Healthy Rice County

Less salt and fat, more fruits and veggies on the menu, USDA proposes
By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Jan. 13 (HealthDay News) — Trying to fight the growing child obesity epidemic, new federal guidelines proposed Thursday focus on making school lunches healthier.
The new guidelines, from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), would be the first such [...]

By Paige Greenfield, Women’s Health
In a perfect world, everyone would work out enough and eat right all the time. But that’s not always possible, so we turned to the experts to find out what really matters most—dieting or exercise—for losing weight, fighting disease, and boosting overall well-being. Here, we crown the champ in each category
Lose [...]

By Emily Main, Rodale.com
Dogs are man’s (and woman’s) best friend, not just because they provide us with companionship, but also, studies show, because they get us off our bums and moving—which keeps our hearts healthy and our waistlines from ballooning. It turns out the family pooch can also be a powerful tool in the battle [...]

Move over tigers and leprechauns, breakfast cereal doesn’t necessarily have to be sweet for kids to eat it. A study conducted by Yale University researchers found that many children, when given low sugar cereals, enjoyed them and ate a better breakfast when they didn’t eat the sugary alternatives.

For many youngsters, cereal is a breakfast staple. [...]

By HEIDI STEVENS, Chicago Tribune 
Your son has a friend whose parents are
heavy smokers. Is it OK to prohibit him from
playing at their house?
Healthwise, this seems like a no-brainer. The
Environmental Protection Agency urges
parents to limit children’s exposure to
secondhand smoke, citing research that
shows exposure causes approximately 3,000
lung cancer deaths per year and an increased
risk of heart disease.
Children, [...]

NEW YORK (AP) — New Yorkers on food stamps would not be allowed to spend them on sugar-sweetened drinks under an obesity-fighting proposal being floated by Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Gov. David Paterson.
Bloomberg and Paterson planned to announce Thursday that they are seeking permission from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which administers the nation’s food [...]

Please open the attachment below for more information on SHIP mini-grants available for schools in Rice County.
You can also look at the “Funding Opportunities” portion of this website for more information.
Public Notice for School Mini Grants
Need help thinking of ideas for your mini-grant application?  Use this resource to help plan your healthy school project!
Potential Ideas [...]

By MIKE STOBBE , Associated Press
ATLANTA – New research shows that
smoking bans spare many children with
asthma from being hospitalized, a finding
that suggests smoke-free laws have even
greater health benefits than previously
believed.
Other studies have charted the decline in
adult heart attack rates after smoking bans
were adopted. The new study, conducted in
Scotland, looked at asthma-related
hospitalizations of kids, which fell [...]

By JEREMY OLSON, Star Tribune
The University of Minnesota has received a
$7 million federal grant to create a childhood
obesity center with the goal of transforming
the exercise and eating habits of as many as
530 Minnesota families.
Researchers will use the grant, announced
Thursday, to connect families with health
advocates in medical clinics, enroll them in
classes about healthy foods and active
lifestyles, [...]

SUZANNE ROOK, srook@northfieldnews.com
Posted: Tuesday, September 7, 2010 8:49 pm
Topping their handmade crusts with sauce made from striped tomatoes, some purple basil, kale and a few onions, a dozen Northfield children on Thursday celebrated the end of the growing season.
Surrounded by Greenvale’s Community Garden, the kids gobbled up their pizza, leaving few leftovers for the garden’s [...]