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 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 pediatrician in Maine, Dr. ...
Moms often have final say over family meals. Marketers know this. Kellogg Co., the name behind brands like Fruit Loops, Pop-Tarts, and Eggo Waffles, has a new digital marketing campaign, Días Grandiosos, that targets Spanish-speaking moms online and on social media like Facebook and Pinterest with recipes they tout as saludable (healthy). But many of their meals are high in sugar and salt. In other words, NOT saludable. Tell Kellogg to stop pushing moms to give their kids unhealthy, sugary foods, and instead add more healthy options! Almost all the campaign’s recipes—19 of the 29 recipes on its website—qualify as desserts based on their high sugar content, according to an independent nutritionist. Like: Five recipes using Rice Krispies and marshmallows;
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Science backs up your mom’s old adage: “Eat your fruits and vegetables if you want to be healthy and strong!” Unfortunately, this message is often lost or unheeded, buried beneath junk food ads relentlessly targeting kids. Leaders in San Antonio, Texas decided to combat the city’s troubling obesity rate with a campaign designed to get kids (and their parents!) to eat more fruits and veggies. The “Veg Out” campaign, backed by science and a coalition of public health, school, city, and other officials, aims to have a lasting impact on the health of families in San Antonio.
Marketing Usually Promotes Unhealthy Food Options
Awareness: San Antonio is a unique, mostly Latino city known for its rich history and traditions. However, some traditions, like the consumption of ...
Moms often have final say over family meals. Let’s use #SaludTues on Feb. 24, 2015, to help moms fight back against unhealthy food advertising by tweeting resources and strategies: WHAT: #SaludTues Tweetchat: “How Moms Can Fight Junk Food Marketing”
DATE: Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2015
TIME: 1-2 p.m. ET (Noon-1 p.m. CT)
WHERE: On Twitter with hashtag #SaludTues
HOST: @SaludAmerica
CO-HOSTS: The Center for Science in the Public Interest (@CSPI), Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity (@UConnRuddCenter), and MomsRising (@MomsRising) Be sure to use the hashtag #SaludTues to follow the conversation on Twitter/X and share your stories and resources. #SaludTues is a Tweetchat on Twitter/X that focuses on a variety of different health issues. From September 2014 to ...
Northgate González Market has come a long way since its humble beginnings. The family-owned and operated California-based grocery store chain, originally founded by people Jalisco in 1980, went from one 2,500-square-foot store to now 42 stores located throughout Southern California. Despite Northgate’s success, its owners have not forgotten their origins. They seek to offer high-quality products and improve the quality of life for the local community through their Viva la Salud! Program, which includes bilingual healthy food labels and an entire marketing program aimed at helping customers make wise food-purchasing decisions as part of a healthy lifestyle.
The Issue of Unhealthy Local Food
Awareness: Victor González, Senior VP of Marketing at González Northgate Markets, a ...
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering whether to allow some flavored e-cigarettes on the market, according to new draft guidance. However, any new vape flavors could only be marketed to adults. Under the new guidance, the FDA may approve vape flavors like “mint, coffee, tea and spices like clove or cinnamon,” but it “will continue rejecting sweet or fruit-flavored products” that appeal more to teens, according to HealthDay, a news agency. FDA states that certain e-cigarette flavors can help facilitate adults switching away from tobacco cigarettes and increase quit attempts. However, public health leaders warn of harm. “Allowing any flavors on the market benefits only corporations and harms public health,” Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy of Action on Smoking ...
In 1998, the U.S. Surgeon General released a landmark report calling for tobacco control interventions for Hispanic and Latino and other populations. Has this goal been met? To find out, Dr. Amelie G. Ramirez of UT Health San Antonio analyzed public health efforts since 1998 and identified a mix of replicable successes and remaining challenges in tobacco control, according to her recent article in JNCI Monographs. "Although progress has been made in the years since the report's release, [Latino and other] tobacco users continue to have limited access to cessation medication and support services," Ramirez wrote. "Cultural barriers and tobacco industry marketing have also complicated cessation efforts." "Despite these challenges, some outreach and cessation efforts have shown ...
Gregory Aune was 16 when he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. Aune spent a year enduring grueling treatment, losing over 70 pounds. But he survived. His experience motivated him to pursue a clinical career and help children with cancer. Today, Dr. Aune is an associate professor of pediatric hematology and oncology at the Greehey Children’s Cancer Research Institute (GCCRI) of UT Health San Antonio, on a mission to find new ways to help and heal patients. That's why he helped found the Gear Up Against Kids Cancer Bike Ride — to raise awareness of childhood cancer and support the mission of the GCCRI. The inaugural Gear Up Against Kids Cancer Bike Ride took place on April 2, 2022, in Floresville, Texas. The 5th annual bike ride is set for 8 a.m. on Saturday, May ...
Do you have dense breasts? Half of US women have dense breasts, but many don’t even know it or know how it impacts their breast health. Watch UT Health San Antonio’s webinar on breast density, mammography, “Difference in Density: Why it Matters for Your Breast Health,” at 12 p.m. Central on Wednesday, January 28, 2026. This webinar featured experts from the Mays Cancer Center at UT Health San Antonio, a breast cancer survivor with firsthand experience with dense breasts, and a representative from the Susan G. Komen foundation. Together, they discussed how to talk to your doctor about dense breasts and the steps you should take to monitor your breast health following a dense breast diagnosis. With this knowledge, patients can feel empowered to talk to ...
Comment Now: Should FDA Allow Flavored E-Cigarettes?
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is considering whether to allow some flavored e-cigarettes on the market, according to new draft guidance. However, any new vape flavors could only be marketed to adults. Under the new guidance, the FDA may approve vape flavors like “mint, coffee, tea and spices like clove or cinnamon,” but it “will continue rejecting sweet or fruit-flavored products” that appeal more to teens, according to HealthDay, a news agency. FDA states that certain e-cigarette flavors can help facilitate adults switching away from tobacco cigarettes and increase quit attempts. However, public health leaders warn of harm. “Allowing any flavors on the market benefits only corporations and harms public health,” Kelsey Romeo-Stuppy of Action on Smoking ...
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