| Bay Area companies turn kids on to healthful lunches
Government surplus wannabe cheese melted on fiber-free pizza bread, topped with greasy, preservative-laden pepperoni, may be a child's idea of a great school lunch. But that lunch is at least partly to blame for a pretty scary statistic -- a record 28 percent of California children are obese. We have the second-fattest kids in the nation. At the root of the problem, nutritionists say, is that children are oftentimes so unfamiliar with fresh foods that they fail even the simplest "name that veggie" quiz. On top of that, the majority of school lunches served this fall will continue to be made with low-cost, low-quality government commodities, mostly canned and frozen foods. The good news is that school lunch is in for a massive makeover by next July, when new federal laws regarding school lunches take effect.
Interview: ‘Dorm Room Diet’ author Daphne Oz
Daphne Oz, daughter of heart surgeon and author Mehmet Oz, lost weight, and went on to write a book about it, The Dorm Room Diet. We spoke with her about her book and her diet advice for college students. CalorieLab: Why did you write The Dorm Room Diet? Oz: I have a father and two grandfathers who are heart surgeons and a grandma who is a specialist in complimentary medicine. With all these medical people in my family, I grew up hearing about what I should be eating and how I should be exercising to maintain ideal health, but from the time I was seven until I was seventeen I was overweight. I was only able to lose, and keep off, the extra pounds I was lugging around once I stopped treating food as an emotional crutch and put it back into perspective as the fuel that it is.
Innocent launches campaign to lower VAT on fruit drinks
The government has made great strides in its endeavours to educate the population on the need for eating 5 portions of fruit and vegetable a day. According to the Department of Health, 67% of adults are now aware of this need (78% of women). Yet, despite all this, two thirds of the population are not managing to meet their five a day target.By Jamie Mitchell .
Zambia: Improved Nutrition Through Maize Meal Fortification
GENERAL nutrition levels in Zambia indicate that one in every two children under five years of age suffer from iron deficiency. The justification is that children experience rapid physical growth. Thus, sexual maturation significantly increases. They develop a need for micronutrients, especially iron, while adolescent girls' growth spurt occurs before menarche - first menstrual periods. Adolescent children continue to grow in height. Linear growth particularly of the long bones is not complete until the age of 18 and peak bone mass is not achieved until the age of 25. At two years of age, many of the children who survive under such nutritional stress are stunted due to lack of Vitamin A with little chance of recovery. Moreover, in some parts of the world children, especially girls, are discriminated against in access to food, health care and education.
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