Friday, October 27, 11:00
a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Moderator
William Dietz, M.D.
Director of the Division of Nutrition and Physical Activity, National Center
for Chronic Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention
Presentations
THE NEW 5 A DAY: MOVING FORWARD TO MAKE A DIFFERENCE
Barbara T. Boyce, M.S., R.D.
Produce for Better Health Foundation, Wilmington, DE
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Produce for Better Health
Foundation (PBH), and the entire national 5 A Day partnership are dedicated to producing a
healthier America through increased fruit and vegetable consumption. The goal of this
public-private partnership is to create an environment where consumers can change their
behavior and include fruits and vegetables at every eating occasion.
According to an analysis of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data by CDC,
90 percent of Americans do not meet the recommended number of fruit and vegetable servings
based on the 2005 Dietary Guidelines. To close this gap, the national partnership has embarked
on extensive consumer research and a repositioning of the 5 A Day brand. The national partners
believe a positive, consistent, clear message delivered through an integrated framework of
marketing, communications/education, and environmental and policy strategies is needed to
change consumer behavior.
This session will present highlights of the qualitative and quantitative research behind
development of this new brand, consumers' attitudes and beliefs about fruits and vegetables,
the challenges and barriers consumers face when attempting to meet the recommended amounts,
and learnings about consumer messages that will motivate consumers to change their eating
behaviors. Partners are developing marketing and communication strategies to launch the new
brand to consumers in early 2007 that will deliver the benefits of fruits and vegetables to
consumers in an energizing, enticing way that will change and sustain consumer behavior
over the long term.
JUST ASK US! RESTAURANT PROGRAM – ENCOURAGING HEALTHIER EATING WHEN DINING OUT
Melissa Jacobson, M.P.H.
Rockland County Department of Health, Pomona, NY
Based on the successful New York State "Just Ask Us!" program, Rockland County's
"Just Ask Us! We Bake, Broil, or Grill" program began in July 2005. The purpose of
the program is to empower consumers to make healthier choices when dining out and
to promote restaurants that offer healthier options on their menus. The program is
open to all food service establishments. Steps consortium members and program staff
strive to promote the program more aggressively in low-income areas and to restaurants
of different ethnicities to reach a larger percentage of county residents.
To participate in the program, restaurants must highlight healthier items on their menus,
let consumers know that they can ask for substitutions, and display the Steps to a
HealthierNY "Just Ask Us!" decal on their entrance door or window. Program
staff worked closely with the local chapter of the New York State Restaurant Association
to include elements that would be appealing to restaurateurs, such as simple requirements
for participation, a public health nutritionist/culinary expert to educate chefs and
restaurateurs to select healthier items, a detailed review of their menus, free
promotional materials, and free advertisements. In July 2006, the program evaluation
began to include three major components: observation of the restaurants' efforts to
promote healthier options, interviews with restaurateurs about perceived changes in
what customers choose to order, and a short questionnaire for customers assessing
their awareness of the program and whether it influenced their menu selections.
Presently, 124 restaurants are program members and new restaurants are constantly
joining. Some of these restaurants have changed signature recipes to healthier alternatives.
Advertisements have been placed in local newspapers to announce the program, reaching 150,000
residents and businesses. Currently, the program is focused on assisting participating
restaurants with labeling their menus and promoting healthier options and recruiting new restaurants.
POWERED BY CHOICE: A YOUTH-LED MOVEMENT FOR IMPROVING NUTRITION AND PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
Alison Topper, M.S.
PA Advocates for Nutrition & Activity, Harrisburg, PA
Over the past 5 years, there has been a paradigm shift in obesity prevention approaches—away
from much of the previous work promoting healthy eating and physical activity at the individual
and group levels to a focus on efforts at the institutional and societal levels, emulating other
social change efforts in public health (e.g., tobacco).
Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition and Activity (PANA) has utilized community-based social
marketing to mobilize collective, statewide action to influence changes in policies and
practices of schools, recreation, transportation, and health care. Because youth are a
primary target of obesity prevention efforts, PANA has worked to engage them in the change process.
NRG – Powered by Choice is a new, innovative campaign focused on media and activism targeted
at the individual (youth age 12 to 18) and interpersonal levels (youth organizations). The
campaign is a grassroots effort with "on the ground" materials that can be complemented by
existing nutrition and activity programs and advertising campaigns. NRG is intended to connect
youth leaders to the collective work of PANA, broad influencers (industry, media), and local
organizational influencers (Girl Scouts, YMCA/YWCA, etc.) for a coordinated, multi-component
intervention to change eating and activity behaviors.
As a member of the Ad Council's Coalition for Healthy Children, the NRG communication materials
incorporate consistent, research-based messages targeted at parents and children for promoting
a healthy weight. Energy balance is the core message, derived from concepts initially tested by
communications professionals from multiple academic, industry, not-for-profit, and government sectors.
The session will demonstrate how PANA is connecting people (youth to adult decisionmakers) to
create healthy places (schools and communities) where healthy practices (nutrition and physical
activity) become easier to adopt. Participants will learn details about how they can join the
Powered by Choice cause.
OUTCOMES OF CHILDHOOD OBESITY TREATMENT AND PREVENTION PROGRAMS ALONG THE TEXAS-MEXICO BORDER
Peggy M. Visio, M.S., R.D., L.D.
Methodist Healthcare Ministries, San Antonio, TX; University of Texas at
Austin
Get FIT is a community-based initiative to fight childhood obesity. It is built on the principle
that people want healthy children who will grow up to have productive lives. As such, Get FIT
challenges all adults to be role models for the children of their community.
At-risk children are identified through school health records. Body mass index profiles from
schools enrolled in the Get FIT program show that one in two children is at risk of being
overweight, one in three is overweight, and one in four is obese.
A registered dietitian teaches local school nurses and cafeteria managers how to conduct weekly
nutrition classes with children and parents. Classes focus on nutrition, exercise, and positive
parenting skills. Attendees earn points for attendance, exercise, and weight loss;
these points are "cashed in" for healthy prizes.
Graduates of the 9-week program then enroll in a Saturday morning walking club where
they earn points for miles walked. These points are also "cashed in" for prizes.
All graduates of the 9-week course receive scholarships to attend a summer wellness day
camp for 4 weeks. Camp activities include swimming, yoga, dancing, daily arts and crafts,
and healthy cooking lessons. Graduate students from the University of Texas volunteer as
camp counselors for the program.
Outcomes from this program show that children who had gained an average of 15 pounds per
year stopped gaining weight. Children's depression scores improved after the first 9-week
intervention program even if they did not loose weight. In schools where menus were improved,
the children's weight loss was better than in those schools where the menus remained unchanged.
For questions or more information, please contact
summit@hhs.gov.
