December 2, 2011, Shreveport Times
Rachel Boogaerts is dispensing a dose of nutrition advice disguised as play to youngsters in Shreveport.
A graduate student at Louisiana Tech University, Boogaerts plans to become a dietitian. She developed a game based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s MyPlate meal guidelines with help from Deborah Harris, director of the Caddo Parish school system’s child nutrition program. She tested the activity with members of the Physical Activity and Wellness Club at Fairfield Elementary Magnet School in Shreveport.
Teams of Fairfield students raced to build the healthiest plate, …

AP, Marilynn Marchione, December 1, 2011
It’s true — apple juice can pose a risk to your health. But not necessarily from the trace amounts of arsenic that people are arguing about.
Despite the government’s consideration of new limits on arsenic, nutrition experts say apple juice’s real danger is to waistlines and children’s teeth. Apple juice has few natural nutrients, lots of calories and, in some cases, more sugar than soda has. It trains a child to like very sweet things, displaces better beverages and foods, and adds to the obesity problem, …

CBC News, December 1, 2011
Less than 10 per cent of entrees at children’s hospitals in the U.S. were considered “healthy,” a new study finds.
In the study, researchers used a nutritional scale to assess meals at 12 children’s hospitals in California. The researchers modified a widely-used nutrition tool to assess hospital cafeteria meals. Jeff Baughan/Associated Press
“Unfortunately, the food in many hospitals is no better — and in some cases worse — than what you would find in a fast food restaurant,” Dr. Lenard Lesser, the study’s primary investigator and a physician …

CNN Madison Park, November 30, 2011
Goodbye, free plastic toys inside Happy Meals — at least in one major California city.
A new San Francisco law goes into effect on Thursday that prevents fast-food restaurants from giving away trinkets, action figures and other toys in their kid’s meals unless their food meets nutritional requirements.
And McDonald’s kid’s meals do not. The meals have to be less than 600 calories and contain fruits (a half-cup) and vegetables (3/4 of a cup). They must have less than 35% of the total calories coming from fat, …

Associated Press/The Washington Post, November 29, 2011
The case of an 8-year-old third-grader weighing more than 200 pounds has renewed a debate on whether parents should lose custody if a child is severely obese.
Roughly 2 million U.S. children are extremely obese — weighing significantly more than what’s considered healthy.
A Cleveland Heights boy was taken from his family and was placed in foster care in October after county case workers said his mother wasn’t doing enough to control his weight. The boy, at his weight, is considered at risk for developing such …

Via Yahoo News, AP, Mary Clare Jalonick
Who needs leafy greens and carrots when pizza and french fries will do?
In an effort many 9-year-olds will cheer, Congress wants pizza and french fries to stay on school lunch lines and is fighting the Obama administration’s efforts to take unhealthy foods out of schools.
The final version of a spending bill released late Monday would unravel school lunch standards the Agriculture Department proposed earlier this year. These include limiting the use of potatoes on the lunch line, putting new restrictions on sodium and boosting …

HealthDay, November 1, 2011
A new report claims that the makers of sugar-laden drinks such as sodas, sports drinks, energy drinks and fruit drinks take direct aim at children, particularly black and Hispanic kids, in their marketing campaigns.
Read the report at: Report slams makers of sugary drinks for targeting kids – USATODAY.com.

September 29, 2011, Yahoo News
Despite some evidence that taking fish oil pills during pregnancy can help children’s brain development, a new study suggests that the supplements make no difference in measures of intellect when the kids are six years old.
The findings support the results of an earlier Norwegian study that also found no differences in IQ among seven-year-olds whose mothers did or did not take fish oil supplements while pregnant and breastfeeding.
Fatty acids, such as docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), that are found in fish and other foods are considered to be …

August 30, 2011, CBS News, David Freeman
Has the time come for school districts across the nation to just say no to sugary drinks?
That’s what some experts are saying in light of new research suggesting that Boston’s controversial ban on sugar-sweetened beverages has succeeded in limiting kids’ consumption of soft drinks and sports beverages – which have been identified as major contributors to the nation’s epidemic of childhood obesity.
A study published in the CDC journal Preventing Chronic Disease shows that high-school students in the city averaged 1.38 servings of sugar-sweetened beverage …

August 30, 2011, Los Angeles Times, Jeanine Stein
Teens love text messages–and those texts may help them lose weight, if they’re done right. A study tested out various types of weight management-themed text messages on overweight teens to see what they liked, finding that they favored positive messages but disliked thoughtful questions.
Overweight and obese teens can be a tough crowd when it comes to weight-loss interventions–many have a tough time adopting more healthful diet and exercise routines. Researchers from the University of Michigan thought tailored text messages might be a good …