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a healthy dose of
information
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Updates for June
16-30, 2006
Steps to a Healthier WA News and Upcoming Activities
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Our next Community Conference
Call will be July 5, from 10:00am to 11:00am, PST. Please call
1-800-490-7515 and enter code 3579438 to participate.
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Our next
Monthly Steps Communications Call with CDC will be
July 26, from 11:00am to 12:00pm, PST. Please call
1-800-857-7673 and enter code 97057 to participate.
There will NOT be a call in June due to the National Grantee
Meeting.
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Clark County follows gut instinct on
new policy targeting junk food
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
By THOMAS RYLL, Columbian staff writer
In a short time, there should be more fruits and nuts in
Clark County government. And no-calorie soft drinks, fresh
vegetables, whole grains and bottled water. Tuesday, the
county commissioners approved a first-ever nutrition policy,
aimed at knocking off a few of the calories that workers and
the public in some instances inhale while at meetings,
training sessions and events.
The new rules, while not intended to prevent employees from
hauling in a triple-decker chocolate cake for the boss's
birthday, require meeting planners and vending-machine
stuffers to mix in a few healthful foods. "By following
these guidelines we can promote better health and help
reduce risks for chronic diseases," the policy says, noting
the increasing rates of obesity that "make supporting
nutritious choices at work part of our commitment to
health."
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The latest
Legal
Update
newsletter from the Tobacco Control Legal
Consortium, recapping legal news with implications for
tobacco control professionals, is now available at
http://www.wmitchell.edu/tobaccolaw/resources/LegalUpdate0506.pdf.
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Obesity: Two States Seek to
Address Issue
American Health Line highlights recent efforts to address
obesity in Mississippi and Pennsylvania. Summaries
appear below. - Mississippi: Gov. Haley Barbour (R) on
Thursday will host the Health Mississippi Summit, during
which experts will discuss proposals to promote proper diet
and exercise among state residents, the AP/Long Island
Newsday reports. Mississippi leads the nation in rates
of obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease, conditions
that in most cases are preventable through proper diet and
exercise. Barbour said, "The chronic disease burden in
our state dramatically increases the cost of Medicaid and
Medicare," adding, "Businesses lose money because employees
miss work. We know that we have tens of thousands of
people who are in bad health because of their behavior."
In addition, Barbour said that he plans to launch a
statewide program targeted at children, state employees,
church members and other groups, adding that 25 churches
will participate in a pilot program to provide members with
information on proper diet and exercise (Byrd, AP/Long
Island Newsday, 6/11). - Pennsylvania: A measure
under consideration at the Palmyra Area School District
would not allow parents who visit their children for lunch
to bring them fast food, the AP/Newsday reports. The
measure, on which the school board will vote on June 15, is
part of an effort to address childhood obesity and promote
proper diet and exercise among students, Collene Van Noord,
director of curriculum and instruction for the school
district, said (AP/Long Island Newsday, 6/9).
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Teen tobacco use rate
plateaus:
About one in four high school students reported smoking in
2005, nearly the same percentage as in 2003, according to a
study released on Friday by CDC, the AP/Indianapolis Star
reports. CDC's National Youth Risk Behavior Survey, which is
conducted every other year, found that 23% of high school
students reported smoking in the previous 30 days, compared
with 22% in 2003. Prior to last year, the study had shown a
steady decline in teen smoking since 1997, when more than
36% of students said they had smoked in the previous 30
days. The percentage declined to 35% in 1999 and 28.5% in
2001, before reaching 22% in the next survey. Thomas Glynn
of the American Cancer Society said that tobacco-use rates
among teens declined in the late 1990s because of the 1998
national tobacco settlement and increased anti-smoking
efforts among states. Experts said the apparent plateau in
the decline is attributable to a combination of factors,
including a recent decline in funding for anti-smoking
advertising and billions of dollars worth of discounts on
cigarettes by tobacco companies. Vince Willmore, a
spokesman for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said, "The
fact that youth smoking rates are not declining anymore is a
wake-up call." Corinne Husten, acting director of the Office
on Smoking and Health at the CDC, added, "We were making
good progress, and now it looks like we're not." According
to the AP/Star, CDC's survey is the third study this year to
document the plateau in teen smoking rates (Stobbe,
AP/Indianapolis Star, 6/10).
