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 MoreTexans Care for Children launched Drink Well Texas in 2012 to educate Texas children and their parents about the hazards of drinking too many sugary drinks. Drink Well Texas also strives to mobilize folks to take action against big soda companies and supports taxing sugar-sweetened beverages. Kids and their parents can get involved by pledging to drink less sugary drinks and by signing up for news and policy updates. Drink Well Texas also submitted a video to the Center for Science in Public Interest (CSPI)'s Pour One Out Contest, a contest to combat the advertising of sugary drinks by creating fun, innovative videos that outlined the risks of drinking too much ...
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 MoreNew York City has been a leader in adopting polices that fight childhood obesity, and with Latinos as the largest minority group in the City, these policies can make a big difference in the health of Latino children. One way New York City has been helping folks live healthier lives is through ad campaigns targeted at limiting sugary drinks, a huge source of extra calories in children's diets. As part of the Pouring on the Pounds ad campaign launched in 2009, the NYC Health Department has released a new group of ads that warn New Yorkers that a drink may sound healthy but in fact be just the opposite. The new ads encourage folks to replace high-sugar fruit-flavored drinks and sport drinks with low-fat milk and water. Check out all four ads in both English and ...
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An ad campaign created as a collaborative effort of First 5 Contra Costa and Healthy and Active Before 5, depicts soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages with sharp, scary teeth. Sugar Bites is a social marketing campaign that aims to encourage parents to provide their children with healthier beverages. The ads are featured in both English and Spanish, in order to reach as many people as possible. Advertisements like these can help educate people and use the same tactics large corporations use to advertise unhealthy drinks and snacks. It is hoped that these memorable ads will stick with people, to lower the amount of soda intake in Contra Costa, Ca., which currently greatly affects the amount of tooth decay, obesity, and type II diabetes in children. Sugar Bites was posted ...
Read MoreOn May 15, 2013, youth activists, teachers, and health advocates across Virginia came together to change the way the community thinks about drinks. Rev Your Bev Day events focused on collecting information on what Virginians think about sugary drinks and what they know about their health effects. Anyone who hosts a Rev Your Bev Day event had the unique opportunity to work on this statewide data collection project by collecting quick and easy Rev Your Bev Day surveys at their event. Event organizers mailed the completed surveys back to Rev Your Bev headquarters free of charge. Survey results will be analyzed and released in Fall 2013. This is a great, hands-on way for Virginians to advocate for healthier drinks in their state. The event was sponsored by Y St., the Virginia Foundation ...
Read MoreCalifornia state Senator Bill Monning (D- Carmel) has reintroduced a soda tax bill that has failed once before. S.B. 622 would impose a penny-per-ounce tax on sugar sweetened beverages in California. The money raised would go toward health and education programs aimed at reducing childhood obesity. Poll shows that more than half of Californians would support a soda tax if the money was used to improve school nutrition and physical education. Check out some frequently asked questions about CA's sugary beverage tax. Follow the ...
Read MoreCurrently, Nebraska does not place as tax on groceries, and that includes sodas and other sugary drinks. One state senator would like to change that. LB 447 would tax all, non-alcoholic beverages that contain natural or artificial sweeteners at the standard sales tax rate, which is 7% in Lincoln. It would generate 11 million dollars to create the Nebraska Healthy Kids Fund to help fight childhood obesity, a report shows. Lincoln Sen. Bill Avery has pitched his soda tax proposal and asked the Legislature's Revenue Committee to include his bill in a tax commission study. The beverage industry and health activists went head-to-head debating whether to tax soda to support health programs. Check out the bill's progress ...
Read MoreThe Sonoma County Healthy and Sustainable Food Action Plan (Action Plan) is a collaborative effort between the Sonoma County Department of Health Services, the Sonoma County Food System Alliance and community stakeholders provides a county-wide framework to stimulate and coordinate improvements within our food system. The Action Plan encourages local governments, businesses, organizations and individuals to commit to specific actions so they can play a role in building a viable food system for Sonoma County that assists efforts to reduce childhood obesity. Highlights of the plan include support for policies that increase point-of-sale acceptance of CalFresh and WIC at farmers’ markets, community-supported agriculture (CSA) farms, and neighborhood stores, develop tax and zoning ...
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