A study published in the Journal of American Academy of Pediatrics found a link between regular consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and higher body mass index scores in 2- to 5-year-olds. Drinking sugary drinks, like juice and soda, at a young age increases a child's risk of unhealthy weight gain in the years to come, the study ...
Read MoreThe Harvard Food Law and Policy Clinic has published a toolkit intended to serve as a reference for food policy councils, food advocates, state policymakers, and non-profit entities.This toolkit is composed of nine sections that cover a range of potential topics that a state food policy council may wish to explore--- from food assistance programs to land use and ...
Read MoreChangeLab Solutions, a group that works with neighborhoods, cities, and states to transform communities with laws and policies that create lasting change, has created This Land is Our Land: A Primer on Public Land Ownership and Opportunities for Recreational Access to assist individuals and communities in understanding the complexity of public land ownership and some of the related legal and policy issues that may arise when partnering with public entities to create opportunities for physical recreation. Whether you want to transform a vacant lot into a community garden or create a sports field on state-owned land, this primer will show you how you can make your neighborhood a place where kids can ...
Read MoreObesity: Hispanic America's Big Challenge In its recent report, the Hispanic Institute urged Hispanic organizations to stop accepting money from the food industry. The report notes that food companies spend massive amounts of money marketing high-fat and high-sugar items to Hispanics, which is particularly frustrating given that Hispanics have high rates of obesity and ...
Read MoreTeam Nutrition, through the USDA, provides a guide called Dig In! for those looking to engage 5th and 6th grade students in gardening, and the nutritional and educational experiences that go with it! They provide lessons, handouts, and posters. For teachers they provide a guide that discusses how to feature different items of produce in fun educational lessons that teach food safety, have tasting activities, teach food preparation, and gardening techniques. The resources created by Team Nutrition are made to be fun lessons, that give students hands on experience with new foods and teach them how to create sustainable gardens so that they may use this knowledge throughout their lives. ...
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Spreading the word about how to improve Latino health is a dire need. That's why we at the Institute for Health Promotion Research (IHPR) at The UT Health Science Center at San Antonio created our Salud America! communication program, formerly called SaludToday. We recently won a trio of Web Health Awards for our digital efforts to raise awareness for Latino health from the Health Information Resource Center, which gives awards twice annually for online health information. We earned a “silver” award for our blog and a "bronze" for our @SaludAmerica Twitter feed. We also earned a "merit" award for our quarterly e-newsletter on Latino health. Please help us spread continue to raise awareness of Latino health issues and solutions by following us on Twitter, Facebook and ...
Read MoreThe website Bag the Junk was created in order to support the NEA Health Information Network’s Healthier School Food Advocacy project. This website looks to educate people about healthy snacking and give them the knowledge needed to make a difference in their communities. The portion of the site labeled Act gives users tool-kits, sample letters and press releases, examples of wellness policies, and how-to's on finding out the policies in your ...
Read MoreThe New York Coalition for Healthy School Food offers up a how-to page on their website, with advice and resources for those looking to make a change in the health polices within their schools. From information about school wellness policies to suggestions about where you can make a change, this resource walks a parent, teacher, student or anyone else looking to improve their school through how they can achieve their ...
Read MoreBettina Elias Siegel, author of the popular childhood nutrition blog The Lunch Tray, has created a manifesto about the place of food in the classroom. Many schools have not yet addressed the issues of having food in the classroom, using food as a reward, and how junk food finds it's way into the hands of students, despite healthy lunches. This manifesto created by Siegel, states in clear bullet points why food in the classroom can he harmful to children's health and undermines what parents teach their children about food ...
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