A farmer's market is a lot of fun—for parents only, usually. Kids often just tag along, glumly, as their parents busily shop for fresh fruits and vegetables. That is, until the Market Sprouts Kids Club. Kaely Summers and other farmer's market managers in Oregon teamed up to create the Market Sprouts Kids Club program to teach local kids who come to the market about farming, fresh produce, and healthy eating. Now kids ages 5-12 who visit local markets, like Summers' Forest Grove Farmer's Market in Forest Grove, Ore., (23.1% Latino), do fun, interactive activities alongside farmers and volunteers who teach about healthier foods and healthier choices!
Farmer's Markets and Children in Oregon
Officials with Adelante Mujeres, a non-profit organization fin Forest Grove, have been ...
Hispanic children who participated in a unique weight-maintenance pilot intervention were more likely to adopt healthy lifestyles, resulting in healthier weights, than children who didn’t participate, according to a UT Health San Antonio study in the June 2015 issue of the journal Childhood Obesity. The pilot study, which paved the way for a new $2.9 million grant to test the intervention on a larger scale through 2019, was implemented with parent-child pairs in a rural clinic in New Braunfels, Texas. Children who participated were Hispanic, ages 5-14, and obese/overweight. “Comprehensive behavioral programs have been shown to help these children improve their weight status. However, more efficient interventions that can be done in primary care clinics must be developed for ...
More than 27,000 people across the nation recently wrote letters to urge Taco Bell to quit pushing sugary drinks and add healthier drink options, like low- or no-fat milk. The letters highlighted Taco Bell’s recent beverage rollout of sugar-filled drinks, like the favorite Manzanita Sol, and subsequent aggressive marketing of these drinks on social media. Letters were collected by Salud America!, an obesity research and communication network funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Salud America! leaders delivered 27,748 letters to Taco Bell this week. We will post their response here in coming days. Why is this effort so important? Studies find that Latino kids already drink more sugary drinks each day than their white peers, and have higher rates of ...
Students at Chicago Public Schools weren’t getting enough physical activity and time spent in P.E., so district officials created a new department solely to improve the health and wellness of students. The department’s new chief health officer led the enactment of three new health policies and the rollout of a plan to bring at least 30 minutes of daily P.E. to all students. Soon students in grades K-8 will be getting a minimum of 150 minutes of P.E. a week, and all high school students will be required to take P.E. every semester.
The Need for More Physical Education (P.E.) for Students
Awareness: As the third-largest school district in the nation, Chicago Public Schools (CPS) are responsible for ensuring a healthy learning environment for its student body (45% ...
After learning that kids in Rosedale were at a high risk for childhood obesity, the Rosedale Development Association (RDA) decided it was time to do something about it. They learned that the community wanted more trails so they hired an expert who developed plans for a hike & bike nature trail to connect the community to parks and other key spots. With support from various groups and the local government, the RDA built over 2.3 miles of nature trail, all at a minimal expense. Families and children in the community are already benefitting from the trail and the group continues expanding the Rozarks trail network.
The Issue of Physical Activity in the Neighborhood
Awareness: The Rosedale Development Association (RDA), a Kansas City, Kan., non-profit community development ...
Please join #SaludTues, a new weekly Tweetchat series about health (salud)! The series, which takes place every Tuesday at 1 p.m. ET (12 P.M. CST), will feature any health issue can be a topic for the #SaludTues chat, from heart health, childhood obesity, nutrition and physical activity, access to health care, education, etc. Chats are hosted by @SaludAmerica, the health social media campaign, and two co-host experts or organizations. When is #SaludTues Tweetchat No. 1? On Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014, let's tweet about what we can to create a health for families at the inaugural #SaludTues chat and discuss our health and well-being. WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: "How to Create a Health for Families"
DATE: Tuesday, Sept. 16, 2014
TIME: Noon CST (1:00 PM ET)
WHERE: On ...
Summer is here. Do you know what your child is drinking at summer camp? The American Camp Association (ACA), the country's leading camp resource and accreditation group, requires camps to take many steps to ensure the safety and well-being of young people. They also offer suggestions on how camps can help kids be active and eat healthy foods. But ACA does NOT require camps to have a healthy beverage policy to gain accreditation. That means, for the more than 2,400 ACA-accredited camps nationwide, none are required to refrain from serving campers sugary sodas, juices, or flavored milk. Research shows many kids already consume more sugary drinks on average (see video), so they have more to lose when camps recruit families and then provide unhealthy sugary drinks during this ...
Counselors at New Britain High School were concerned about the future of teens who were not passing PE and risked not graduating. Fortunately, a local nonprofit taught a group of teens how to take photos and use them to inspire action—a technique called photovoice. Their efforts helped unite the nonprofit, the New Britain YWCA, and New Britain High School, who together pushed to establish an after-school PE credit recovery program. Now, girls are getting the physical education they need to lead a healthy lifestyle, and the ongoing collaboration between community organizations has led to the development of a new hub for health called The House of Teens (HOT).
Examining the Health of the Local Community
Awareness/Learn: The 37% Latino town of New Britain, Conn., was struggling ...
When Cecil Whisenton of San Antonio, Texas, transitioned his career from the restaurant industry to the installation of healthy vending machines, he learned of the tremendous burden of obesity across the country. So, in his work with HUMAN Healthy Vending—a Los-Angeles-based company that has franchisees working to place healthy vending machines across the country—Whisenton brought the machines to local YMCAs and a San Antonio high school. He hopes to bring the healthy vending machines to more schools in the future to give kids healthier snack and drink options earlier in life. He believes schools facing the pending changes under the USDA’s Smart Snacks standards can turn to companies like Human Vending to redesign the snacking for students.
The Problem of Unhealthy School ...
