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What You Can Do To Fight Childhood Obesity

With nearly 33% of children in America considered to be overweight or obese - a rate that has tripled in adolescents and more than doubled in younger children since 1980 - an Obama Administration task force recently established a goal of reducing the childhood obesity rate to just 5% by 2030, less than a generation away.
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Facts About Childhood Obesity

According to C & R's Youth Beat, kids eat at a restaurant 2.5 times a month. In an average 30-day month, there are 150 meal occasions:
- 30 Breakfasts
- 30 Lunches
- 30 Dinners
- 60 Snacks (at twice a day)
If kids are only going to restaurants 2-3 times a month, they account for only 2 percent of all meal occasions.
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President Bill Clinton Honors 179 U.S. Schools

The Alliance for a Healthier Generation, founded by the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, today recognized 179 schools that have transformed their campuses into healthier places for students and staff.
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Posts Tagged ‘happy meals’

San Francisco Delays Vote On Controversial Toy Ban

Monday, October 25th, 2010

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday to postpone the vote on the Toy Ban until November 2, Election Day.
 San Francisco Delays Vote On Controversial Toy Ban
A recent article from food.change.org by David Orr states, “Well, it’s probably just a political calculation. Outgoing Mayor Gavin Newsom has promised a veto, and only 7 of the 8 required votes to overturn a veto are secured. Putting off the vote until after Election Day could make it a little easier to vote in favor of this bill. It could also be a sort of gift to Mayor Newsom, who is currently running for Lt. Governor of the state and has been labeled by his opponent as ‘chief of the food police.’ Politics will be politics, but the important point is that this legislation has a real chance of being passed.”
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Mar Asks For Two-Week Continuance On October 19th's Scheduled Vote On Controversial Toy Ban Legislation

Tuesday, October 19th, 2010

In a new sfgate.com blog post, Rachel Gordon discusses the recent events surrounding the San Fransisco Toy ban, that if passed, would take away any fast food marketing promotions in kids meals.  According to recent reports, supervisor and creator of the controversial toy ban legislation has asked for a two-week continuance in hopes to secure a veto-proof majority.

mcdonalds american idol Mar Asks For Two Week Continuance On October 19th's Scheduled Vote On Controversial Toy Ban Legislation

According to  Rachel Gordon, Mar asked that the vote be delayed until Nov. 2, Election Day, which might be nice for Mayor Gavin Newsom, who is in a tough race for lieutenant governor.  Newsom’s Republican opponent, Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, has attacked Newsom for being ”chief of the food police,” referring to the mayor’s earlier efforts to curb high-sugar sodas and to promote the slow-food movement.

Delayed or not, Mar still needs eight votes on the 11-member board to override Mayor Gavin Newsom’s promised veto. The target of his quest for the crucial eighth vote is Supervisor Bevan Dufty, who said he is undecided. Dufty said Monday that he has been getting pressure from both sides of the debate.

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San Francisco Board of Supervisors to Extend Toy Ban Legislation to Include Fast Food Breakfast Items Marketed To Adults

Tuesday, October 12th, 2010

According to the Nanny State Liberation Front, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors is  not only going after kids meals, but certain breakfast items marketed to adults as well. The article states that a Sept. 27 amendment was added to the city’s proposed Happy Meal Toy Ban ordinance. “A new category of items — breakfast items — are required to contain 0.5 cups of fruit.” Additionally, the amendment demands that the hamburger buns or other sandwich breads used in the meals must contain at least 50 percent whole wheat.

breakfast value menu 300x201 San Francisco Board of Supervisors to Extend Toy Ban Legislation to Include Fast Food Breakfast Items Marketed To Adults

One has to wonder what the reason is for including restrictions on the breakfast meal breads seeing that adult customers do not purchase fast-food breakfast meals because of toy incentives.

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Will Kids Want to Choose a Healthier Option for a Toy?

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

September 2, 2010

I would like to share a blog post written by Katherine Hobson at the Wall Street Journal about the recent Toy Ban in California.  This blog is related to kids marketing, however, this is not the issue in San Francisco.  The politicians who support the Toy Ban are banking on big financial pay-offs in their upcoming elections.  The legislation is not regarding kids or obesity, but rather for us to choose why we need elected officials who think they should supersede parental rights.  Maybe we need elected officials who concern themselves with protecting our families from high crime, prostitution, poor health care, illegal immigrants and improving education.

plastic fast food toys 300x188 Will Kids Want to Choose a Healthier Option for a Toy?