The study is available online
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New urban designs sought in
obesity fight
By CHASE SQUIRES, Associated Press WriterFri Jun 16, 4:14 AM
ET
It'll take more than public service campaigns to solve the
nation's obesity problem, according to fitness experts who
say neighborhoods must be designed so people can get around
without their cars. Virtually everything American
society has done for the past 100 years has made it easier
for us to be fatter, said James Sallis, a San Diego State
University psychology professor, and others who gathered
recently at the American College of Sports Medicine's annual
meeting. "We've built an unhealthy world in a lot of
different ways," said Sallis, who was once dubbed an
"obesity warrior" by Time magazine. Sallis contends
change will come only when the public demands walkable
development, more federal money for parks and bike paths and
even a tax on industries that promote sedentary lifestyles
(he pointed to video game makers, movie theater chains and
even electric Segway scooters). Proof that people will
accept an active lifestyle and walk to parks and shopping if
they can is found in the "new urbanism" style of planned
communities, the experts contend. They pointed to Denver's
Stapleton neighborhood, an enclave of new homes built where
the city's old airport used to be. The neighborhood is
a mix of shops, offices, parks, apartments and houses linked
by wide sidewalks and meandering bike paths. Architecture
varies from single-family homes to rows of brownstones. Tom
Gleason, a spokesman for developer Forest City, said the
design has been a hit. "People will walk if you give
them that opportunity," he said. Jack Berryman, a
professor of medical history at the University of
Washington, said active lifestyles date back centuries and
President Roosevelt famously worried about Americans'
"slothful life." Before both world wars, military leaders
complained about "soft" recruits. President Eisenhower
launched the President's Council on Physical Fitness in
1956. "Given all that, which I am suggesting got the
word out, it's just failure, failure, failure. Fatter, not
fitter," Berryman said. Two years ago, the National
Institute of Environmental Health Science hosted a
conference on how society has engineered activity out of
American life. Institute spokeswoman Christine Bruske said a
similar conference last year focused on how children are
affected, but new ideas take time. Without a
coordinated effort among federal, state and local
governments, communities can't compete, Sallis said.
Transportation money goes to highways, not bike paths or
even sidewalks in newer developments. "Everything is
engineered against us," Sallis said. |
Tools
Grant and Funding Opportunities
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NEW: The Robert Wood
Johnson Foundation (RWJF) Invites Research Proposals on
Disparities Issues: RWJF will consider projects of up
to $75,000 with a one year timeframe that address one or
more of five key issues
http://www.rwjf.org/portfolios/features/featuredetail.jsp?featureID=1586&type=3&iaid=133
RWJF seeks to reduce racial and ethnic disparities in the
care of patients with cardiovascular disease, diabetes
mellitus type 2 and/or depression. To that end, RWJF invites
research proposals that offer solutions towards reducing
health care disparities.
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Starbucks Foundation: Literacy programs that address 21st
Century learning
Deadline: September 1, 2006
The Starbucks Foundation funds programs for youth ages 6-18
that integrate literacy with personal and civic action in
the communities where they live. The Starbucks Foundation
invites letters of inquiry from qualifying 501(c) 3
organizations that work with underserved youth in the fields
of literacy (reading, writing, and creative/media arts) and
environmental literacy. Grants range from $5,000-$20,000.
For more information, go to:
http://www.starbucks.com/aboutus/grantinfo.asp.
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Safe Routes to School Program 2006 Call for Projects
PROJECT PROPOSALS DUE OCTOBER 2, 2006
The Safe Routes to School program is supported by both the
Federal Government and Washington State Legislature through
recent legislation. The Federal Transportation Act (Safe
Accountable Flexible Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A
Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)) includes a new federal
funding program for the Safe Routes to School program. The
Engrossed Substitute Senate Bill 6091, also includes a state
funding commitment to support pedestrian and bicycle safety
projects such as safe routes to school, transit and
pedestrian and bicycle paths. The following provides details
for the Safe Routes to School program. A separate call is
available for the
Pedestrian & Bicycle Safety grant program.
http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/TA/ProgMgt/Grants/Safe_Routes.htm
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Report
Conferences or
Training
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CDC's 2006 National Health Promotion
Conference
Join local, state and national public health leaders,
businesses, communities, researchers,
policymakers, communicators, and other professionals to
discuss new directions in health promotion.
Together, we will lay the foundation for a national public
health agenda that is focused on the
broadest concepts of health promotion and wellness delivery.
The conference tracks include Nontraditional Partnerships;
Innovative Approaches to Public Health Practice; Translating
Science and Evaluating Results; Health Policy and
Communications; Implementing Best Practices at the Local
Level; and Emerging Issues and Hot Topics in Public Health.
Hilton Atlanta, Atlanta, Georgia, September 12-14, 2006
Visit
www.cdc.gov/cochp for
updates and more information.
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80th Annual American School
Health Association (ASHA) Conference
The 2006 conference theme is
Healthy Bodies, Healthy Minds: The Mental Health Connection
will be held,
October 11 - 14, 2006
in St. Louis, Missouri.
Many Programs will address identifying the causes of mental
health problems among children and youth, emerging
prevention or intervention strategies, the interactions
between mental health and other educational and health
outcomes, and/or practical approaches to school-based
prevention or intervention. For registration or exhibit
information, contact: Mary Bamer Ramsier at -
mbramsier@ashaweb.org
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Quality Health Care for
Culturally Diverse Populations
October 17-20, 2006, Renaissance Hotel, 515 Madison Street,
Seattle, WA. For more information:
www.diversityRx.org/ccconf , e-mail:
ccconf@drexeledu
or call 215-762-7638. Please note that February 28,
2006 is deadline for submitting presentation proposal. |
Some of the documents on this page may require
a special viewer. To download the free viewer click
here. |
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Past Updates are available here:
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