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UCCE advisor says the obesity tide may be turning
Spezzano shared tips about increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables in the diet and the importance of developing a regular exercise routine.
The mother of two young sons, Spezzano said they sit down together on Sundays with grocery store ads and plan the week's meals.
"We love the summer because it is so much easier to get fresh fruit and vegetables," Spezzano said. "We grow our own vegetables and go to the farmers' market on Saturday and that helps us plan meals also."
The Fresno Bee sought information from UCCE for a front-page story that appeared Monday about food waste. Americans throw away 90 billion pounds of food a year, the newspaper reported.
Ginnie Nash, UCCE nutrition education program manager, suggested buying only what you need. It sounds obvious, writer Bethany Clough acknowledged in the article, but buying too much is one of the biggest sources of food waste.
"We get busy. It's tough," Nash said. Plan meals on paper and see what's in the refrigerator and cupboard before going shopping.
The weight of the nation
The film, titled “Children in Crisis,” is the third part of the HBO series “The Weight of the Nation." The film will show at 1 p.m. Friday, Sept. 21, at the Agriculture Building Auditorium, 4437 S. Laspina St., Tulare.
Obesity is an on-going issue in Tulare County, Cathi Lamp is quoted in the article. Lamp is the UC Cooperative Extension advisor in Tulare County for nutrition, family and consumer sciences.
She is no stranger to the health issues that plague the county’s children. Lamp has been part of campaigns to stop people from drinking sugary drinks and to encourage healthful eating habits as well as incorporate physical activity into their lives, the article said.
Register for September program team meetings
Registration is now open for the Sept. 18-19 program team meetings being held at the Activities and Recreation Center at UC Davis.
Four program teams will be meeting thus far: Positive Youth Development, Youth Science Literacy, Healthy Behaviors for Preventing Childhood Obesity, and California Communities.
The program will feature the launch of a new Healthy Youth, Healthy Environment speaker series, with a keynote address by Louise Chawla, professor in the Department of Planning and Urban Design at the University of Colorado.
Participants will also hear research updates and plan ongoing program team activities.
For more information or to register, visit the Program Team website http://ucanr.edu/sites/programteams/Sept_18-20_Meeting.
View or leave comments for the VP Cabinet.
This announcement is also posted and archived on the ANR Update pages.
UCCE takes part in obesity prevention task force
A group of about 40 San Joaquin County professionals meet regularly to share ideas and strategies for combating obesity and overweight, afflictions that effect the majority of the county's residents, according to an article in the Stockton Record.
UC Cooperative Extension advisor Anna Martin is the interim facilitator of the Obesity and Chronic Disease Prevention Task Force, which first convened in August 2009. Other members of the task force represent health and human services agencies, hospitals, school districts, the County Office of Education, University of the Pacific, health insurers, collaboratives such as Healthy San Joaquin and Select San Joaquin, the regional air district, nonprofit agencies such as Community Partnership for Families of San Joaquin and Women, Infants and Children programs.
A recent meeting featured guest speaker Genoveva Islas-Hooker with the Fresno-based Central California Regional Obesity Prevention Program.
She said that in many of the targeted neighborhoods where the obesity-prevention program is active, primarily in unincorporated rural areas, people cannot drink the water and have to turn to processed beverages.
"A 20-ounce bottle of water is $1.99 versus a 44-ounce sugar drink that costs 79 cents. We need to stop pushing soda consumption," she said.
Inexpensive soda contributes to the obesity epidemic, experts say.
UCCE launches Northern California obesity study, 'Naturalist' program
The project is funded with a $500,000 grant from UC Agriculture and Natural Resources.
"We are going to support the school(s) to develop a stronger wellness program that rewards healthy eating and physical activity," said Concepción Mendoza, UCCE advisor in Shasta County, nutrition, family and consumer sciences.
UC Cooperative Extension specialist Patricia Crawford, nutrition, told reporter Joe Szydiowski that people's palettes depend on four criteria: easy to get, cheap, tastes good, and heavily advertised.
Those combine to provide a strong push for people to eat unhealthy food.
"We have to go against the forces to reach out and get foods that will make us healthy," she said. One of the best ways to do that, Crawford said, is by providing students with easy access to cold, clean water.
The program could be extended to the state and national level if it's successful after the two years of study.
UCCE offers 'California Naturalist' program in Truckee
Aspiring naturalists may enroll in a 40-hour course this summer at UC Berkeley's Sagehen Creek Field Station near Truckee to receive classroom and field training in science, problem-solving, communication and community service, according to the Sierra Sun.
The 'California Naturalist' course fee of $350 includes course instruction, a PDF textbook, graduation certificate, website support and registration as a UC "California Naturalist."