If passed, legislation introduced in San Francisco — contrary to what you may have heard — would not pry your McDonald’s Happy Meal toys out of your cold, dead hands. What it would do, however, is to keep the trinkets out of meals that don’t meet a set of nutritional standards.

As the San Francisco Chronicle reports, there would be a 600-calorie cap on the entire meal, with no one item containing more than 200 calories. There would be sodium and fat limits, too, and the meal would have to include fruits and veggies. Only a few types of Happy Meals would qualify, the paper says, and promotions from Burger King and Jack in the Box would also be affected.

Read more.

Parents Say: Ban The Toys If You Want … My Kids Will Still Ask for Happy Meals

Thursday, September 2nd, 2010

September 1, 2010

I would like to share a blog post on blogher.com by Jill Miller Zimon regarding some of the opinions from parents surrounding the recent San Francisco Toy Ban legislation.

bee 300x242 Parents Say: Ban The Toys If You Want … My Kids Will Still Ask for Happy Meals

The toy ban that is trying to be passed through legislation will ban an “incentive” (aka toys), if a single food item has more than 200 calories or if the entire meal is more than 600 calories, which means too bad for children who choose McDonalds…a typical hamburger has at least 250 calories!  There will also be limits on fat and sodium intake as well.

The legislation has gained attention of many bloggers following the subject with several different opinions. In reply to an Eat Drink Better post by Jeannie Moulton, a follower stated:

“Ban the toys if you want … my kids would ask for Happy Meals even if they came without a toy. They actually enjoy that conglomeration of chemicals & processed food particles that McDonald’s calls chicken nuggets. But as their PARENT, I make the CHOICE not to feed them that garbage except on extremely rare occasions, even though they often whine & beg. Not only that, I EXPLAIN to them WHY I don’t allow them to have it. That’s really the problem here — toys may be a marketing tool to encourage children to ask their parents for a product … but ultimately it’s up to the parent to say NO, not the government to make laws banning toys or even ingredients.”

Read more.

Instead of Calories, Scientists Claim Chemicals are the Reasons behind Obesity

Friday, August 13th, 2010

I would like to share an article from Wall Street Journal reporter Allysia Finley regarding the real cause of obesity. Some people always blame calories for everthing, however, scientists recently discovered that chemicals like phthalates and bisphenol A (BPA) might be the ultimate criminals responsible for making us fat. Phthalates are largely used in medical tubing, make-up and PVC piping; and BPA is often can often be found in bottles and food containers.

 Instead of Calories, Scientists Claim Chemicals are the Reasons behind ObesityCamelbakWaterBottles Instead of Calories, Scientists Claim Chemicals are the Reasons behind Obesity

Are Plastics Making Us Fat?

Weight-loss crazes are as American as apple pie—make that Slim Fast shakes. But despite our countless diet fads, the obesity rate has more than doubled in the last 30 years. Perhaps that’s because Americans haven’t tried “The New American Diet,” which promises to reveal “why your weight isn’t your fault” and reverse “the obesogen effect.” Haven’t heard of the “obesogen effect”? You will soon enough.

As authors of “The New American Diet,” Stephen Perrine and Heather Hurlock are among a growing number of health gurus who blame America’s ballooning on “obesogenic” foods that masquerade as healthy. They don’t mean reduced-sugar Cocoa Puffs. Fruits, chicken breasts, canned vegetables, milk and other seemingly wholesome foods, they claim, contain insidious “obesogenic” pesticides and plastics that alter hormones and cause our bodies to store more fat. Their weight-loss secret? Eat organic “obesogen-free” food.

(Read more)

Some Parents Very Unhappy About McDonald's Being Blamed for Increase in Childhood Obesity

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Here is a blog post written by Katie Loud from http://zeldalily.com/, discussing the recent attacks on McDonald’s for contributing to an increase in childhood obesity. Loud, a mother of two, believes McDonald’s is not to blame and that there should be more parental responsibility. She shares her experience of making food choices for her children and admits she occasionally allows them to have a Happy Meal.

Loud strongly believes that less focus should be placed on fast food chains and more on increasing physical activity of children. “You know, I can’t help but feel that the focus is on the path of least resistance here. It’s a lot easier to point the finger at Mickey D’s or BK for foisting junk food on our children, but I very strongly believe that the bigger emphasis should be on increasing physical activity,” Loud said.

