Health News
- Health Advocates Recommend Teaching Children Benefits Of Healthy Food, Even Raw, To Adapt To School-meal Guidelines
Health advocates say that teaching people, especially children, about nutrition and the value of new federal guidelines for school meals can help improve Kentucky's health, Jacqueline Pitts reports for "Pure Politics" on cn|2, a news service of TimeWarner...
- Proposed Waiver From School Nutrition Guidelines Sparks Debate
The controversial school lunch waiver debate that began in Washington has migrated to Kentucky. While supporters claim that the proposal assists rural schools, some opponents say it defeats the purpose of years of work to fight one of the U.S.'s highest...
- Poll: Most Kentuckians Support Tobacco-free Campuses, School Nutrition Standards And Student Physical Activity Requirements
Kentuckians overwhelmingly support several school policies than can influence student health but are not all embraced by Kentucky schools, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll, taken in October and November. The poll showed that 84...
- Non-profit Encourages Districts To Go Tobacco Free Inside And Outside Of Schools
In an op-ed piece in the Lexington Herald-Leader, Susan Zepeda, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, encourages school districts to adopt comprehensive tobacco-free policies. "Many believe that schools are already tobacco-free,...
- Generals In Kentucky, The National Leader In Young-adult Obesity, Say The 'too Fat To Fight' Trend Is Endangering National Security
Recent commanders of the Kentucky National Guard say the country could be at risk because America's youth is too fat to fight, and they urge Congress to take action. A study recently showed more than half of adults 18 to 24 in Kentucky are overweight...
Health News
Health foundation chief objects to bill that would allow school districts to get waivers from recent nutrition standards
The president of Kentucky's public-interest health foundation is objecting to legislation recently approved by the U.S. House Appropriations Committee to allow waivers from the school nutrition enacted by the Department of Agriculture in 2010.
Susan G. Zepeda of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky says in a statement sent to Kentucky news media that the foundation's polls show that Kentuckians "want healthier foods in the schools," but fewer than one in four Kentucky adults "described the meals at their children's school or daycare as 'very nutritious'."
Zepeda notes that the Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health showed that 35.7 percent of Kentucky children were either overweight or obese in 2011-12, that children living in poverty are more likely to be obese, and that polls show Kentucky adults think childhood obesity is a serious issue, and 78 percent of them approved of the new USDA meal standards, Zepeda notes.
The legislation would allow school districts that have lost money on meals for six months to ask for a waiver from the standards. Zepeda said "the major voice" for the bill was the School Nutrition Association, "a trade group of school food officials backed by such food companies as Coca-Cola, Domino?s Pizza and PepsiCo," but "19 of the association?s former presidents have called on Congress to reject the waiver. We add our voice to this call."
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| Susan G. Zepeda, Ph.D. |
Zepeda notes that the Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health showed that 35.7 percent of Kentucky children were either overweight or obese in 2011-12, that children living in poverty are more likely to be obese, and that polls show Kentucky adults think childhood obesity is a serious issue, and 78 percent of them approved of the new USDA meal standards, Zepeda notes.
The legislation would allow school districts that have lost money on meals for six months to ask for a waiver from the standards. Zepeda said "the major voice" for the bill was the School Nutrition Association, "a trade group of school food officials backed by such food companies as Coca-Cola, Domino?s Pizza and PepsiCo," but "19 of the association?s former presidents have called on Congress to reject the waiver. We add our voice to this call."
- Health Advocates Recommend Teaching Children Benefits Of Healthy Food, Even Raw, To Adapt To School-meal Guidelines
Health advocates say that teaching people, especially children, about nutrition and the value of new federal guidelines for school meals can help improve Kentucky's health, Jacqueline Pitts reports for "Pure Politics" on cn|2, a news service of TimeWarner...
- Proposed Waiver From School Nutrition Guidelines Sparks Debate
The controversial school lunch waiver debate that began in Washington has migrated to Kentucky. While supporters claim that the proposal assists rural schools, some opponents say it defeats the purpose of years of work to fight one of the U.S.'s highest...
- Poll: Most Kentuckians Support Tobacco-free Campuses, School Nutrition Standards And Student Physical Activity Requirements
Kentuckians overwhelmingly support several school policies than can influence student health but are not all embraced by Kentucky schools, according to the latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll, taken in October and November. The poll showed that 84...
- Non-profit Encourages Districts To Go Tobacco Free Inside And Outside Of Schools
In an op-ed piece in the Lexington Herald-Leader, Susan Zepeda, president and CEO of the Foundation for a Healthy Kentucky, encourages school districts to adopt comprehensive tobacco-free policies. "Many believe that schools are already tobacco-free,...
- Generals In Kentucky, The National Leader In Young-adult Obesity, Say The 'too Fat To Fight' Trend Is Endangering National Security
Recent commanders of the Kentucky National Guard say the country could be at risk because America's youth is too fat to fight, and they urge Congress to take action. A study recently showed more than half of adults 18 to 24 in Kentucky are overweight...