September 13, 2011

HHS Launches Million Hearts

Image via HHS

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today launched The Million Hearts campaign. This campaign aims to prevent one million  heart attacks and strokes over the next five years through enhanced quality and prevention efforts.  According to HHS, currently cardiovascular disease costs $444 billion every year in medical costs and lost productivity in Americans. By building on work already underway thanks to the Affordable Care Act, Million Hearts will help improve Americans’ health and increase productivity.

Million Hearts is focused on two goals:

  • Empowering Americans to make healthy choices such as preventing tobacco use and reducing sodium and trans fat consumption. This can reduce the number of people who need medical treatment such as blood pressure or cholesterol medications to prevent heart attacks and strokes.
  • Improving care for people who need treatment by encouraging a targeted focus on the “ABCS” –Aspirin for people at risk, Blood pressure control, Cholesterol management and Smoking cessation – which address the major risk factors for cardiovascular disease and can help to prevent heart attacks and strokes.

A wide array of partners, including federal agencies, health care clinicians, private insurers, businesses, health advocacy groups, and community organizations are supporting Million Hearts with a wide range of activities.  Check out the Million Hearts site here.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Vitamin M Articles

Tagged as ,

September 1, 2011

President Declares September National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

Image via Google Images

Today President Barack Obama proclaimed September as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month.  The full text of the President’s proclamation:

The White House

Office of the Press Secretary

August 31, 2011

Presidential Proclamation
National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month

Since the 1970s, the rate of childhood obesity in our country has tripled, and today a third of American children are overweight or obese. This dramatic rise threatens to have far‑reaching, long-term effects on our children’s health, livelihoods, and futures. Without major changes, a third of children born in the year 2000 will develop Type 2 diabetes during their lifetimes, and many others will face obesity‑related problems like heart disease, high blood pressure, cancer, and asthma. As a Nation, our greatest responsibility is to ensure the well-being of our children. By taking action to address the issue of childhood obesity, we can help America’s next generation reach their full potential.

Together, we can stop this epidemic in its tracks. Over the last year and a half, the First Lady’s Let’s Move! initiative has brought together Federal agencies and some of the biggest corporations and nonprofits from across our country, working to meet our national goal of solving the problem of childhood obesity within a generation. Let’s Move! aims to help ensure we can make healthy choices about the foods we eat and how much exercise we get, while building the habits necessary to tackle one of the most urgent health issues we face in this country. I invite all Americans to visit LetsMove.gov to learn more about this initiative and how to help children eat healthy and stay active.

Everyone has a role to play in preventing and reversing the tide of childhood obesity. This year, we announced groundbreaking partnerships with grocery stores and other retailers to increase access to healthy food in underserved areas. These stores have pledged to increase their fruit and vegetable offerings and to open new locations in communities where nutritious food is limited or unavailable.

Childhood obesity cuts across all cultural and demographic lines, so Let’s Move! has started initiatives to reach every cross‑section of America, from urban and rural areas to schools, health clinics, and child care homes and centers. These programs touch everyone, from faith‑based communities to Indian Country, empowering kids and their families to discover the fun in healthy eating and exercise.

Schools also have an important role in ensuring our children live full and active lives. Last December, I signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act into law, enacting comprehensive change that will allow more children to eat healthier school lunches. One of the cornerstones of Let’s Move! is the HealthierUS School Challenge. This year, America met the goal of doubling the number of schools meeting the Challenge’s requirements for expanding nutrition and physical activity opportunities. These 1,250 schools have shown that together, we can go above and beyond to give our kids the healthy future they deserve.

We are coordinating across the Federal Government to make our goal a reality. This year, the Federal Government released updated Dietary Guidelines for Americans, providing a science‑based roadmap for individuals to make healthy choices, and emphasizing the importance of good nutrition and an active lifestyle. We adapted the food pyramid to a new design ‑‑ MyPlate ‑‑ to encourage balanced meals. And our Healthy People 2020 initiative incorporates childhood obesity prevention in its goals for increasing the health of all Americans.

Across our country, parents are working hard every day to make sure their kids are healthy, and my Administration is committed to supporting families in their efforts. During National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month, we recognize the outstanding work our businesses, communities, and families are doing to help us meet our responsibilities to our children. I urge all Americans to help us meet our goal of solving the problem of childhood obesity within a generation.

