Foods4BetterHealth Reports on New Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program
Boston, MA (PRWEB) September 23, 2013 -- Foods4BetterHealth.com, a new food and nutrition web site that believes that healthy foods can prevent disease and illness, is reporting on New York City’s new Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program, aimed at reducing the rate of obesity and encouraging people to eat healthy foods.
As Foods4BetterHealth notes (http://www.foods4betterhealth.com/doctors-can-now-legally-prescribe-fruits-and-veggies-4661), one in three Americans are overweight and obese, and the rate of obesity is climbing steadily. Obesity is also associated with an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, diabetes, high cholesterol, and many more diseases. Therefore, in order to combat the rise of obesity, the City of New York’s Deputy Mayor and Health Commissioner announced the launch of a new program that will help the city’s overweight and obese population purchase healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables. (Source: “Farmers Markets Become ‘Pharmacies’ in NYC,” WFUV web site, July 23, 2013; http://www.wfuv.org/news/news-politics/130723/farmers-markets-become-pharmacies-nyc, last accessed September 12, 2013.)
As the Foods4BetterHealth article “Doctors Can Now Legally Prescribe Fruits and Veggies” details, low-income populations are more likely to become overweight and obese since they do not have easy access to healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables. In fact, the 2009 Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System survey found that one-third of low-income children were obese or overweight; obese children are more likely to suffer from a number of debilitating health conditions as they age. (Source: “Obesity Among Low-Income Preschool Children,” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention web site; http://www.cdc.gov/obesity/downloads/pednssfactsheet.pdf, last accessed September 12, 2013.)
The Foods4BetterHealth report notes that in order to prevent the rising toll of obesity and its economic, financial, and social effects, doctors are now being encouraged to prescribe overweight individuals fruits and vegetables under this new program, instead of prescribing costly and unnecessary pills. The program allows participants to cash in their “prescription” at many farmers’ markets across the city. So far, the Fruit and Vegetable Prescription Program has already expanded to seven states.
The Foods4BetterHealth report concludes that encouraging people, especially low-income obese and overweight individuals, to eat healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables, is essential to maintaining the health of Americans over the long term.
Foods4BetterHealth.com, created by Doctors Health Press, is a food news and health web site, offering readers information about the latest food controversies, exclusive expert advice, and health tips to ward off illness, prevent disease, and live a long, healthy life. For more information, visit http://www.foods4betterhealth.com.
Adrian Newman, Foods4BetterHealth, http://www.foods4betterhealth.com, +1 905-266-0350, [email protected]
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