July 19, 2019
El Paso – El Paso County has broken new ground as the first county in the country to establish a Healthy Food Financing Initiative (HFFI) to increase access to healthy and affordable food. In December of 2018, El Paso County allocated $500,000 of the County Economic Development Impact Fund to start the initiative. With this investment, the County will offer grants and low-interest loans to develop and expand healthy food retail and infrastructure in high-need areas of El Paso County.
July 1, 2019
We have all heard the news – obesity has reached epidemic levels. You or someone you know is likely to suffer from this complex, chronic disease.
That is right – obesity is a disease. It is not a lack of willpower. It is not caused by laziness. In fact, it is not caused by food or a lack of exercise. Obesity is caused by an inability of the body to regulate energy balance (calories in, calories out, or both).
March 4, 2019
Successful prevention or treatment of obesity is fraught with many difficulties, including challenges in having open patient-clinician conversations and overcoming stigma.
These difficulties are further heightened because obesity is often considered to have a simple cause, when in fact it is a complex disease with a multifactorial etiology.
December 20, 2018
El Paso – One in four kids in El Paso County lives in a food-insecure home – a home where there is not enough money to consistently purchase healthy food. In response, the County of El Paso just took a major step to make healthy, affordable food easier to buy.
December 17, 2018
“The Executive Committee consists of a diverse group of talented, creative leaders dedicated to the advancement of the field of obesity,” said Whigham, associate professor in UTEP’s Department of Public Health Sciences. “It’s an honor to serve with them.
October 9, 2018
This article was first published on the ConscienHealth on June 10, 2018 by Leah Whigham PhD, FTOS.
October 6, 2018
The Paso del Norte Institute for Healthy Living (IHL) at The University of Texas at El Paso is recruiting 1,250 individuals (20 years or older and not a full-time student) for a study on the impact public transportation has on the health and mobility of El Pasoans.
October 4, 2018
The Paso del Norte Institute for Healthy Living (IHL) promotes healthy eating and active lifestyles, but it also engages in interdisciplinary research with The University of Texas at El Paso and dozens of other groups to enhance its ability to address public health needs.
October 2, 2018
The Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA) held its annual summit – Innovating a Healthier Future – last week in Washington, DC. PHA came to life in 2010 as an offshoot of Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign. The mission is to “leverage the power of the private sector to bring lasting systemic changes that improve the food supply, increase healthy choices, increase physical activity, and contribute to a culture of health.” The key concept here is partnerships.
July 18, 2018
People won’t eat what they don’t like. So if we want them to eat healthy food, it must taste good. Of course, nothing is simple about making the healthiest food taste good to most people people. We are driven by evolution to eat sugar, salt, and fat – as well as protein. Our inherited tastes tell us to not eat things that might make us sick.Hence, we have a natural aversion to many bitter flavors.