About Us
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Our vision – a world where regular physical activity, good nutrition, and healthy weight are part of everyone’s life.
Our mission – to lead strategic public health efforts to prevent and control obesity, chronic disease, and other health conditions though regular physical activity and good nutrition.
Our goals:
- Increase health-related physical activity through population-based approaches.
- Improve those aspects of dietary quality most related to the population burden of chronic disease and unhealthy child development.
- Decrease prevalence of obesity through preventing excess weight gain and maintenance of healthy weight loss.
Our Work
With fiscal year (FY) 2008 funding of $38 million, CDC's DNPAO is working to reduce obesity and obesity-related diseases. This is done through state programs, research, surveillance, training, intervention development and evaluation, leadership, policy and environmental change, communication and social marketing, and partnership development.
Supporting State Programs
The Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Program (NPAO) is a cooperative agreement between the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity (DNPAO) and 23 state health departments. The program goal is to prevent and control obesity and other chronic diseases through healthful eating and physical activity. The state program will develop strategies to leverage resources and coordinate statewide efforts with multiple partners to address all of the following DNPAO principal target areas:
- Increase physical activity.
- Increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables.
- Decrease the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages.
- Increase breastfeeding initiation, duration and exclusivity.
- Reduce the consumption of high energy dense foods.
- Decrease television viewing.
Our Research
DNPAO supports research to enhance the effectiveness of physical activity and nutrition programs. Topics of these research activities include:
- the effectiveness of parent-focused strategies to reduce the time children spend watching television
- the influences of the home environment on sugar-sweetened beverage consumption
- the use of policy interventions to promote physical activity
- the effectiveness of breastfeeding interventions in various settings.
Other Activities
Translating Research into Practice
CDC's
DNPAO translates the results of research for practitioners and the lay
public. For example, our
Research to Practice Series helps health professionals stay
abreast of the emerging science in nutrition, physical activity and obesity.
This series provides an overview of the science on a specific topic that
includes implications for public health practice. Some installments include
a tool geared to a lay audience which can be used by health professionals
in practice to explain concepts correctly
and provide practical tips on implementing suggested strategies. Another
example of how CDC translates research into practice is
The CDC Guide to
Breastfeeding, which helps practitioners select effective breastfeeding
interventions.
Promoting Worksite Health
To identify strategies that worksites can use to prevent and control
obesity among their employees, CDC's DNPAO is conducting systematic literature
reviews, evaluating current programs, and conducting demonstration projects
at CDC work sites. Data collected are being translated into products that
employers can use to design their own programs (e.g., an interactive
Web-based tool).
Helping Develop Physical Activity Guidelines
Evidence-based guidelines for physical activity for youth, adults, and
older adults are being developed by Department of Health and Human Services. Partners on this
project include CDC's DNPAO , the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports,
and DHHS’ Office of Disease
Prevention and Health Promotion. CDC's DNPAO led the literature review, which provides the scientific basis for the development of the guidelines.
Monitoring Nutritional Status
Through its Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance System (PedNSS) and
Pregnancy Nutrition Surveillance System (PNSS), CDC's DNPAO facilitates the
collection, analysis, and interpretation of key indicators of child
nutritional status and behavioral and nutritional risk factors for
low-income pregnant women. An interactive Web site trains health
professionals to use
these systems.
Promoting Fruit and Vegetable Consumption
CDC is the lead federal agency and health authority for The National
Fruit and Vegetable Alliance (NFVA) and works with partners and state
coordinators to promote increased fruit and vegetable consumption. As a
partner in the National Fruit and Vegetable Alliance, DNPAO collaborated
with public and private partners to launch the new Fruits & Veggies – More
Matters® brand, and continues to promote the brand and messages. CDC’s fruit
and vegetable Website,
www.fruitsandveggiesmatter.gov, features new consumer information,
recipes and health professional materials. DNPAO also works in the areas of
fruit and vegetable research and monitoring of fruit and vegetable
consumption.
Encouraging Global Collaboration
CDC's DNPAO World Health Organization Collaborating Center for Physical
Activity and Health Promotion provides global and regional leadership in
building capacity for evidence-based public health practice and research
related to physical activity and health. The Universal Flour
Fortification Initiative creates global acceptance for fortifying flour with iron, folic
acid, and other nutrients.
Improving Breastfeeding
CDC DNPAO’s approach focuses on policy and environmental change,
particularly in maternity care settings as well as other evidence-based
strategies. Toward this goal, CDC’s DNPAO synthesizes and disseminates
evidence, expands the knowledge base through research, and partners with
others both within CDC and nationwide in the public and private sectors. CDC
DNPAO’s breastfeeding work includes monitoring progress on the five
Healthy People 2010 breastfeeding objectives via the CDC National
Immunization Survey (NIS); creating and disseminating the annual
Breastfeeding Report Card, conducting the national census of Maternity
Practices in Infant Nutrition and Care, known as the mPINC survey;
supporting State Breastfeeding Coalitions; researching determinants and
outcomes of feeding decisions via the longitudinal Infant Feeding Practices
Study (IFPS); and assisting partners through publications such as the CDC
Guide to Breastfeeding Interventions. CDC is a Federal partner on the US
Breastfeeding Committee (USBC) and the Federal Breastfeeding Promotion
Consortium.
Organization Chart
Please note: Some of these publications are available for download only as *.pdf files. These files require Adobe Acrobat Reader in order to be viewed. Please review the information on downloading and using Acrobat Reader software.
* Links to non-Federal organizations found at this site are provided solely as a service to our users. These links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the Federal Government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links.
Page last updated: May 5, 2008
Content Source: Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion
