This week in obesity prevention news.

At last FTC releases principles of food marketing to kids
Marion Nestle on Food Politics
April 28, 2011
The FTC released its long-awaited principles for food marketing to children today. These are proposed principles, scheduled to apply to marketing to children age 2 to 17, to go into effect by 2016. The principles are now open for comment.

Walk-friendly communities offer residents a gas-saving, healthy alternative
Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood on the Let’s Move! Blog
April 27, 2011
In this time of high gas prices, it’s important that we give Americans options for getting where they need to go. One way to do that is by fostering livable communities where people can choose to leave their cars behind and safely walk where they need to go. To encourage communities to make walking safer, the Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) introduced its Walk Friendly Communities program. And yesterday, with support from the Federal Highway Administration and FedEx, the PBIC recognized the first 11 cities to earn that designation for improving walkability and pedestrian safety.

Out Front in the Fight on Fat
Betsy McKay for the Wall Street Journal
April 26, 2011
Portland's program, called "Let's Go!," is one of just a handful of community childhood-obesity programs studying how much change in behavior or weight loss they bring about. Such studies are expensive. Plus, measuring effects of environmental change is difficult, says Bill Dietz, director of the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. More programs are starting to measure results, he says.

USDA Encourages Schools to Partner with Local Farms
April Fulton for NPR
April 27, 2011
The U.S. Department of Agriculture just announced a new rule to encourage schools to partner with nearby farms as a way to get more healthy, locally-grown fruits, veggies, and more into school lunches. Agriculture Under Secretary Kevin Concannon says the rule is "an important milestone that will help ensure that our children have access to fresh produce and other agricultural products."

Check out the film Nourish: Food + Community
With beautiful visuals and inspiring stories, the Nourish film traces our relationship to food from a global perspective to personal action steps. Nourish illustrates how food connects to such issues as biodiversity, climate change, public health, and social justice.