Planing land use, economic development, and redevelopment offer a valuable set of tools to promote and enhance healthy communities. Visit this website on ‘Planning for Healthy Places’ in California. Find inspiration for policy work to engage public health advocates in the planning decision-making process for healthy environments.
Planning for Healthy Places
Jan 27
Lunch box police
Jan 27
Teachers need the authority to enforce ‘healthy eating’ habits. School principals in Australia want teachers to have the power to police lunch boxes from home to remove any offending cookies or chips that are deemed by the State Government as unhealthy.
Health Games Research, a US program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, encourages applicants to submit groundbreaking research ideas that will test behavioral health theories of game design, learning, attitude change, and skill development when applied to digital interactive games intended to improve players’ physical activity and/or self-care. Proposals are due on April 8, 2009. US$8.25 millions are up for grabs.
Four hundred forty three advertisements for food products were identified. Advertised foods had a lower percentage of energy from carbohydrate (43%), lower fibre density (2 g/MJ), but higher percentage of energy from sugars (24%) and higher sodium density (0.5 g/MJ) than a diet recommended to avoid diet-related disease. Food advertising reflects, and may reinforce, socio-economic and gender variations in food choice and adiposity. Producers of more healthy food may need help from policy makers and health promoters to effectively market their products.
School-based health and exercise programs have positive outcomes despite having little effect on children’s weight or the amount of exercise they do outside of school, say Cochrane Researchers who carried out a systematic review of studies on physical activity programs in schools.
Promoting physical activity, active play and sport for pre school and school-age children in family, pre-school, school and community settings is the topic of new guidelines fron the NICE in the UK.
A huge randomized controlled trial confirmed that supplementation with vitamin C, vitamin E, or beta carotene offers no overall benefits in the primary prevention of total cancer incidence or cancer mortality.
Jamba Oatmeal
Jan 27
Jamba Juice wants to bowl over customers with its newest breakfast product. The smoothie company just began sales of oatmeal in Chicago in advance of a national launch of the item next month. Jamba, with about 700 stores, earlier this year introduced a breakfast menu nationwide. With the oatmeal, it tries a product that’s proved successful for Starbucks. Since its September addition oatmeal has become one of the best-selling food items in the Starbucks system, the company said. Way to go, Jamba!
The Perfect Neighborhood
Jan 27
Enjoy this interactive story about inequality and urban planning.
‘Before and after’ pictures show UK parents and kids the devastating impact of obesity on a schoolgirl. Computers have been used to show how she would look at 50 if she does not maintain healthy habits. Ministers want to alert all parents – not just families with a ‘fat’ problem – to the obesity timebomb. Experts predict that nine out of 10 British children will be overweight or obese by 2050. See the pictures here.