type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) by limiting physical activity. This study examined, in a cohort of urban Hispanic youth, the relationship between daily physical activity (PA) measured by GPS, insulin resistance and cardiovascular fitness. The researchers found that moderate and vigorous physical activity was extremely low in the youth they surveyed, possibly contributing to insulin resistance and obesity. The data from this study suggest that children in urban settings confront physical, cultural, and attitudinal barriers that severely limit physical activity. The urban built environment near the school in this study (i.e. high crime area abutting a major highway) could markedly impede ...
The Oliver Foundation is a Houston-based nonprofit dedicated to preventing childhood obesity. They provide a variety of resources for students, educators, parents, and health professionals, with a strong emphasis on eating/preparing nutritious foods and maintaining healthy weight. The Oliver Foundation also offers grants for schools and summer programs aimed at improving eating or physical ...
Let’s Move: Faith and Communities seeks to equip community-based health leaders with resources that can be adapted to fit the needs and goals of their community. Their web-based programs and training are free to community health leaders. The Let’s Move Faith and Communities toolkit is full of resources and guidance on how faith-based and neighborhood organizations can initiate, expand, and coordinate activities that make their communities places of wellness for kids and families. Whether you are already a community leader looking for ideas, or someone looking to get involved, there are free resources available for use. Check out a full directory of Let's Move offerings ...
A recent study shows that two key factors -- taste and choice -- are instrumental in improving school childrens' lunchtime nutritional choices. You need both, the researchers found. Absent tasty food, choice alone is doomed to fail.The study was published in the March 2015 issue of JAMA Pediatrics. When children exercise their small measure of independence in the school lunch line, they do respond well to choice, according to the study. So giving kids a range of options for fruits and vegetables -- and presenting the healthiest options in attractive ways -- prompts these tough customers to pick them more often. But when it comes to getting kids to not just pick but actually eat more fruits and vegetables over the long haul, there's no substitute for a tasty food, the ...
Looking for free breakfast or lunch for your children during the summer? Summer meal programs are increasingly more available at convenient locations. Click here for an interactive map to find free nutritious summer meals throughout the ...
Carlos Valenzuela, with dreams of becoming the next Jorge Ramos, got a degree in broadcast journalism and worked as a community affairs TV reporter. But he soon found a way to use his skills to improve people’s lives. Impressed by the passionate health advocacy of his mentor, Floyd Robinson, who directs health and wellness at the University of Houston, Valenzuela started developing health prevention campaigns for the city of Houston’s health department. “I learned the big impact health campaigns can have in minority communities in areas like obesity, diabetes, and sexually transmitted infections,” he said. Today Valenzuela is taking health communications to a new level as social media coordinator at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at the UT Health ...
Afterschool and summer programs are important to keep kids safe, healthy, active and prepared for school in the fall. “Research shows that summer learning loss is a significant contributor to the achievement gap; students from low-income families typically lose two to three months in reading achievement and two months of math skills during the summer months.” The America After 3PM household survey results demonstrate unmet demand for afterschool and summer learning programs for Latino youth. Latino families participate in and request more summer learning programs than other families. Click here for the America After 3PM News Release. Click here for ...
