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Unhealthy Fast Food Meals Rule
Most children eat fast food at least once per week, and practically none of these meals meet nutrition criteria for calories, fat, sugar, and sodium content, according to a study from Yale University. The report examined 3,039 possible children's meal combinations at a dozen restaurant chains and found only 12 meals that met the criteria for preschoolers and 15 that met them for older children. Although it's possible to buy healthful side dishes and beverages as part of youngsters' meals at fast food restaurants, those options rarely are offered as the default choices, the researchers noted. The study found that 84% of parents had fed their children fast food from McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, or Subway in the past week.
Schools Offer Unhealthy Drinks
Despite efforts to limit students' access to sugary and high-fat beverages, almost half of the nation's public elementary students could buy sodas, sports drinks, and high-fat milk in schools during the 2008–2009 school year, a study showed. The Institute of Medicine recommends that schools provide access to only water, 100% juice, and 1% or nonfat milk, but few schools conform, the study found. Students also could buy unhealthful drinks in school stores, from vending machines, and along cafeteria lines. Although many schools had removed high-fat milk from their lunch programs, they sold it a la carte. In the South, where obesity rates are highest in the nation, more than 20% of public elementary school students could purchase sugar-sweetened drinks, the study found.
Mental Health Funding Awarded
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has awarded more than $19 million to six organizations to prevent mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders in young children and promote health. The grants through Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children) will fund efforts such as integrating behavioral health and primary care, family-strengthening programs, parenting-skills training, and public education on healthy child development. The six organizations are based in Colorado, Connecticut, Missouri, New York, Oregon, and Texas.
New Tobacco Warnings Required
Cigarette manufacturers would be forced to cover large swaths of their packaging with bold warnings and graphic images showing the health consequences of smoking in a strategy unveiled by the Department of Health and Human Services. Potential images include a photo of a corpse with a toe tag, a man smoking through a hole in his throat, and side-by-side photographs of diseased and healthy lungs. The new warnings include “Cigarettes can harm your children,” “Smoking During Pregnancy Can Harm Your Baby,” and “Smoking Can Kill You.” The public can comment on the proposed images and warnings through Jan. 9, 2011. By next June, the Food and Drug Administration will select nine images and accompanying warnings, and cigarette manufacturers will need to include them on all packages by October 2012.
Study: Kids Stress With Parents
Parents underestimate how much stress their children experience, according to a survey from the American Psychological Association. Children as young as 8 reported that they experience physical and emotional symptoms often associated with stress. According to the survey, one-third of parents say their stress levels are extreme. Children who say their parents are always stressed were more likely to report stress themselves. Many teens and tweens reported feeling sad, worried, or frustrated when their parents are stressed. “It's critical that parents communicate with their children about how to identify stress triggers and manage stress in healthy ways while they're young and still developing behavioral patterns,” psychologist Katherine Nordal, Ph.D., the association's executive director for professional practice, said in a statement.
FDA Warns on Beverages
A maker of one of the now-notorious, high-potency, caffeine-and-alcohol drinks said it would remove the stimulant from its product as the Food and Drug Administration warned other makers that they must do the same or face action such as seizure of their products. The FDA cautioned Charge Beverages Corp., New Century Brewing Co. LLC, Phusion Projects LLC, and United Brands Company Inc. that the caffeine represents an “unsafe food additive” that can mask sensory cues individuals normally rely on to determine their level of intoxication. The result can be risky behaviors and life-threatening situations, the agency said. Phusion Projects, which makes the drink Four Loko, announced the day before the FDA warning that it would remove caffeine and two other stimulants, taurine and guarana, from its beverages. Wake Forest University's Dr. Mary Claire O'Brien, who has researched caffeinated alcoholic products, said that they allow drinkers to stay awake to drink more, “well beyond the amount they would otherwise be able to tolerate if they were only drinking alcohol.”
Unhealthy Fast Food Meals Rule
Most children eat fast food at least once per week, and practically none of these meals meet nutrition criteria for calories, fat, sugar, and sodium content, according to a study from Yale University. The report examined 3,039 possible children's meal combinations at a dozen restaurant chains and found only 12 meals that met the criteria for preschoolers and 15 that met them for older children. Although it's possible to buy healthful side dishes and beverages as part of youngsters' meals at fast food restaurants, those options rarely are offered as the default choices, the researchers noted. The study found that 84% of parents had fed their children fast food from McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, or Subway in the past week.
Schools Offer Unhealthy Drinks
Despite efforts to limit students' access to sugary and high-fat beverages, almost half of the nation's public elementary students could buy sodas, sports drinks, and high-fat milk in schools during the 2008–2009 school year, a study showed. The Institute of Medicine recommends that schools provide access to only water, 100% juice, and 1% or nonfat milk, but few schools conform, the study found. Students also could buy unhealthful drinks in school stores, from vending machines, and along cafeteria lines. Although many schools had removed high-fat milk from their lunch programs, they sold it a la carte. In the South, where obesity rates are highest in the nation, more than 20% of public elementary school students could purchase sugar-sweetened drinks, the study found.
Mental Health Funding Awarded
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has awarded more than $19 million to six organizations to prevent mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders in young children and promote health. The grants through Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children) will fund efforts such as integrating behavioral health and primary care, family-strengthening programs, parenting-skills training, and public education on healthy child development. The six organizations are based in Colorado, Connecticut, Missouri, New York, Oregon, and Texas.
New Tobacco Warnings Required
Cigarette manufacturers would be forced to cover large swaths of their packaging with bold warnings and graphic images showing the health consequences of smoking in a strategy unveiled by the Department of Health and Human Services. Potential images include a photo of a corpse with a toe tag, a man smoking through a hole in his throat, and side-by-side photographs of diseased and healthy lungs. The new warnings include “Cigarettes can harm your children,” “Smoking During Pregnancy Can Harm Your Baby,” and “Smoking Can Kill You.” The public can comment on the proposed images and warnings through Jan. 9, 2011. By next June, the Food and Drug Administration will select nine images and accompanying warnings, and cigarette manufacturers will need to include them on all packages by October 2012.
