In the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions' 2013 Prevention Status Report, the percentage of Texas adults and high school students who were obese was above the national average. Many health officials point to over-consumption of sugary drinks and sodas as a large factor in the state's obesity crisis. Because Latino youth tend to drink more sugary drinks daily than their White peers, the need to reduce soda consumption is especially pressing in the Latino community. In San Antonio, TX, the Metropolitan Health District is kicking-off a new campaign designed to encourage residents to ditch sugary drinks and choose water instead. Health officials are building a marketing strategy for a 3-year campaign that uses all manner of media to raise awareness about the health risks ...
Across the nation, communities are educating families about making healthy beverage choices. In southern New York, Broome County is taking it one step further by working on a new sugary drinks policy for all the programs run by the Broome County Cooperative Extension. The policy will provide guidelines for drink options at their programs and in their vending machines. Local 4-H groups will also adopt the policy. They plan on water and unsweetened milk replacing high-sugar sodas, juices, and teas. The extension hopes to bring these healthy drink policies to local schools and other organizations as well. Watch a news segment about the efforts ...
A 2011 study done by Dayton Children's Hospital found 37 percent of children in the region are overweight or obese. These sobering statistics motivated them to start making healthy changes in their own system. Beginning in May 2014, Dayton Children's Hospital will stop selling sugary drinks at all its locations. The new policy applies to the main campus and its outpatient care centers in Springboro and Middletown. The hospital said it includes the cafeteria, gift shop, vending machines, patient room service and on-site catering. The hospital said the move supports its mission to improve the health of children and their families. The change is part of a larger movement across the country of children's hospitals ensuring that patients have the best nutrition possible while on ...
Health advocates in California are busy. Between San Francisco's soda tax bill and the proposed warning labels on sugary drinks, momentum is growing for healthy changes in the state, many of which would affect Latino families. In January, the Sonoma County Department of Health Services kicked off an ad campaign urging people to reconsider their beverage choices. Billboards throughout the county are spotlighting the issue. From January through April 2014, residents will see ads depicting the sugar content in sodas and energy and sports drinks on billboards, YouTube and Facebook, in convenience stores, schools, and throughout the community. The website, www.ChooseHealthyDrinks.org, will provide more information on how much sugar is in common drinks, how to read nutrition labels, ...
Latinos tend to drink more sugary drinks than their peers. In fact, a study found that about 22 percent of Latino high-school students drink three or more sugar-sweetened beverages per day, compared with 19.6 percent of white students. As a pediatrician, Dr. Marta Katalenas knows what it takes for kids to live healthy lives, and sugary juices and sodas aren't part of the picture. She has challenged her Austin, Texas community to stop buying sodas and sugary drinks at the grocery store as part of her 2014 Monthly New Year’s Resolution challenge. Each month since January, Dr. Katalenas has been challenging families to stick to a small healthy change for that month. For March, she is urging folks to stop bringing sugary drinks home from the store. If the drinks aren't in the ...
Soda tax proposals, which studies show could help Latino children drink less sugary drinks, have been popping up around the country in recent years. In this KQED photo from a story about the Richmond soda tax campaign, a customer at La Raza market in Richmond talks with a paid organizer for the community coalition against beverage taxes.Source: http://blogs.kqed.org/stateofhealth/2012/08/09/soda-industry-spending-big-to-defeat-richmond-beverage-tax/The California cities of San Francisco and Berkeley, and the state of Illinois, are among those currently weighing such taxes.In 2012, two California cities with large Latino populations, Richmond and El Monte, failed in their attempts to pass a tax on sugary drinks. A new study by Berkeley Media Studies Group (BMSG) analyzed the role the ...
A new study published in the American Journal of Public Health (AJPH) predicts that taxing sugary drinks would not have any significant negative impact on employment. In fact, the study suggests that there may even be modest job gains. This study focused on the impact of a tax in California and Illinois, and the researchers expect the overall results would be similar in other states In addition to net job gains and significant health savings, a tax on these beverages would be expected to raise over $500 million in Illinois and nearly $1billion in California, according to the study. Read more here. Check out Bridging the Gap's issue brief on the ...
New Haven Mayor Toni Harp believes a state-raised tax on sugary drinks will help reduce obesity in Connecticut, where Latinos make up the largest minority group. She says a 2 percent tax on high-calorie sugary drinks would reduce sales of the beverage and generate about $144 million in revenue that could be used to combat obesity. Only the state can raise taxes, not cities, so the mayor will push for state legislators to consider the tax during this 2014 legislative session. Read more ...
Supported by the Horizon Foundation, Howard County Unsweetened has tools, resources, news, and more on how parents and their kids can swap sugary drinks for healthier alternatives. Their latest video campaign suggests that big soda companies should focus on promoting healthier beverages, like water, and not high-sugar drinks. The campaign challenges folks to rethink what marketing beverages to children should look like. Check out their latest video here! Howard County Unsweetened hosted a contest inviting high-schoolers to submit short documentaries about the problem of sugary drink consumption, and creative new ways to deal with it. They announced the winner in February 2014---watch the ...
