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What is considered a “healthy beverage zone”? A sugary drinks-free zone!
The Healthy Beverage Zone (HBZ) is a first of its kind, borough-wide effort to eliminate sugary-sweetened beverages (SSBs) at work sites, health centers, hospitals, houses of worship and schools, affecting all who work, live, and visit the Bronx.
The initiative that has already received national attention from the Aetna Foundation is now asking for partners to pledge to be #HealthBeverageZones or “#HBZ’s”.
Just like the Union Community Health Center (UCHC) decided to make its clinics SSB Free Zones in 2016, the initiative is now asking all workplaces to promote healthy beverages and reduce healthcare costs associated with chronic disease linked to consumption of sugary drinks.
“One-third of Bronx residents consume one or more sugar-sweetened beverages a day contributing to the high rates of chronic diseases such as diabetes and heart disease,” said Charmaine Ruddock, Project Director for Bronx Health REACH at the Institute for Family Health in a press release. “Promoting healthy beverage consumption in the workplace can lower health care costs and improve productivity. Sites that commit to becoming Healthy Beverage Zones are taking a significant step towards improving worksite wellness.”
The Bronx is now in the running to receive a prize up to $500,000 that will continue to support their innovative program.
So how can workplaces get involved?
Commit to having a sugar-free beverage zone in your workplace and lead by example!
Also learn more about HBZ, by visiting www.thebronxhbz.org, where you can find interactive blogs containing news about the movement and other like-minded projects happening in NYC and around the nation. Participate in the conversation via social media by following the hashtag #HBZ #Not62 #HealthiestCitiesChallenge.
Participate in the conversation via social media by following the hashtag #HBZ #Not62 #HealthiestCitiesChallenge.
Or follow the HBZ social media sites below:
Twitter: @TheBronxHBZ,
FB: The Bronx Healthy Beverage Zone,
IG: The_Bronx_HBZ,
YouTube: TheBronxHBZ
By The Numbers
74
percent
of Latino kids have had a sugary drink by age 2 (vs. 45% of white kids)
