To help build better4you habits, one organization is introduced  a school-wide program that motivates children to be more active by challenging them to move 100 miles in three weeks. MOVchallenge makes use of a MOVband, a new wrist-worn activity monitor that helps children become aware of their daily activity, and encourages more get up and [...]

Stressing calories and reduced saturated fats is a smart way to think about marketing better for you snacks and other food products in light of a new government survey that shows 12 states now have very high obesity rates.   More than a third of adults are obese. States with very high obesity rates went from [...]

Better4You marketers have a chance to help some of the nation’s least fit cities – Birmingham, Dallas, Texas, Louisville, Detroit, Michigan and Oklahoma City.   A new study by the American College of Sports Medicine’s 2012 American Fitness Index (AFI) has issue its second annual list of the most fit and least fit cities.. [...]

The urge for fresher products by better for you shoppers for freshness is driving trends in restaurants and in aisles throughout grocery stores (not just produce and meat sections), according to a new “Freshness: Culinary Trend Mapping Report” from market research publisher Packaged Facts and strategic food and beverage agency CCD Innovation. [...]

Technology can play a big role in staying in shape.  Shelly Greenberg of the Rochester, Minn. Post-Bulletin recommends the Bodybugg used on The Biggest Loser.  It measures steps, calories burned, workout intensity, sleep quality and duration, and measurements of activity.  A step up from a regular pedometer is the FitBit Ultra (approximately $100). [...]

Should marketers of better for you diets get nervous because of what a new Harvard study finds?  The most effective way to lose weight is by simply eating less fat and taking more exercise, says a study run by Harvard of 4,000 obese individuals.  The “not rocket science” weight loss formula achieved results in a [...]

Today’s Dietitian reports that there’s much to learn from other countries around breakfast.  The U.S. isn’t likely to rank high on the list of healthfulness.  “The most healthful breakfast foods are located in the countries around the Mediterranean Sea like Israel, Cyprus, and Greece,” says Brigitte Kochavi, RD, and Israel rep [...]

Creating or renovating local trails or running paths is a good opportunity for a better for you health/fitness brand to build equity.  Why?  Wider bicycling and walking paths can inspire children to greater vigorous physical activity, say researchers who studied two Chattanooga, Tenn., neighborhoods.  The researchers compared two low-income neighborhoods in Chattanooga [...]

If you questioned whether Michelle Obama’s anti obesity movement was losing mo, think again.  Michelle Obama pumped up her “Let’s Move” fitness campaign last week at the CIAA Women’s Basketball Tournament in North Carolina when she spoke on the court about the program. She said that basketball as a way to keep active and was [...]

FOX News reports that one mother was outraged after school officials told her 4-year-old daughter that her home-packed lunch was not healthy enough to eat.   A lunch inspector at a N.C. school told the student she couldn’t eat her turkey sandwich, banana, potato chips and apple juice. Instead, the inspector recommended a USDA-approved lunch: one [...]