Recent news from Leadership for Healthy Communities http://www.leadershipforhealthycommunities.org Tue, 07 Feb 2012 11:42:15 +0100 FeedCreator 1.7.2 http://www.leadershipforhealthycommunities.org/content/view/470/238/ Washington, D.C., Feb. 16, 2010 – Seven organizations representing policy-makers from across the country have received a total of nearly $2 million in grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to help communities increase children’s access to affordable healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity. News & Events - Press Releases Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:53:04 +0100 http://www.leadershipforhealthycommunities.org/content/view/486/205/ Washington, D.C., Feb. 16, 2010 – Seven organizations representing policy-makers from across the country have received a total of nearly $2 million in grants from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) to help communities increase children’s access to affordable healthy foods and opportunities for physical activity. News & Events - Past Announcements Tue, 16 Feb 2010 13:53:04 +0100 http://www.leadershipforhealthycommunities.org/content/view/464/207/ On February 9, the White House officially kicked off First Lady Michelle Obama's childhood obesity initiative, the Executive Order (http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/presidential-memorandum-establishing-a-task-force-childhood-obesity) to establish a Task Force on Childhood Obesity. The task force will be headed by Melody Barnes, assistant to the President for domestic policy, and will include members of several executive departments and agencies, among them the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of Agriculture, the Secretary of Health and Human Services, the Secretary of Education, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy, and the Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff to the First Lady. The group will draft an interagency action plan within the next 90 days that will outline strategies for combating childhood obesity across the country. Let's Move was unveiled with speeches by Judith Palfrey, M.D., president of the American Academy of Pediatrics; Will Allen, founder and CEO of the nonprofit Growing Power; Mayors Chip Johnson of Hernando, Miss., and Joseph Curtatone of Somerville, Mass., who have been active participants in the Leadership for Healthy Communities program; and Tiki Barber, a former NFL football player, as the moderator. Tammy Nguyen, a sixth-grade student who... News & Events - Announcements Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:00:00 +0100 http://www.leadershipforhealthycommunities.org/content/view/468/211/ On February 11, Leadership for Healthy Communities Director Maya Rockeymoore, Ph.D., discussed the First Lady's new initiative, Let's Move, and other strategies to address childhood obesity as a guest on NPR's Diane Rehm Show. The segment, entitled Taking on Childhood Obesity, aired live on Washington, D.C.'s WAMU 88.5. On the show, Dr. Rockeymoore noted that obesity costs our nation an unsustainable $147 billion per year. She explained that many children, especially those in racial and ethnic minority communities, don't get enough physical activity or have healthy food in schools or have access to supermarkets and safe places to play in their neighborhoods. According to Dr. Rockeymoore, We're raising the first generation who may live sicker and shorter lives than their parents as a result of the epidemic of overweight and obesity. Other guests on the show included Margo Wootan, director of nutrition policy at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, and Paul Campos, professor at the University of Colorado School of Law. On February 9, First Lady Michelle Obama announced the launch of her new Let's Move campaign, which is focused on helping parents make the right food and activity decisions for their families;... News & Events - Announcements Fri, 12 Feb 2010 16:26:17 +0100 http://www.leadershipforhealthycommunities.org/content/view/499/9/ Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) by adolescents and children in the United States has been linked to less healthy diets, excessive caloric intake and weight gain, increased obesity rates, and associated adverse health effects, including increased rates of type 2 diabetes in adults. This research synthesis by Bridging the Gap and Healthy Eating Research, national programs of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, reviews evidence regarding the health effects of SSB consumption, outlines conclusions on the basis of these investigations and suggests areas for additional research. File: http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/20090731ssbbrief.pdf (http://www.rwjf.org/files/research/20090731ssbbrief.pdf) Resources - Research Briefs Sun, 01 Nov 2009 20:00:00 +0100