How can teens combat the millions of dollars spent on advertising every year from the beverage companies? How about a bit of their own media. One out of every 4 children in Howard County (HoCo) is obese or overweight. Maryland teens are sick of this and are telling big soda to get the hint. They know that sugary beverages like soda and Gatorade are linked to higher risks for heart disease, obesity, and diabetes, and they are not afraid to spread this news to friends, family, and everyone through YouTube and social media. Involved with the Horizon Foundation, a non-profit whose mission is to improve the health and wellness of people who live or work in Howard County, Maryland, the Better Choices Coalition is a group of organizations, and concerned citizens leading an effort to ...
San Francisco (41.9% Latino), will now enjoy the refreshing ability to have clean water access in neighborhoods across the city, where free drinking water stations will be installed thanks to community collaborations. The collaborations include the City of San Francisco, the University of California San Francisco (UCSF), and other community groups that are hoping to help lower-income neighborhoods have access to quality water, and reduce the high rates of obesity and diabetes. Diabetes, impacts around two million Latinos in the U.S. and about 95% of all diabetes cases are Type 2. This type of Diabetes develops when the body doesn't make enough insulin and can lead to serious health risks like heart attacks, strokes, depression and more. Latinos often live in neighborhoods ...
Estimates of $550 million annually to help the Illinois state budget fund Medicaid and support community prevention of obesity is bringing a positive outlook for lawmakers, business owners and health advocates alike in regards to a new sugary drink tax proposal. The sugary tax was introduced by Senator Mattie Hunter and Representative Robyn Gabel as of the Healthy Eating Active Living (HEAL) Proposal for the Illinois Budget. Health advocates excited about the proposal, hope that funds raised will go to help offset the state's Medicaid expenses and provide millions in funding for community health and prevention of obesity through a wellness fund for the community. Currently, 62.2% of adults are overweight and 27.6% are obese and 1 in 3 children in the state are obese or ...
Doctor Jamie Jeffrey now stands for a sugary beverage tax within her patient's diets, stating that after her extensive research and scientific findings, she encourages West Virginia to take a "bold action" for kids by implementing a sugary drink tax. "Over the past 5 years, my patients have suffered more from the insulin resistance disease spectrum presenting as rapid weight gain, high triglycerides and a dark rash around their neck and on their knuckles known as acanthosis nigrican," Jeffrey told Charleston Gazette-Mail. West Virginia has had an increase in obesity rates from 14.4 percent to 16.4 percent in their younger population, where nearly 40% of West Virginians consume sugary sweetened beverages daily and 60% of 18-24-year-olds consume sweet drinks daily. Now West ...
Unhealthy food and beverage marketing ads are targeted more at Latinos and minorities on TV, social media and more, according to recent research. The Praxis Project, led by Latino advocate Xavier Morales, and others filed a legal complaint against Coca-Cola and the American Beverage Association for deceptive marketing practices that push sugary drinks to communities of color. The complaint was filed in federal court in California is confusing the public, and indicates “the world’s largest soft-drink maker and the trade association run ads that tout the energy boost from drinking soda, and disregard scientific findings that sugary beverages can lead to obesity, diabetes, and heart problems,” according to a CBS News report. Both Coca-Cola and the American Beverage ...
The city can now move forward with the taxing of sugary beverages as a ruling on Monday dismissed the American Beverage Association and other Pennsylvania food and beverage associations lawsuit in "its entirety", meaning there is no going back after January first when the tax is scheduled to take effect. Signed by Mayor Jim Kenney, the 1.5 cents per ounce soda tax is estimated to generate around $91million dollars annually and is to be used to fund universal pre-k, support community schools, revitalize parks and fund police body cameras. Judge Glazer dismissed the ruling against the tax, stating that the tax does not violate the uniformity clause of the Pennsylvania Constitution nor does it conflict with the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance program as argued by opposers of the ...
A new policy for a sugary drink tax was recently proposed by Mayor Javier Gonzales to help fund Santa Fe, New Mexico (51.2% Latino) to expand early childhood educations programs. However, after much discussion about the proposed tax, the city council requested information about finances and if the tax could generate the projected funds of up to ten million dollars a year. The Mayor had presented an economic study in the previous proposals to the city council, stating that ten million dollars would be needed to expand prekindergarten classrooms. Now the plan for the tax has been redefined for the tax to be implemented only within city limits and excludes artificially sweetened beverages will be presented by Mayor Gonzales in January 2017. By limiting the tax to city limits, ...
There are many options for dining out these days, but which restaurants offer healthier and more sustainable options for families? REAL, standing for Responsible, Epicurean, and Agricultural Leadership, is a nationally recognized mark of excellence for food and foodservice operators committed to holistic nutrition and environmental stewardship. The United States Healthful Food Council (USHFC), established in 2012, works to help restaurants become REAL Certified in three areas that show conscious health for the environment and the people. The goal is to make sure healthy choices are highlighted and offered, and that unhealthy options are limited or changed for families dining out. Through this certification, healthy changes are being made in restaurants all over the ...
The American Heart Association recommends that children's dietary intake of added sugars be less than six teaspoons of added sugars per day, but a small 12-ounce soda contains over that amount by 4 teaspoons of sugar. One way to help reduce the intake of added sugars in children's diets is to reduce the consumption of drinks with added sugars, like sodas, flavored milk, juices, sweet teas and lemonades. The Center for Science in the Public Interest and Voices for Healthy Kids Action Center is working to continue efforts of removing sugary beverages from kids' menus by bringing awareness of chain restaurants that have committed to removing soft drinks from kids menus and pointing out some of the biggest American Restaurant chains that continue to push sugar drinks on their kids' ...