NOW, THEREFORE, I, BARACK OBAMA, President of the United States of America, by virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the United States, do hereby proclaim September 2011 as National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month. I encourage all Americans to take action by learning about and engaging in activities that promote healthy eating and greater physical activity by all our Nation’s children.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of August, in the year of our Lord two thousand eleven, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and thirty-sixth.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Vitamin M Articles

Tagged as , , , , ,

August 3, 2011

FDA Reopens Gluten Free Comment Period

Photo via Google Images

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) today reopened the comment period for its 2007 proposal on labeling foods as “gluten free.” The agency is also making available a safety assessment of exposure to gluten for people with celiac disease (CD) and invites comment on these additional data.

One of the criteria proposed is that foods bearing the claim cannot contain 20 parts per million (ppm) or more gluten. The agency based the proposal, in part, on the available methods for gluten detection. The validated methods could not reliably detect the amount of gluten in a food when the level was less than 20 ppm. The threshold of less than 20 ppm also is similar to “gluten-free” labeling standards used by many other countries.

The proposed rule conforms to the standard set by the Codex Alimentarius Commission in 2008, which requires that foods labeled as “gluten-free” not contain more than 20 ppm gluten. This standard has been adopted in regulations by the 27 countries composing the Commission of European Communities.

Please note gluten free labeling will not be required. However should a company voluntarily chose to label a food item as gluten free, it must adhere to the final FDA definition of gluten free. 

The FDA stated in a press conference today that it is reopening the comment period as they are looking for the most up-to-date information in order to make the best public health call for the celiac community it impacts. To that end, the FDA encourages members of the food industry, state and local governments, consumers, and other interested parties to offer comments and suggestions about gluten-free labeling. Beginning August 3, 2011 at noon EST, comments will be accepted using the docket number FDA-2005-N-0404 at www.regulations.gov1. The docket will remain open for 60 days.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Vitamin M Articles

Tagged as , , , ,

July 26, 2011

Life’s Sweeter Challenge

Life's Sweeter Logo via CSPI

In a new initiative from The Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), called Life’s Sweeter, suggests Americans should cut back from 10 cans of soda a week to three cans of soda a week by year 2020.  Check out the site here and more details below:
Sugary drinks have contributed significantly to America’s rising weight problem. Research has demonstrated a direct link between consuming sugary bevs and the risk of heart disease, diabetes, stroke and many other health problems. Sugary drinks account for half of all added sugars in the American diet, and about. Throughout the years, the average size of a bottle of pop has slowly skyrocketed. In the 1950s, a Coca-Cola bottle was 6.5 ounces. Today, the average bottle of coke is a whopping 20 ounces; that’s pretty intense, and that’s why we’re joining the campaign to cut down.

CSPI’s challenge is for Americans to decrease their average sugary drink intake from today’s 10 cans per week, to only three cans by 2020. We encourage you to join in, and to challenge your friends, family, classmates and coworkers as well. Here are a few ways you can work towards a “sweeter” life:

Drink fewer sugary drinks, such as colas, energy drinks, sweetened teas, and sports drinks.

  • Stop serving sugary drinks, carbonated or not, to children under 6, limit them for older children, and provide healthy drink alternatives for children of all ages.
  • Educate your family on the negative effects of sugary beverages and encourage them to choose healthier alternatives.
  • Join with neighbors and friends to urge schools, child-care settings, after-school programs, parks, recreational facilities, pools, zoos, and other youth venues in your community to stop selling carbonated and non-carbonated sugary soft drinks and to provide access to fresh drinking water.

Cutting back on sugary bevs may not be easy, but nothing worth it is ever easy. Join the “Life’s Sweeter” challenge, and help make yourself and your community a sweeter, healthier place to be. For more info contact fewersugarydrinks@cspinet.org

Leave a Comment

Filed under Vitamin M Articles

Tagged as , , , , , ,

July 19, 2011

CSPI Releases Xtreme Eating Awards

Via Google Images

The results of the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI)’s 2011 Xtreme Eating Awards- those restaurant foods that are large in calories, fat, and sodium- can be found below.

• Denny’s Fried Cheese Melt: In the chain’s own words, it is “four fried mozzarella sticks and melted American cheese grilled between two slices of sourdough bread.” And in the chain’s own numbers, this cheesy collision, with its side of French fries and marinara sauce, has 1,260 calories and 21 grams of saturated fat (a full day’s worth), and 3,010 mg of sodium (two days’ worth). “The possibilities are wide open,” says Denny’s. “They’re wide, all right,” says Nutrition Action. Eating this meal is like eating two Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pepperoni Pizzas.

