 Newsroom
Children's Health and Nutrition News
Children's Health In the News
"Americans and Europeans Want Tougher Action on Childhood Obesity and Diet-Related Disease," Center for Science in the Public Interest (4/2/08)
Eighty-two percent of Americans believe that food companies should do more to reduce the fat, sugar, and salt in their products, 78 percent want fast-food and other chain restaurants to disclose calories and key nutrition information on menus and menu boards, and just 36 percent of Americans think that food companies are doing enough to limit junk food advertising to children, according to new survey research released today. [Full article]
"Fast Food Ads Fueling Obesity Among Hispanic Kids," The Washington Post (2/21/08)
The large number of fast food commercials on Spanish-language television in the United States may be contributing to the obesity epidemic among Hispanic youths, new research suggests. Among American children, Hispanics have the highest rates of overweight and obesity. [Full article]
"Getting Grade School Kids to Eat More Fruits and Veggies," by Alfredo Flores, USDA Agricultural Research Service (12/21/07)
One approach frequently suggested as an effective way to increase children's consumption of healthy foods is to encourage them to participate in food preparation activities. Now a study has demonstrated that this may be effective. [Full article]
"Healthy Changes to School Menus Do Not Increase Costs or Reduce Lunch Sales, Study Suggests," Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (11/26/07)
Contrary to popular belief, schools serving the healthiest lunches did not see a decline in demand. The study also found that using nutritious foods, such as fruits and vegetables, which cost less than processed foods, offset staff training and kitchen upgrade costs. [Full article]
"Boston Chef Teaches Local Schools How to Make, Market Nutritious Foods," Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (9/13/07)
Cafeteria managers at two Boston-area schools have teamed up with one of the region's top chefs to learn how to make more nutritious cafeteria fare. [Full article]
"Goodbye trans fats, hello broccoli: Farm to School project brings local edibles into cafeterias," Mary Carey, Amherst Bulletin (9/28/07)
Gone are the days when schoolchildren in the lunch line cast a cold eye on broccoli. Chicken nuggets may always be first in at least the youngest students' hearts, but there has been a clear trend in favor of fruit and vegetables, according to cafeteria employees. [Full article]
Alarming Health Statistics On Children
|
Obesity has become the nation’s number one health epidemic, affecting one out of every five children; this rate has tripled in the last 20 years! |
|
Type 2 diabetes, once considered a disease of adults, has doubled among children and tripled among teens in the last decade. |
|
On the other extreme, eating disorders are at an all time high. By fourth grade, two thirds of the nation’s girls have reportedly gone on a diet because they think they are “fat”. |
|
Less than 1% of today’s children are meeting their nutritional requirements; the average child gets over 50% of their calories from fat and sugar! |
|
Less than half of the nation’s youth reportedly engage in regular physical activity. |
|
The average child sees over 40,000 TV commercials with over 80% of food ads promoting junk foods! |
When you're looking for experts about children's health and nutrition,
Call 1-800-FOODPLAY (1-800-366-3752)
or email us for more information.
|
