Program Overview

Funded by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Georgia's Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative (the initiative) is a joint effort between the Department of Public Healthand its partners, to prevent obesity and other chronic diseases through healthy eating and physical activity initiatives across the life span. The initiative efforts focuses on promoting and increasing breastfeeding, increasing healthy eating, increasing physical activity, and reduced television/screen time in various settings by promoting education and building skills, and implementing policy and environmental changes.

Program Objective

To prevent and control obesity and other related chronic diseases.

Program Highlights

Georgia Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative’s Demonstration Projects
The Georgia Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative’s launched community demonstration projects in seven local communities. The demonstration project enabled local communities to develop community action plans addressing physical inactivity and poor nutrition by addressing policy, systems, and/or environmental changes. The communities developed strategies to leverage resources and coordinated efforts with multiple partners to address at least two of the following target areas: increasing physical activity; increasing the consumption of fruits and vegetables; decreasing the consumption of sugar sweetened beverages; increasing breastfeeding initiation, duration, and exclusivity; reducing the consumption of high energy dense foods; or decreasing television viewing. The communities began implementation of the community action plans in July 2009.

Operation Frontline Georgia (OFL-GA)
The Georgia Nutrition and Physical Activity Initiative spearheaded the launch and establishment of Operation Frontline in Georgia. In February 2009, in partnership with the Georgia Coalition for Physical Activity and Nutrition (GPAN), Operation Frontline commenced in Georgia. Operation Frontline provides families with hands on training teaching preparation of healthy, tasty meals on a limited budget. Operation Frontline had 100 graduates in the first three months of programming. OFL-GA has started to measure short-term and intermediate progress. The program graduates have provided self-reported nutrition behaviors at three and six months post-intervention. The indicators showed an increase in fruit and vegetable consumption, and reduced consumption of calorie dense foods.