• The Cheesecake Factory Farmhouse Cheeseburger: This burger is “topped with grilled smoked pork belly cheddar cheese, onions, lettuce, tomato, mayo and a fried egg.” Red Robin, Denny’s and IHOP have similarly embraced the idea of topping burgers with eggs. But to take the spotlight, this Factory-farmed burger boasts 1,530 calories and 36 grams of saturated fat topped with 3,210 milligrams of sodium. That’s assuming you just eat the burger: French fries bring an additional 460 calories and 1,460 mg of sodium. Eating this would be the equivalent of eating three McDonald’s Quarter Pounders with cheese. Add another Quarter Pounder with cheese if you eat the side order of fries.

• Cold Stone Creamery PB&C Shake: Even people accustomed to 1,500-calorie burgers wouldn’t expect 2,000-calorie shakes. A 24-oz. “Gotta Have It” size shake of peanut butter, chocolate ice cream, and milk has a day’s calories (2,010) and three and a half days’ worth of saturated fat (68 grams). Cold Stone’s Web site says, without a whiff of irony, “Your Health – Just as Important as Taste.” One large Cold Stone Creamery PB&C Shake is like drinking two 16-oz. T-bone steaks plus a buttered baked potato.

• Applebee’s Provolone-Stuffed Meatballs With Fettuccine: Spaghetti with meatballs was never diet food. But Applebee’s stuffs provolone cheese into these meatballs and simultaneously tops the underlying fettuccine with a marinara sauce and a Parmesan cream sauce. With a piece of garlic bread, the four cups of pasta, two sauces, and cheese-injected meatballs deliver 1,520 calories, 43 grams of saturated fat (two days’ worth), and 3,700 mg of sodium (more than two days’ worth). It’s like eating two of Applebee’s 12-oz. Ribeye Steaks plus a side of Garlic Mashed Potatoes.

• The Cheesecake Factory Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake: Why stop at a slice of red velvet cake when you can top it with a layer of cheesecake, top that with another layer of red velvet cake, and top that with another layer of cheesecake? And then top that with cream cheese frosting, chocolate shavings, and a small silo of whipped cream? Weighing in at three-quarters of a pound, this dessert packs 1,540 calories and 59 grams of saturated fat (three days’ worth). Eating one slice of the Ultimate Red Velvet Cake Cheesecake is like eating one Pizza Hut Personal Pan Pepperoni Pizza plus two Quarter Pounders with cheese except the cake has an additional days’ worth of saturated fat.

• IHOP Monster Bacon ‘N Beef Cheeseburger: No need to worry about ordering bacon as a topping – this burger from IHOP has bacon blended right into the beef. The bacon-infused burger contains 1,250 calories and 1,590 milligrams of sodium – a day’s worth, says CSPI.
• Morton’s Porterhouse Steak: Not your cheap fast food join, Morton’s still joins the ranks of extreme eats with its Porterhouse steak, which weighs 24 ounces before cooking. It’s 1,390 calories, with 36 grams of saturated fat – you get what you pay for?
• Cold Stone Creamery PB&C Shake: Cold Stone’s PB&C shake manages to squeeze a full day’s worth of calories (2,010) and three and a half days worth of saturated fat (68 grams) into a cup, says CSPI. That’s the large, “Gotta Have It” size. The smaller size has “only” 1,280 calories.
Source: http://www.cbsnews.com/2300-204_162-10008649-6.html?tag=page

Leave a Comment

Filed under Vitamin M Articles

Tagged as , , ,

July 16, 2011

McDonald’s Commitments to Offer Improved Nutrition Choices

via Google Images

Today, McDonald’s USA president Jan Fields announced the company’s “Commitments to Offer Improved Nutrition Choices.” The comprehensive plan aims to help customers — especially families and children — make nutrition-minded choices whether visiting McDonald’s or eating elsewhere.

Menu changes underway include the addition of more nutritionally-balanced choices that meet McDonald’s reputation for great taste and affordability, along with an increased focus on providing nutrition information that enable customers and employees to make simple, informed menu decisions.

According to McDonald’s its Commitments to Offer Improved Nutrition Choices include:

1.    Championing children’s well-being: McDonald’s will automatically include produce or a low-fat dairy option in every Happy Meal®. By the end of Q1 2012, we will provide apples in every Happy Meal and promote options that meet the new, rigorous Council of Better Business Bureaus Food Pledge nutrition standards. The impact will be an estimated 20 percent reduction in calories of the most popular Happy Meals, also reducing fat in those meals. We are also exploring alternatives to the automatic apples, such as other produce or low fat dairy items. In 2012, McDonald’s will also raise nutrition awareness among children and parents through national marketing initiatives. The company will promote nutrition and/or active lifestyle messages in 100 percent of its national kids’ communications, including merchandising, advertising, digital and the Happy Meal packaging. McDonald’s will also provide funding for grass roots community nutrition awareness programs.

