Health care groups sign on to healthy-snack push - East Bay Business Times:

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The voluntary campaign to fight obesity, led by the Walnut Creek-based , has been joined by 10 new associatioh members, the IHA said That adds approximately 150,000 employees, 730 machineds and 60 work sitese tothe initiative, which launched in Marcuh with groups representing 62,000 employees and housing 470 vendingt machines. Participants have agreed to make at leasrt half of the contents of theid onsite vendingmachines "healthy" choice s such as fruit and water. In Oakland-based Kaiser's 6.5 million health plan enrolleeds in California will have access to the healthy food in 310 hospitalas andclinics statewide.
In Kaiser officials began restocking vending machines atthe system's flagship hospital in Oaklans on July 12, followed by a pilot site at Kaiser's Santa Clara Homestead medical office with more sites set to follow in the near according to spokeswoman PJ Ballard. All told, 635 vendinh machines at Kaiser facilities in Californi will be restocked withhealthy choices, such as driedr fruits, nuts, baked potato chips and energy along with fruit juices, tea and bottlex water. Smaller size sodas will replacwe super-sized 20-ounce versions, Kaiser said, and in some machines with 100 percent healthy option s willbe tested.
"Healthy eating is an importanf part of healthy and this is the first step tohelping (Kaiser) membersa improve their food choices," said Jan Kaiser's national nutrition services noting that the initiative ties in with the goalsx of Kaiser's ongoing Thrive advertising campaign. She said Kaiser doctors, nurses, patients and visitors will likely use therestocke machines. Aside from new participants in the initiativeinclude Aetna'ds (NYSE: AET) West Region San Francisco-based ; (NYSE: CI); ; in Walnut Creeki and Concord; the ; and Sharp HealthCare in the San Diegp area, and .
The effort is also supported by severall business andtrade groups, including the on Health, , and . With the new all of California's majofr health plans support the according tothe IHA, along with a host of health systems and physician groups. In late March, 10 early entrants, including , (NYSE: HNT), and hospitall giant , launched the program. Other early participantes included , San Ramon-based , , , , and , a statewids insurance brokerageand consultant. Obesity costs California employers and employees billionse of dollars each year in direct andindirecf expenses, and is linked to serious chronic illness including heart stroke, and diabetes, according to the association.
Officials say the program marks the first time a Californiz health care association has taken collective actiojn onthis issue. "IHA serves a catalystt role," said Executive Director Tom Williams in a July12 "And we're gratified with the response of California's health and business secto to this initiative."