Study: Kids Stress With Parents
Parents underestimate how much stress their children experience, according to a survey from the American Psychological Association. Children as young as 8 reported that they experience physical and emotional symptoms often associated with stress. According to the survey, one-third of parents say their stress levels are extreme. Children who say their parents are always stressed were more likely to report stress themselves. Many teens and tweens reported feeling sad, worried, or frustrated when their parents are stressed. “It's critical that parents communicate with their children about how to identify stress triggers and manage stress in healthy ways while they're young and still developing behavioral patterns,” psychologist Katherine Nordal, Ph.D., the association's executive director for professional practice, said in a statement.
FDA Warns on Beverages
A maker of one of the now-notorious, high-potency, caffeine-and-alcohol drinks said it would remove the stimulant from its product as the Food and Drug Administration warned other makers that they must do the same or face action such as seizure of their products. The FDA cautioned Charge Beverages Corp., New Century Brewing Co. LLC, Phusion Projects LLC, and United Brands Company Inc. that the caffeine represents an “unsafe food additive” that can mask sensory cues individuals normally rely on to determine their level of intoxication. The result can be risky behaviors and life-threatening situations, the agency said. Phusion Projects, which makes the drink Four Loko, announced the day before the FDA warning that it would remove caffeine and two other stimulants, taurine and guarana, from its beverages. Wake Forest University's Dr. Mary Claire O'Brien, who has researched caffeinated alcoholic products, said that they allow drinkers to stay awake to drink more, “well beyond the amount they would otherwise be able to tolerate if they were only drinking alcohol.”
Unhealthy Fast Food Meals Rule
Most children eat fast food at least once per week, and practically none of these meals meet nutrition criteria for calories, fat, sugar, and sodium content, according to a study from Yale University. The report examined 3,039 possible children's meal combinations at a dozen restaurant chains and found only 12 meals that met the criteria for preschoolers and 15 that met them for older children. Although it's possible to buy healthful side dishes and beverages as part of youngsters' meals at fast food restaurants, those options rarely are offered as the default choices, the researchers noted. The study found that 84% of parents had fed their children fast food from McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, or Subway in the past week.
Schools Offer Unhealthy Drinks
Despite efforts to limit students' access to sugary and high-fat beverages, almost half of the nation's public elementary students could buy sodas, sports drinks, and high-fat milk in schools during the 2008–2009 school year, a study showed. The Institute of Medicine recommends that schools provide access to only water, 100% juice, and 1% or nonfat milk, but few schools conform, the study found. Students also could buy unhealthful drinks in school stores, from vending machines, and along cafeteria lines. Although many schools had removed high-fat milk from their lunch programs, they sold it a la carte. In the South, where obesity rates are highest in the nation, more than 20% of public elementary school students could purchase sugar-sweetened drinks, the study found.
Mental Health Funding Awarded
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has awarded more than $19 million to six organizations to prevent mental, emotional, and behavioral disorders in young children and promote health. The grants through Project LAUNCH (Linking Actions for Unmet Needs in Children) will fund efforts such as integrating behavioral health and primary care, family-strengthening programs, parenting-skills training, and public education on healthy child development. The six organizations are based in Colorado, Connecticut, Missouri, New York, Oregon, and Texas.
New Tobacco Warnings Required
Cigarette manufacturers would be forced to cover large swaths of their packaging with bold warnings and graphic images showing the health consequences of smoking in a strategy unveiled by the Department of Health and Human Services. Potential images include a photo of a corpse with a toe tag, a man smoking through a hole in his throat, and side-by-side photographs of diseased and healthy lungs. The new warnings include “Cigarettes can harm your children,” “Smoking During Pregnancy Can Harm Your Baby,” and “Smoking Can Kill You.” The public can comment on the proposed images and warnings through Jan. 9, 2011. By next June, the Food and Drug Administration will select nine images and accompanying warnings, and cigarette manufacturers will need to include them on all packages by October 2012.
Study: Kids Stress With Parents
Parents underestimate how much stress their children experience, according to a survey from the American Psychological Association. Children as young as 8 reported that they experience physical and emotional symptoms often associated with stress. According to the survey, one-third of parents say their stress levels are extreme. Children who say their parents are always stressed were more likely to report stress themselves. Many teens and tweens reported feeling sad, worried, or frustrated when their parents are stressed. “It's critical that parents communicate with their children about how to identify stress triggers and manage stress in healthy ways while they're young and still developing behavioral patterns,” psychologist Katherine Nordal, Ph.D., the association's executive director for professional practice, said in a statement.
FDA Warns on Beverages
A maker of one of the now-notorious, high-potency, caffeine-and-alcohol drinks said it would remove the stimulant from its product as the Food and Drug Administration warned other makers that they must do the same or face action such as seizure of their products. The FDA cautioned Charge Beverages Corp., New Century Brewing Co. LLC, Phusion Projects LLC, and United Brands Company Inc. that the caffeine represents an “unsafe food additive” that can mask sensory cues individuals normally rely on to determine their level of intoxication. The result can be risky behaviors and life-threatening situations, the agency said. Phusion Projects, which makes the drink Four Loko, announced the day before the FDA warning that it would remove caffeine and two other stimulants, taurine and guarana, from its beverages. Wake Forest University's Dr. Mary Claire O'Brien, who has researched caffeinated alcoholic products, said that they allow drinkers to stay awake to drink more, “well beyond the amount they would otherwise be able to tolerate if they were only drinking alcohol.”