McDonald’s Happy Meals Being Blamed for Increase in Childhood Obesity, Have Some Parents Very Unhappy

happymealfood Some Parents Very Unhappy About McDonald's Being Blamed for Increase in Childhood Obesity

I’m the first to admit that the trip to McDonald’s for a Happy Meal has been a not uncommon experience for both of my daughters. I’m very well aware that they are not the most nutritionally sound dinner options, but once in a while the little flimsy cardboard box containing McNuggets, fries, and a toy is just the way to go. The Center for Science in the Public Interest, however, is coming down hard on Happy Meals, taking the fast food giant to task for “predatory marketing practices” by using cheap plastic toys to get kids eating fatty junk.

California’s Santa Clara County has already taken the first step, actually banning toys from the Happy Meal package. This is in the name of combating childhood obesity, a cause that First Lady Michelle Obama has faced head on. As an increase in obesity rates continue, the fast food industry is facing growing pressure.

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Promoting 60 minutes of regular exercise to fight childhood obesity starts at home

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Here is a Green Bay Press-Gazette article written by Kelly McBride about the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that call for an hour of daily activity for children and adolescents. This article is a part of the Green Bay Press-Gazette’s efforts to explore the components of childhood obesity one-by-one as part of the Greatchildrenrunning 300x201 Promoting 60 minutes of regular exercise to fight childhood obesity starts at homeer Green Bay: Where Kids Count community initiative.

The article stresses that getting children moving is an integral part of fighting childhood obesity and that this must start at home. “Activity is a huge piece to this — why we’re seeing the numbers that we’re seeing with the epidemic in this country,” said Michelle Erdmann, team leader of wellness and performance for Bellin Health, adding that change “has to start at home, with strong, active families. That’s a huge piece of it.”

Kids Count: Promoting 60 minutes of regular exercise starts at home

There’s no question that getting kids moving is an integral part of fighting the ongoing national battle against childhood obesity. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines call for an hour of daily activity for children and adolescents, but experts say many kids are falling woefully short of that goal.

Busy lives and TV and computer “screen time” are primary culprits as too many kids get too little exercise. School gym classes and other activities can help, but doctors and health officials say meaningful change needs to begin with parents.

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Yahoo! Posts ObesitySolvers Response to Unhealthy Kids Meal Menus

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Yahoo! posted our latest press release about a NYPost.com article that accused Friendly’s, a New Jersey restaurant, of contributing to childhood obesity by having high calorie meal options.

Bob Cutler, CEO of Creative Consumer Concepts (C3), suggests there should be more education for parents today. “This should not be a government issue, it should be self-regulated. Parents should have the right to choose what they want their child to eat. When parents are educated about meal choices, they would be less likely to choose meals high in calories for their children,” said Cutler.

Read More

yahoo os 300x237 Yahoo! Posts ObesitySolvers Response to Unhealthy Kids Meal Menus

Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Says BMI Misdiagnoses Obesity

Friday, July 30th, 2010

Here is a Nanny State Liberation Front article about Tommy Thompson, former secretary of Health and Human Services, speaking out about new health care regulations demanding obesity ratings. Thompson fears that many Americans will be misdiagnosed and classified as obese by using BMI as the classification system.

bmi comparison Former Secretary of Health and Human Services Says BMI Misdiagnoses Obesity

Tommy Thompson Says Feds Want Americans to Be Fat

Here’s something you won’t hear from First Nanny Michelle Obama’s cheerleaders in the State-Run Media:

The former secretary of Health and Human Services said that using body mass as an indicator of obesity is an old and flawed science.

“And what I’m saying and what I’m representing is a new type of science called body composition. And body composition takes into consideration your body fat, and body fat really is a determining factor as to whether or not you’re going to become obese, whether or not you’re going to have hyper tension, whether or not you’re going to have cardiovascular problems,” Thompson said.

Thompson said body fat is the indicator of a worsening physical condition of a person, not the body mass.

He said he fears that many Americans will be misdiagnosed and classified as obese.

The “Comments” section of the article needs to hear from you — the voice of reason and sanity — to let fellow Americans know they can either join the revolution against big government bureaucrats or fall victim to them.

The original article can be found here