Yahoo! News: Education News

---

• Selling Candy to Babies: The Disturbing Link Between Junk Food Brands and Childhood Obesity
• College Students Outraged over Hillary Clinton’s Massive Speaking Fees
• Study: Joining the Top Echelon of Best Colleges Rankings Costs
• After battle, Pa. House approves Philly cigarette tax

Selling Candy to Babies: The Disturbing Link Between Junk Food Brands and Childhood Obesity Posted: 03 Jul 2014 11:50 AM PDT There's a memorable scene in the 2004 documentary Super Size Me where filmmaker Morgan Spurlock sits down with first graders in Worcester, Mass., and holds up a series of cards featuring the faces of historical figures like George Washington, Jesus, and then-president George W. Bush—as well as fast food icons Wendy and Ronald McDonald. Like that boy, research shows that children as young as 3 not only recognize popular food brands, but often have knowledge and preferences about the products—preferring Coke to Pepsi or McDonald's to Burger King, for instance. A soon-to-be-published paper written by researchers from the University of Oregon, Michigan State University, and Ann Arbor Public Schools Preschool and Family Center, reports that children who exhibit higher levels of brand awareness are more likely to be overweight or obese. Dr. T. Bettina Cornwell, a lead author on the studies and marketing professor at the University of Oregon says that kids who are overweight are likely to be overweight as adults, so their "first language of food" should be developed by parents leading in healthy practices—not by junk food marketers.

College Students Outraged over Hillary Clinton’s Massive Speaking Fees Posted: 03 Jul 2014 11:30 AM PDT Here's one idea for bringing down soaring college costs: Get Hillary Clinton off the speaking circuit. By one estimate, the former secretary of state has charged eight universities and colleges – including four public institutions – a total of at least $1.8 million in speaking fees over the past year. The presumed 2016 Democratic presidential candidate has gotten a spate of bad coverage about the mega bucks she and husband Bill Clinton have raked in from their speeches after she told ABC's Diane Sawyer last month that the couple emerged from the White House "not only dead broke, but in debt."

Study: Joining the Top Echelon of Best Colleges Rankings Costs Posted: 03 Jul 2014 06:30 AM PDT A new research paper advises schools looking to move up in the U.S. News Best Colleges rankings that getting near the top would be "extraordinarily" expensive. The paper "can serve as a basis for frank discussions within a university about the likelihood of significant changes in rank and provide valuable insight when formulating strategic goals," according to the study's authors, Shari L. Gnolek of consulting firm Scannell & Kurz, Vincenzo T. Falciano of the University of Rochester and Ralph W. Kuncl of University of Redlands. This research paper -- titled " Modeling Change and Variation in U.S. News & World Report College Rankings: What would it really take to be in the Top 20?" -- is the latest in a rapidly expanding body of academic literature that takes a scholarly, analytic approach to the study of academic rankings and their impact on higher education and the broader society. -- "U.S. News college rankings play a role in student decision making," the study states.

After battle, Pa. House approves Philly cigarette tax Posted: 02 Jul 2014 08:31 PM PDT Legislation allowing Philadelphia to impose a sales tax on cigarettes to help fund public schools there has cleared its most difficult hurdle.

You are subscribed to email updates from Education News Headlines - Yahoo! News To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now.	Email delivery powered by Google
Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610