childhood obesity

Joy Childs  |   OW Contributor
Apr 18 2013

Educating children and young teens on the subject

If you saw “The Blind Side,” which is the story of Michael Oher (offensive tackle of this year’s Super Bowl-winning Baltimore Ravens), then you know that he was played by acting newbie Quinton Aaron.

It’s hard to imagine that Aaron, who now stands 6 feet 8 inches, was ever bullied. And yet, as he revealed in a recent phone interview, “I was a skinny kid in those [nerdy]-looking glasses” who was regularly bullied. “Then it became verbal abuse . . . until I learned how to defend myself,” he added.

Apr 16 2013

50 percent greater risk of disease recurring

Doctors at Los Angeles’ Children’s Hospital have discovered a link between obesity and a significant decrease in a child’s ability to fight leukemia, according to a recently released research study.

In a study — outlined in the current issue of Cancer Research — physicians and researchers at the hospital’s Saban Research Institute report that obesity substantially impairs the ability of a first-line chemotherapy to kill leukemia cells.

Jul 31 2012

Created to use tobacco tax revenues to fund health programs

LOS ANGELES, Calif.—The Board of Supervisors today approved $87.3 million in programs to fight childhood obesity, provide insurance coverage for children and offer substance abuse treatment to their parents, but the source of funding remains uncertain because one supervisor—calling the plan a rip-off—voted against it.

Shae Collins  |   OW College Intern
Jul 12 2012

Million-dollar donation will benefit 5,000 children

Recently, Laureus Sport for Good Foundation USA, an organization that uses sports to improve the lives of youth, launched its Los Angeles initiative, which will train 40 volunteer coaches and place them in 10 sports-based youth development programs that will mentor approximately 5,000 children throughout Los Angeles.

Jul 18 2011

Affordable Care Act

Across Black America

Here’s a look at African American people and issues making headlines throughout the country.
 

Alabama
Freeman A. Hrabowski, president of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, will address the annual African American Business Council luncheon on June 28. Hrabowski, who is chairman of President Barack Obama’s Advisory Commission on Education Excellence for African Americans, has a national reputation for his work studying the performance of minority students in math and science. Hrabowski, named one of the 10 best college presidents in the country by Time magazine, was a child leader in the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham in the 1960s.
 

Arkansas
The Liberty Counsel filed a motion and a brief in United States District Court for the Eastern District of Arkansas seeking to intervene on behalf of a Concepts of Life crisis pregnancy center to defend against a suit filed by the American Civil Liberties Union and the Center for Reproductive Rights. The groups seek to impose a permanent injunction before the Human Heartbeat Protection Act goes into effect July 18. Liberty Counsel also filed a brief opposing the ACLU’s request for an injunction. The “Heartbeat” bill states that when a woman seeks an abortion at or after the 12th week, doctors must test for a fetal heartbeat before an abortion is performed and inform the pregnant mother that the child in her womb has a heartbeat. If a heartbeat is detected, a woman cannot have an abortion, except in cases of rape, incest, and if a mother’s life is in danger. “As we promised when the legislation was introduced, Liberty Counsel will defend this law without reservation for the people of Arkansas, born and pre-born,” said Matt Staver, founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel. “No right is more foundational than the right to life. Without life, all other rights are irrelevant,” concluded Staver.