2.    Expanding and improving nutritionally-balanced menu choices: By 2020, McDonald’s will reduce added sugars, saturated fat and calories through varied portion sizes, reformulations and innovations. Also, by 2015, McDonald’s will reduce sodium an average of 15 percent overall across its national menu of food choices.


3.    Increasing customers’ and employees’ access to nutrition information: McDonald’s will expand new in-restaurant, website and mobile communications, and marketing vehicles making access to this information even easier. To begin, McDonald’s is now making available its first mobile app so customers can access nutrition information on-the-go on iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, and Androiddevices.
During the past two years, the McDonald’s system has significantly invested in nutritional menu innovations and communications. Examples include investing in scientific and customer research, expanded agricultural supply chain contracts, an expanded team of nutrition experts, and updating nutrition information on McDonald’s website.

Actions in support of the nutrition commitments are already underway at restaurants according to McDonald’s.

Sodium Reduction: McDonald’s has already reduced sodium by 10 percent in the majority of its national chicken menu offerings – most recently Chicken McNuggets®, a Happy Meal favorite. Sodium reductions will continue across the menu in accordance with the Company’s 2015 commitments.
New Happy Meal: McDonald’s will begin rolling out the new Happy Meal in September 2011, with the goal of having them available in all 14,000 restaurants during Q1 2012.  The new Happy Meal will automatically include both produce (apple slices, a quarter cup or half serving) and a new smaller size French fries (1.1 ounces) along with the choice of a Hamburger, Cheeseburger or Chicken McNuggets, and choice of beverage, including new fat-free chocolate milk and 1% low fat white milk. For those customers who prefer a side choice of apples only, two bags of apple slices will be available, upon request.

 

Fruit:  By adding fruit in every Happy Meal, McDonald’s hopes to address a challenge children face in meeting the recommended daily consumption of produce. McDonald’s has offered apples as a requested choice in Happy Meals since 2004. And, while recent research found that on average, 88 percent of McDonald’s customers are aware of the option, apples are chosen in only 11 percent of Happy Meal purchases.
Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative: Since 2006, McDonald’s has supported the Council of Better Business Bureaus (“CBBB”) Children’s Food and Beverage Advertising Initiative (“CFBAI”) involving a voluntary Food Pledge to only nationally advertise products to kids that represent healthier dietary choices. McDonald’s was actively engaged in the process to help develop CBBB’s recently announced more rigorous pledge standards, which include stricter sodium and sugar criteria, zero grams artificial trans fat per labeled serving, and requirements for nutrient components to encourage.
Listening Tour: To ensure that the company’s ongoing commitments are supporting parents and communities, Fields and McDonald’s U.S. executive leadership team will embark on a national listening tour in August. They will hear directly from parents and nutrition experts about how McDonald’s can play a role in this important topic. McDonald’s will launch a new online parents’ community that provides a forum for McDonald’s and parents to more frequently engage in dialog around these important topics. 
Accountability and Measurement: To evaluate McDonald’s progress and the impacts of its nutrition commitments, McDonald’s will rely on independent third-parties with expertise in children’s well-being. The company is establishing a Kids’ Food and Nutrition Advisory Board comprised of parents and experts in children’s nutrition, education and behavior to help develop effective nutrition and active lifestyle marketing messages and programming for kids. McDonald’s will also enter into an agreement with a third-party organization to collaborate on a comprehensive measurement process that sets benchmarks and annual progress against commitment goals, which will be reported publicly.

Leave a Comment

Filed under Vitamin M Articles

Tagged as , , , , , , ,

July 13, 2011

National Restaurant Association unveils ‘Kids LiveWell’ Program

Kids LiveWell Logo via restaurant.org website

Today the National Restaurant Association (NRA) in partnership with Healthy Dining Finder unveiled a new nationwide initiative, called Kids LiveWell, focused on providing better-for-you options for children while dining out.  The program, which will positively impact 15,000 restaurants nationwide, has 18 chain restaurant members, which must have at least one better-for-you item that adheres to a particular nutrition criteria.  Read all about Kids LiveWell on their new webpage or read below.

1) What is the National Restaurant Association Kids LiveWell program?

The National Restaurant Association launched the Kids LiveWell program in collaboration with Healthy Dining to help parents and children select healthful menu options when dining out. Restaurants that participate in the voluntary program commit to offering healthful meal items for children, with a particular focus on increasing consumption of fruit and vegetables, lean protein, whole grains and low-fat dairy, and limiting unhealthy fats, sugars and sodium.

The Kids LiveWell program benefits both restaurateurs and guests. Participating restaurants get third-party verification and promotional materials for qualified meals and individual menu items. Parents and caretakers get accurate information to help them make informed decisions about their child’s meal.

