Farmers have begun pressuring New York State lawmakers to set higher nutritional standards for public schools. Higher standards would not only help combat childhood obesity, but could potentially create a lot of business for New York farmers.

"Components of a healthy-schools bill include requiring the state to set nutritional and dietary standards for school meals and snacks, with an emphasis on unsweetened fruits, vegetables, whole grains and other nutritional foods."

The farmers make a strong case for the higher standards by reminding lawmakers that produce and other items shipped from farms in upstate New York will be cost-effective because packing and shipping costs will be reduced. Both the Assembly and Senate passed their own versions of healthy-schools bills, but they couldn't reach a compromise before the session ended. Source: Press Connects

Labels: farmers, legislation, schools

The Illinois state Senate has passed legislation that would ban the use of trans fats in all schools that participate in the state lunch program.

"As the number of reports of childhood obesity rises, at least eight states have limited the use of trans fats in foods, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. California has an outright ban on trans fats in school meals, and Oregon doesn't let schools sell snacks with trans fats."

Now that the bill has been approved the by the Senate, it moves on to the House, where it's expected to pass as well. From there, the bill would have to be signed into law by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich. Source: Chicago Tribune.

Labels: fats, legislation, schools

A bill pending in the Illinois State Senate would ban trans fats in schools if voted into law. Senator Donne Trotter introduced the legislation, citing a school's responsibility for teaching kids the benefits of healthy eating habits.

"Illinois' bill would require the State Board of Education to eliminate cafeteria food cooked with vegetable oils containing trans fats by July 2009. A year later, all foods with added trans fats from cafeterias, vending machines and a la carte items would be outlawed. Food with naturally occurring trans fats - including meat, milk and cheese - would be exempt."

Trans fats are created when hydrogen is added to vegetable oil. While these fats improve food's flavor and increase shelf life, they have also been linked to high cholesterol, obesity, heart disease, and diabetes. Source: The Courier News - Chicago

Labels: fats, legislation, schools

Minnesota's Public Health Finance Division has voted against a measure that would require "obesity checks" for the state's schoolchildren. The plan would have monitored childhood obesity by collecting body-mass index information during the school year.

"The biggest worry from those who objected: The numbers could shame overweight children and teenagers. 'They know in the third grade that they're fat. They know that,' said Rep. Neil Peterson, R-Bloomington, who said he has female relatives with eating disorders. 'Now you're going to line 'em up in class and do monitoring so you reinforce that.'"

The bill's sponsor argues that the information would not be made public, but would instead be used to determine how and where efforts against childhood obesity are focused. Read more at WCCO.com.

Labels: legislation, schools, shame

The American medical community has written a bold statement calling for widespread reform in federal food policies. The American Medical Association places much of the blame for our current obesity epidemic on the Federal Farm Bill, which creates large subsidies for things like meat, eggs and dairy products but almost none for fruits and vegetables.

"Federal law currently requires the USDA to purchase commodity foods - meat, dairy products, eggs, and other unhealthy foods - and dump them into school lunch programs. These foods are not selected for nutritional value but are designed to support agricultural businesses by removing surpluses and providing price supports. That's why lunch menus are loaded with cheeseburgers, roast beef with gravy, and sausage-and-cheese pizza, while low-fat and vegetarian options are virtually absent. In the most recent federal survey, about 80 percent of elementary and middle schools violate the USDA's own limits on fat in foods."

The problem also extends to the USDA's Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children. The WIC program is supposed to provide nutritional support for at-risk populations, but supplies up two 24 quarts of milk a month while supplying less than two pounds of fruits and vegetables.

Labels: legislation, nutrition, schools

The No Child Left Behind Act currently speaks only to academic education, but some members of the House of Representatives would like to add physical education requirements to the Act's upcoming reauthorization. To that end, they have introduced the Fitness Integrated with Teaching Kids (FIT Kids) Act, H.R. 3257.

"The bill would add physical education to the multiple measures for determining accountability under NCLB, offering schools another way to meet their adequate yearly progress while promoting physical activity and nutritional education for students. States would be measured on their progress toward meeting a national goal for required physical education recommended by the Centers for Disease Control of 150 minutes per week in elementary schools and 225 minutes per week for students in middle and high schools."

School districts and states would also be asked to report on students' physical activity and help promote healthy lifestyles. Studies have shown that the most physically active and healthy students often achieve the greatest academic success, which is what prompted the introduction of the FIT Kids Act.

Labels: legislation, physical_education, schools

Representative Ed Markey, D-Mass, said if food marketers don't restrict ads marketing unhealthy foods to kids he's going to ask the FCC to do it for them. Stating that the Federal Communications Commission has a responsibility to protect children, Rep. Markey has threatened to push the agency into developing a rule that will restrict the kinds of products that can be marketed to children.

"Kids food ads have been attracting more attention in Washington, with TV ads for 'junk foods' cited by critics as one cause of rising childhood obesity, a charge food and advertising groups deny."

Rep. Markey wrote several letters urging food and beverage companies to follow the lead of Kellogg Co. who has promise to re-engineer their less healthy food or stop marketing it to kids.

Read more at TVWeek.com.

Labels: legislation, marketing, nutrition

With the growing epidemic of childhood obesity, Florida legislators are trying to help the children of their state by requiring elementary students get at least 2 ½ hours a week of physical education physical education. The purposed bill would also require that junior high students get a minimum of 3 hours and 45 minutes of PE a week.

"'Obesity is becoming an epidemic and not only the state of Florida but nationally,' says Rep. Will Weatherford. 'I think this is an opportunity for us to really tackle it at the early stages... and we're talking about elementary school kids.'"

State legislators are working with the American Heart Association to make sure kids of the Sunshine State get the time they need to exercise while at school. Read more online.

Labels: legislation, schools, states