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If you do not see the graphics, click here to view<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=cdd34fb94a4094d6cfdcf8bf3f00680f421cff6b0d8c20c7431f3371a457104f> [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [ChildhoodObesityWeeklyPolicyUpdate-header-1160x240] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] SHARE: [http://www.rwjf.org/images/email/twitter.png] <http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=cdd34fb94a4094d689786c2a4ec40c8fa476f52e69a7ef1085f51d243a66c2c2> [http://www.rwjf.org/images/email/facebook.png] <http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=a47c2f02fbb8095c29fd4e9a95ff0027a6b242cbfa7c853ba1fc49dd343e675d> [http://www.rwjf.org/images/email/linkedin.png] <http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=a47c2f02fbb8095cd6bc12ce48122bb2eb2129e501c4a616f17314d5def9d73f> [http://www.rwjf.org/images/email/googleplus.png] <http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=a47c2f02fbb8095c35970252320d9519530022ee3de3fca0ec6f816fd84ac6ac> [http://www.rwjf.org/images/email/email-share.png] <mailto:?subject=Childhood%20Obesity%20Weekly%20Policy%20Update&body=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rwjf.org%2Fen%2Fnewsletters%2Fchildhood-obesity-weekly-policy-update%2F2015%2F06%2Fchildhood-obesity-weekly-policy-update-6-161.html%3Fcid%3Dxsh_rwjf_em> [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] Federal [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] House Subcommittee Approves Agriculture Spending Bill with Nutrition Provisions<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=a47c2f02fbb8095c460c607c826e505b25f9625bfd1b1756ab2ac12503eecb54> [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] The House Agriculture Committee’s Appropriations Subcommittee approved its version of the FY2016 Agriculture appropriations bill last week<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=a47c2f02fbb8095c460c607c826e505b25f9625bfd1b1756ab2ac12503eecb54>; the full committee is taking it up on Thursday, and then it will go to the full House of Representatives for a vote. Nutrition-related provisions of the bill include: * School meals standards: proposes a one-year extension (to the 2016-2017 school year) of provisions in the FY2015 omnibus that 1) let schools request a waiver from meeting the 100 percent whole grain rich standard and 2) hold sodium standards at current limits pending further research. * School kitchen equipment grants: proposes $20 million, a decrease of $5 million from FY2015. * WIC: proposes $6.5 billion for the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), a $139 million decrease from FY2015. * Menu labeling: would delay by one year (to December 1, 2016) a provision of the Affordable Care Act that requires chain restaurants and other food retail establishments to post calorie counts on their menus and providing additional nutrition information to consumers upon request. * Dietary Guidelines: would prohibit funding to finalize or implement the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans unless certain conditions are met. [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] House Spending Bills Fail to Fund Healthy Food Financing, Physical Education Programs [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] Spending bills for FY2016 moving through the House Appropriations Committee do not presently include funding for the national Healthy Food Financing Initiative<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=a47c2f02fbb8095c8a4b842d9fc4b4aca3cba4cbf79b1eab3da37a911c35ba4d>—which funds the construction of grocery stores and other healthy food retail establishments to underserved neighborhoods—or the Carol M. White Physical Education Program (PEP)<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=a47c2f02fbb8095ce86de14e6252b7efff9aefe73bc1bf61a20f1704ba0313fb>, which funds physical fitness programs that help students make progress toward meeting their state standards for physical education. In FY2015, HFFI and PEP were funded at $22 million and $47 million, respectively. With respect to early childhood programs, House appropriators proposed a $192 million funding increase for Head Start <http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=a47c2f02fbb8095cf80e393b68bf1dcf36f2517a096c6cc85614984e63f080bb> , to $8.8 billion, but also proposed the elimination of the $250 million Preschool Development Grant Program<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=a47c2f02fbb8095c4537373e83c11ddaa56c908d93f7a2d8fa8088668ad8e429>. [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] House Subcommittee to Hold Latest Child Nutrition Hearing<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=a47c2f02fbb8095c7257aaef9b9488521e4f28f9d769e3362ef6d2b4b381fbe7> [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] The House Education and the Workforce Committee’s Subcommittee on Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education will hold a hearing tomorrow on child nutrition