If you live in a community that is transforming health across sectors, bringing stakeholders together to create opportunities for people to make healthy choices, and making real measurable impact, you're invited to apply for the 2015 Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Culture of Health Prize. The annual RWJF Culture of Health Prize celebrates communities that have placed a priority on health and are creating powerful partnerships and deep commitments to make change. Winners get a $25,000 cash prize. To be eligible, communities must be designated as a town, city, county, tribe or tribal community or region (such as contiguous towns, cities, or counties) in the United States. Six criteria are central to the judging: Defining health in the broadest possible ...
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 48% of obese boys and 36% of obese girls think their weight is “about right.” Among kids and teens who were merely overweight, 81% of boys and 71% of girls also judged their weight to be “about right.” This information comes from the CDC's recently released, "Perception of Weight Status in U.S. Children and Adolescents Aged 8–15 Years, 2005–2012," which survey'd youth about how they perceive their own weight. Some of their key finding include: About one-third of Mexican-American (34.0%) and non-Hispanic black (34.4%) children and adolescents misperceive their weight status compared with non-Hispanic white children and adolescents (27.7%).
Approximately 81% of overweight boys and 71% of overweight girls ...
We all know that healthier school meals improve kids' diets. But did you know kids' like them? The first national surveys of school leaders show that the majority of students like the new healthier lunches schools are offering after USDA’s improved nutrition standards went into effect in fall 2012. This study is done by Bridging the Gap, a nationally recognized research program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation dedicated to improving the understanding of how policies and environmental factors affect diet, physical activity and obesity among youth, as well as youth tobacco use. In elementary school the study finds that there hasn't been a significant impact on participation in the school lunch program. Sixty‐five percent of public elementary schools reported no overall ...
The national childhood obesity rate has leveled off, but rates are still far too high – and racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic disparities persist with more than 39% of Latino kids overweight or obese. What needs to happen to show bigger results, faster? Join leaders from Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, American Heart Association, City of Philadelphia Government, UCSF School of Medicine, & AcademyHealth for a TEDMED Great Challenges Hangout about childhood obesity, and how we can all make sure ALL children can grow up at a healthy weight. How do we make sure all children can grow up at a healthy weight? What are some of the underlying environmental and societal causes that must be addressed? What could corporate, community and policy leaders do to further address this critical ...
The Union City's Youth Commission in California is comprised of teens from local schools that want be active in their communities. These teens most recently decided to take on the issue of tobacco products, specifically how the products are targeting youth and teens, reports ChangeLab Solutions. The members of the Youth Commission are concerned about how easy the access is for their peers to get cigars, e-cigarettes, and cigarillos. These tobacco products are often flavored to appeal to youth. The Youth Commission approached the City Council with information about how the tobacco industry targets youth in advertising and with price promotions, along with resources from ChangeLab Solutions about e-cigarettes and the model Tobacco Retailer Licencing ordinance. The ...
It is hardest for minorities, like Latinos, in urban areas of the United States to purchase healthy foods close to home, according to a new study, Saludify reports. The team for the study, led by Dr. Carolyn Cannuscio of the University of Pennsylvania and published in the American Journal of Preventative Medicine, interviewed nearly 500 people about their food shopping habits in West and Southwest Philadelphia. They also accessed the quality and variety of food offerings at more than 370 stores—about 80% corner stores—in the area. Most of the corner stores scored very low on the healthy food assessment. Despite the fact that 90% of the residents in the area said the corner stores were the closest to their residence to shop, only one-third of those residents said they ...
A new article and infographic from The Washington Post shows all the ways that sitting is negatively affecting the health of the average U.S. adult. Whether it be working at a desk or sitting in front of the television, sitting contributes to many health issues that already plague Latinos such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes. Sitting causes the muscles to burn less fat and causes blood to flow at a slower pace, which allows more fatty acids to easily clog the heart. Long-term effects of prolonged sitting also include high blood pressure and elevated cholesterol. People with a sedentary lifestyle, that includes sitting a majority of their day, are more than twice as likely to have heart diseases and related issues than those who sit less frequently. Latinos are already at huge ...
Bridging the Gap, a Robert Wood Johnson funded national research program focused on understanding how policy and environmental factors affect the health of today's youth, has created the new interactive website about school snack foods and beverages State Laws for School Snack Foods and Beverages. The website covers laws in all fifty states over the course of seven school years and displays the information in colorful, easy to understand visuals. A map of a school is found on the website, which is interactive and allows users to click on each area where foods and beverages may be served at school. By clicking on an area the user gets an up to date summary on the current national status of laws for that topic, and is given links to more specific related issues. Bridging the Gap ...
Check out these cool new videos that feature a group of Latina women from South Omaha, Neb., who dance to get healthy. The group says dance is a part of their culture and "the way we celebrate life, connect to each other, and move our bodies. For us, dance is a form of self-expression and a way of sharing happiness and sisterhood." You can watch the videos in English or Spanish. The videos are from the Saludable Omaha program. Learn more ...