2) How many restaurants are participating in the Kids LiveWell program?

More than 15,000 restaurant locations are part of the July 2011 launch of Kids LiveWell. These restaurants offer their young guests a selection of Kids LiveWell choices. We look forward to announcing additional restaurants and menu options in the coming months.

Inaugural Kids LiveWell leaders include 19 brands: Au Bon Pain, Bonefish Grill, Burger King, Burgerville, Carrabba’s Italian Grill, Chevys Fresh Mex, Chili’s Grill & Bar, Corner Bakery Cafe, Cracker Barrel, Denny’s, El Pollo Loco, Friendly’s, IHOP, Joe’s Crab Shack, Outback Steakhouse, Silver Diner, Sizzler, T-Bones Great American Eatery and zpizza.

3) How can a restaurant join the Kids LiveWell program?

Restaurants that join Kids LiveWell agree to offer and promote a selection of items that meet qualifying nutrition criteria based on leading health organizations’ scientific recommendations, including the 2010 USDA Dietary Guidelines. Healthy Dining’s team of registered dietitians has worked with participating restaurants to identify and validate the menu choices that meet the Kids LiveWell criteria. Restaurants participating in the Kids LiveWell program:

Offer at least one full children’s meal (an entrée, side and beverage) that is 600 calories or less; contains two or more servings of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein and/or low-fat dairy; and limits sodium, fats and sugar (see next question for details on nutrition criteria);

Offer at least one other individual item that has 200 calories or less, with limits on fats, sugars and sodium, and contains a serving of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, lean protein or low-fat dairy (see next question for details on nutrition criteria);

Display or make available upon request the nutrition profile of the healthful menu options; and

Promote/identify the healthful menu options.

For more information on joining the Kids’ LiveWell program, please contact Joy Dubost at the National Restaurant Association at (202) 973-5361 or jdubost@restaurant.org, or Erica Bohm at Healthy Dining at (858) 541-2049 or Erica@HealthyDiningFinder.com.

4) What nutrition criteria is a restaurant required to meet to participate in the Kids LiveWell program?

A restaurant’s featured Kids Livewell menu items must meet specific nutrition criteria recommended by leading health organizations’ scientific guidelines and verified by Healthy Dining’s team of registered dietitians. Criteria are listed here and also available on HealthyDiningFinder’s website.

Kids LiveWell Nutrition Criteria for Full Kids’ Meals (entrée, side option and beverage):

600 calories or less

≤ 35% of calories from total fat

≤ 10% of calories from saturated fat

< 0.5 grams trans fat (artificial trans fat only)

≤ 35% of calories from total sugars (added and naturally occurring)

≤ 770 mg of sodium

2 or more food groups (see below)

Kids LiveWell Nutrition Criteria for Side Items:

200 calories or less

≤ 35% of calories from total fat

≤ 10% of calories from saturated fat

< 0.5 grams trans fat (artificial trans fat only)

≤ 35% of calories from total sugars (added and naturally occurring)

≤ 250 mg of sodium

1 food group (see below)

Entrees must include two sources & sides must include one source of the following:

Fruit: > ½ cup = 1 star (includes 100% juice)

Vegetable: > ½ cup = 1 star

Whole grains:  contains whole grains = 1 star

Lean protein (skinless white meat poultry, fish/seafood, beef, pork, tofu, beans, egg whites/substitute):  > 2 ounces meat, 1 egg equivalent, 1 oz nuts/seeds/dry bean/peas = 1 star (lean as defined by USDA)

Lower-fat dairy (1% or skim milk and dairy):  > ½ cup = 1 star (while not considered low-fat, 2% milk is allowed if included in the meal and the meal still fits the full meal criteria)

5) What benefits do restaurants receive if they participate in Kids LiveWell?

For restaurants who want to provide healthful options for kids, Kids LiveWell can help showcase your commitment by providing a flexible and turn-key program for verifying and promoting your qualified menu items. Capitalize on the trend toward healthier dining and drive additional sales and traffic.

Participating restaurants receive:

Placement on HealthyDiningFinder’s Kids LiveWell website

Promotion of the Kids LiveWell program by the National Restaurant Association and Healthy Dining

An icon that can be used on menus to indicate healthier choice.

For more information on joining the Kids’ LiveWell program, please contact dietitian (and friend!) Joy Dubost at the National Restaurant Association at (202) 973-5361 or jdubost@restaurant.org, or Erica Bohm at Healthy Dining at (858) 541-2049 or Erica@HealthyDiningFinder.com.

1 Comment

Filed under Vitamin M Articles

Tagged as , , , , , , , , , ,