programs<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=a47c2f02fbb8095c7257aaef9b9488521e4f28f9d769e3362ef6d2b4b381fbe7>. The hearing—covering compliance costs for schools and states—follows three hearings held by the full committee and subcommittee since April. [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] State and Local [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] Texas Overturns Ban on Deep-Fat Frying, Soda Sales in Schools <http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=a47c2f02fbb8095c3c37e7f262672cfbf6a86715228389e242f7317e4eb6e156> [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] Texas Agriculture Commission Sid Miller announced that public schools would be permitted to utilize deep fat fryers and resume selling certain sodas<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=a47c2f02fbb8095c3c37e7f262672cfbf6a86715228389e242f7317e4eb6e156>, overturning restrictions on practices that had been in place statewide prior to updated national nutrition standards for school meals and snacks. The policy changes—accompanied by farm to school and nutrition education programs—will take effect on July 1 for implementation during the 2015-16 school year. [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] From the Field [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] Three-Quarters of Kentucky Parents, Voters Support School Meal Standards<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=bdd7a6ed8304f9fe333825a9f269e34fb0d8980d51019f479dcf2fcc0ebc59a1> [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] Seventy-five percent of voters and 76 percent of public schools parents in Kentucky support the updated nutrition standards for school meals that took effect in 2012<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=bdd7a6ed8304f9fe51f4fc901a1ec9666853417354b218baa80985c0764f14c8>, according to a poll released yesterday by the Kids’ Safe and Healthful Foods Project—a collaboration of the Pew Charitable Trusts and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. As of December 2014, 100 percent of Kentucky schools are certified as meeting these healthier standards<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=bdd7a6ed8304f9fe333825a9f269e34fb0d8980d51019f479dcf2fcc0ebc59a1>. [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] Study: National Soda Tax Could Prolong Life Expectancy, Lower Obesity Rates<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=bdd7a6ed8304f9fecc34d60dc2e38cbe6e058559543760a09efcff81d8732dc3> [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] A national penny-per-ounce excise tax on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) “could substantially reduce body mass index (BMI) and healthcare expenditures and increase healthy life expectancy <http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=bdd7a6ed8304f9fecc34d60dc2e38cbe6e058559543760a09efcff81d8732dc3> ,” according to a study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. Researchers estimated that the tax would reduce SSB consumption by 20 percent and mean BMI by 0.16 units among youth and 0.08 units among adults in its second year; from 2015 to 2025, they estimate the tax would result in $23.6 billion in healthcare cost savings, generate $12.6 billion in annual revenue, and gain 871,000 quality-adjusted life years. [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] Articles of Interest [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] Alabama Parents Overwhelmingly Support Healthier School Lunches, Poll Finds<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=bdd7a6ed8304f9fedfe4a8f0a2194db9346cb43ed5bb46e432fa3426a1c03d72> [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] AL.com, Amy Yurkinan, 6/17/15 The poll results in Alabama mirror the results nationwide, with even greater support for requirements that schools serve fruits and vegetables with meals. [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] The Y.M.C.A.’s Work Outside the Gym<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=bdd7a6ed8304f9fe492027d941ec2ee9f4e344ba8b3727d8faa3b1157d760ae7> [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] The New York Times (Well Blog), Jane E. Brody, 6/15/15 The organization estimates that its 11-year-old Healthier Communities Initiatives program, now in 247 communities across the country, has led to more than 39,000 changes to support healthy living, benefiting as many as 73 million people. [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] Upcoming Events [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] [http://www.rwjf.org/images/common/newsletters/spacer.gif] When Safe Routes to School Meets Violence Prevention June 25, 2015 1:00-2:00 p.m. ET Hosted by the Safe Routes to School National Partnership, this webinar will describe strategies to make routes to school safe from violence and crime, so kids can be active. Register for the webinar<http://click.rwjfmail.org/?qs=bdd7a6ed8304f9fe89a4267c79db97c8863d7d32c6a58baf1803ce0595b7a494>. 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