http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/index.php?/news/ en info@communityhealthpriorities.org Copyright 2009 2009-08-31T22:03:50+00:00 http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/ http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/#When:22:03:50Z August 31 2009 - A recently published article examines issues of social justice and health inequities as related to obesity. It finds that compelling ethical, human rights, and practical reasons exist for addressing social disparities in obesity, which requires systematically applying a disparities perspective to obesity research and relevant policy. A disparities perspective guides us to consider multiple dimensions and levels of social advantage and disadvantage and how those advantages and disadvantages produce disparities in obesity and its consequences. By Paula Braveman, MD, MPH, in the journal Preventing Chronic Disease. 2009-08-31T22:03:50+00:00 http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/ http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/#When:18:05:11Z June 24 2009 - by Tara Parker-Pope, New York Times. We’ve published blog entries before about how willpower is not the only thing that’s behind the overweight/obesity epidemic. A new book by the former head of the Food and Drug Administration explores the way restaurants and food companies manufacture their products to achieve the “bliss point,” a taste sensation so overwhelmingly delicious that we find it nearly impossible to say no. “But this book is less an exposé about the food industry and more an exploration of us. ‘My real goal is, How do you explain to people what’s going on with them?’ Dr. David A. Kessler said. ‘Nobody has ever explained to people how their brains have been captured.’” Read the full article here. 2009-06-24T18:05:11+00:00 http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/ http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/#When:17:00:45Z June 03 2009 - This New York Times editorial from June 3, 2009, concludes by saying: “All consumers — not just those lucky enough to live near farms or large grocery stores — should be able to buy fresh fruits and vegetables at affordable prices. While we wait, Congress could impose an excise tax on sugary drinks — one of the main culprits in the obesity epidemic.” 2009-06-04T17:00:45+00:00 http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/ http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/#When:04:45:09Z June 02 2009 - Chain restaurants must prominently post calorie counts on their menus under a bill that cleared the Legislature yesterday aimed at helping Oregonians slim down. 2009-06-03T04:45:09+00:00 http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/ http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/#When:22:02:42Z May 29 2009 - Findings from five years of grassroots health care public engagement across the United States were shared today as CodeBlueNow! released “In Their Voices: Common Ground, Common Sense and Consensus on Reform.” The report consists of the words of the American people as they have expressed their values, concerns, and wishes for a reformed health care system. “The people’s voice has been largely marginal in past health care debates. This report, spare as it is, demonstrates how pragmatic and flexible Americans are in considering solutions,” said Thomas Aschenbrener, President of the Northwest Health Foundation, an early funder of CodeBlueNow! Read the rest of the article on the blog A Highly Placed Source. 2009-05-29T22:02:42+00:00 http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/ http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/#When:18:10:05Z May 17 2009 - PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Oregon is the latest state to join a national database linking patients to health services, facilities and resources in their own communities. The state is launching Oregon Health Go Local to provide Oregonians with information about health care services and facilities. The purpose of this free database is to link those needing health information with sevices in or near their communities. The program includes hospitals, health clinics, government agencies, support groups, libraries and nonprofit service organizations. It was created through funding to the OHSU Library. Associated Press - May 17, 2009 12:15 PM ET Find resources in your community on everything from AA meetings to yoga and over a thousand things in between on the Oregon Health Go Local website. 2009-05-19T18:10:05+00:00 http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/ http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/#When:20:16:36Z May 11 2009 - State health officials released a new report Monday that says Oregonians are smoking fewer cigarettes. In fact, tobacco use has dropped to its lowest level in recent years in this state. Read more here. 2009-05-11T20:16:36+00:00 http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/ http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/#When:23:17:05Z May 06 2009 - In this profile of a tobacco opponent, Dr. David Burns argues that new information, based on two years of study, indicates that cigarettes pose a much higher risk of lung cancer than before the surgeon general first declared them a health hazard in 1964. Read the entire article here. 2009-05-08T23:17:05+00:00 http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/ http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/#When:19:25:24Z May 07 2009 - Oregon’s Newest Electronic Health Journal has published a powerful and concise case for heathcare policy including actual invesments into the public’s health. Read article here. 2009-05-08T19:25:24+00:00 http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/ http://www.communityhealthpriorities.org/news/#When:19:17:58Z May 08 2009 - The Oregonian reports on Multnomah County Health Department’s Health Equity Inititiative recommendations. According to the article, jobs that don’t pay enough to support a family, neighborhoods lacking parks or sidewalks that promote wellness through exercise, urban planning that puts highways and the pollution that comes with them through poor neighborhoods, and discrimination that creeps from broader society into health care, take American lives before their time. And a disproportionate number of those lives are among racial and ethnic minorities. Read article here. 2009-05-08T19:17:58+00:00