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$3 Million CDC Grant Will Expand Efforts to Build a Healthier Birmingham
The University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) Minority Health and Health Disparities Research Center (MHRC) won a competitive grant of nearly $3 million from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to reduce the gap in chronic diseases between African Americans and Whites in Birmingham by improving nutrition and physical activity in underserved African American communities. The project, “Birmingham REACH for Better Health,” is a partnership between UAB, the Jefferson County Department of Health, United Way of Central Alabama, Freshwater Land Trust, Birmingham YMCA, REV Birmingham, Safe Routes to School, and the C ... continue reading »
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Double Your SNAP Dollars for Healthy Food
If you are a SNAP (food stamp) recipient, you may be able to get an extra $20 per market day of fresh fruits and vegetables for every $20 in SNAP benefits you spend. This program was started at the East Lake and Norwood Farmers’ Markets in 2014 and continues in 2015. Both markets are open Saturday mornings. The East Lake market also does Double Bucks on its mobile market. Click here to see a list of up-to-date mobile market stops for : http://www.eastlakemarket.org/ To see a short film on food insecurity in Birmingham and efforts in Birmingham’s East Lake neighborhood to improve healthy food access and consumption, click the ... continue reading »
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Five smoke-free cities and why this matters
Since 2011, five cities in Jefferson County have advanced comprehensive protections against secondhand smoke exposure in all worksites, restaurants and bars. That covers 43 percent of the county and the largest city in the state — Birmingham (212,000 people), Midfield (5,365), Vestavia Hills (34,033), Fultondale (8,380) and Bessemer (27,456). At an event to celebrate this achievement, Birmingham City Council member Johnathan Austin explained why this matters to him: “As chairman of the public safety, my number one charge is for the health and safety of all the citizens of Birmingham. Looking at something as comprehensive as this w ... continue reading »
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Safe Routes to School
For many children in the Birmingham area, streets are unsafe to walk and sidewalks can be few and far between. Besides safety concerns, children are not getting enough physical activity in their day. This is where the Safe Routes to School of Central Alabama comes in. The National Center for Safe Routes to School is focused on improving children’s safety while walking and biking to school. Here in Jefferson County, Safe Routes to School of Central Alabama (originally funded through a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Healthy Kids Healthy Communities grant, and supported by the Health Action Partnership) is also addressing issues of childhood obe ... continue reading »
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10 Exercises You Can Do at Your Desk
Are you one of the millions of Americans who sit at a desk in front of a computer or phone all day? Leading a sedentary lifestyle — those where you engage in little to no physical activity each day — is one of the leading contributors to obesity. Here are 10 simple ways to add exercise to your day and burn calories at your desk. 1. Sit tall in your chair and reach your arms above your head. Slowly extend the right hand and then the left. Repeat a few times.2. Turn your torso to the right, using the arm of your chair to pull into the stretch, while turning your head and neck to the left. Repeat on the other side.3. Roll your head to one side, ... continue reading »