Statewide Obesity Rates Still Rising
According to a new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Trust for America’s Health, obesity rates climbed in 16 states, and did not decrease in any. Even worse, 12 states now have obesity rates of 30% or over. Four years ago, only 1 state had that distinction. “Today, the state with the lowest obesity rate would have had the highest rate in 1995,” said Jeff Levi, Ph.D., executive director of TFAH. “There was a...
Let’s Move Salad Bars 2 Schools
Despite his high profile, Jamie Oliver isn’t the only well-known chef involved in reforming US school lunch programs. The “Renegade Lunch Lady,” Ann Cooper is another. She’s the author of 4 books on foods, nutrition and cooking, and has been featured in prominent magazines, newspapers and news programs. What drew my attention to her today was a hot-off-the-presses interview published in the journal, Childhood...
Ronald McDonald is an Ambassador for Good???
So sayeth McDonald’s CEO, Jim Skinner… “Ronald McDonald is an ambassador to McDonald’s, and he is an ambassador for good,” Skinner said. “Ronald McDonald isn’t going anywhere.” The occasion was a recent shareholders’ meeting in Chicago, where McDonald’s came under fire (again) for its advertising to kids… Critics’ main beef with McDonald’s is its marketing...
Yale Report: Fast Food Marketing to Kids Has Increased
The Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity at Yale University recently released a detailed report on fast food nutrition and marketing to kids. The conclusions aren’t pretty: New Haven, Conn. — Children as young as age 2 are seeing more fast food ads than ever before, and restaurants rarely offer parents the healthy kids’ meal choices, according to a new study from Yale’s Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity. The new...
SF Supervisors Place Restrictions on Toys in Fast Food Children’s Meals
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors just passed an ordinance that requires fast food meals marketed to young children to meet nutritional guidelines… or no toy. The San Francisco Board of Supervisors was at it again today, banning toys in McDonald’s Happy Meals that contain over 600 calories and more than 35% of calories from fat. Sorry kids, this encompasses most McD’s Happy Meals offered these days. The measure...
Hamburgers = Heroin?
I’m not quite sure what to make of this Australian community service announcement equating feeding fast food to children with hooking them on heroin. [youtube:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6P-4bzj9sdI] Lord knows, it certainly catches attention, and is effective (in its own way) of making the point that a fast/junk food habit can be harmful – particularly when started early in life. But I have a few issues with it:...
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