Leisure Time in Bavaria -- Germany, that is.

Snow capped mountains and miles of farmland lined the streets and highways on my way through the Bavarian Alps last week. I was on a vacation with my family in southern Germany where we spent a few days in Stuttgart and a few more in Garmisch with family who have lived there for the past six years.

What struck me most during my days was not least the cold but that despite the cold if you walked anywhere you saw at least a dozen Germans walking outside, as well.

Top 3 Public Health News of 2009

This year public health undeniably became a part of our national consciousness. In order to ring in the New Year and reflect on the past year at Veritas Health, I've highlighted below what I believe to be the top three issues in public health of 2009. For those interested, the headlines link to my previous posts on the topic.

Nourishing Traditions: A book that gets to the heart of food

There is no arguing that our food system has dramatically changed over the past half century. The American diet has been overhauled with the advent of fast-food, supermarkets, and convenience foods (read: shelf-stable products all found in the interior of your local market or in those vending machines you frequent). These changes have affected public health in unimaginable ways -- not the least of which is the rapid rise of obesity and Type 2 (preventable) diabetes among adults and children of all ages.

This Christmas, I asked my in-laws for a cookbook that could revolutionize the way I think about and interact with food. That book, Nourishing Traditions, is subtitled "The cookbook that challenges politically correct nutrition and the diet dictocrats." And if that doesn't say enough -- it's filled with recipes calling for raw, whole fat dairy, lard and numerous recipes calling for whey (the liquid part of curds and whey -- or that clear, yellowish liquid that settles when you have a tub of yogurt in your fridge).

It's a Water Problem

After spending 3 months thinking and writing about sugar-sweetened beverages, obesity, and school food environments I am a little concerned about the effects of the New York Times' Toxic Waters series and peoples' consumption of water (a great alternative to all those sugary drinks).

The series is exposing the many problems with our nations' water supply (including the dangers hidden in some tap water).

Teenage Pregnancy: A Cool Website

This semester I started working with a group of Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) students on a student-run social media campaign. After some collaboration with the Center for Health Communication at HSPH we decided to pursue an online campaign that targets pregnant teenagers in the Boston area.

Why? Because teens who become pregnant are less likely to have a healthy pregnancy and less likely to see a doctor for prenatal care. Everything from diet, activity, stress, and support are critical to having a healthy pregnancy. A healthy pregnancy leads to a healthy birth, a health birth leads to a healthy infant, and a healthy infant leads to a healthy child. You get the idea...

Is "Healthier" Healthy Enough for School Vending?

Early on a Tuesday morning, while walking the halls of Winter Hill Elementary School in Somerville, Massachusetts, I was struck by the absence of an item that has become nearly ubiquitous in schools across Massachusetts: vending machines. Vending machines are the most convenient source of exactly what you tell your kids not to eat.

States Cut Tobacco Prevention Funds

According to a recent report by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, all states with the exception of North Dakota have cut tobacco prevention funds.

Unfortunately, it doesn't appear to be a result of ineffective prevention efforts.