Healthy States - Nutrition & Physical Activity

Nutrition & Physical Activity

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Nutrition & Physical Activity

More than 50 percent of adults don't get enough physical activity to provide health benefits, and more than a third of young people in grades 9-12 do not regularly engage in vigorous physical activity. Two-thirds of young people exceed dietary guidelines recommendations for fat intake, and only 20 percent of high school students report eating fruits and vegetables five or more times daily. These factors are contributing to an obesity epidemic that is significantly impacting every state. Two-thirds of all U.S. adults and 15 percent of all children and adolescents are either overweight or obese. Medical expenses attributable to obesity were estimated at $75 billion in 2003. But many state policymakers today are involved in helping to promote regular physical activity and healthy eating and helping to provide more opportunities for people to engage in active and healthy lifestyles. Efforts include everything from increasing the number of community bike and walking trails to establishing school nutrition standards. States are also setting standards for physical education in the schools, debating whether restaurants should be required to post nutritional information, and sending students home with report cards that calculate their Body Mass Index, a measure of an individual's weight in proportion to their height.
	National President's Challenge
	The National President's Challenge is a new fitness program that begins March 20. It encourages individuals ages 6 and older to register on the President's Challenge Web site, be active at least five days a week, and log that activity on their personal activity tracker.
	Childhood Obesity Issues for State Policymakers
	Two Web casts from Summer 2006 examined Childhood Obesity Issues for State Policymakers. Part of an initiative funded by a grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, they offered a closer look at the growing epidemic of childhood obesity. Innovative policies and programs to improve child nutrition and physical activity were also analyzed and addressed. School Wellness Policies: Nutrition and Physical Activity Play the archive View the slides (.pdf) Healthy Eating: Access to Healthy Foods Play the archive Read the transcript (.doc) View the slides (.pdf)
	Resources
	Community Health Resources Learn more about initiatives to improve health through better nutrition and to increase physical activity in CDC's Community Health Resources, including fact sheets, state and local program contacts, communication materials and state data. Preventing Diseases Through Physical Activity Publications The Legislator Policy Brief and Talking Points provide state policymakers with up-to-date information about the importance of physical activity and what legislators can do to encourage it. The brief also includes innovative state programs and advice from a state legislator. Using Sound Science to Prevent Chronic Disease: State Policy Implications This TrendsAlert describes 20 key proven strategies to prevent chronic diseases and promote good health. It also explores factors�such as insurance coverage and low health literacy�that affect the use of proven interventions. It reveals how policymakers can prevent significant costs and illness by acting decisively to employ underutilized prevention strategies. State Official's Guide to Wellness In CSG's State Official's Guide to Wellness, policymakers will see a snapshot of the current state of health in America, find out what the chronic disease trend-lines foretell for state budgets, and be given a framework for understanding the major policy issues surrounding wellness. State policymakers will also learn how states have begun to use wellness initiatives to promote healthy behaviors. CDC's Nutrition and Physical Activity Legislative Database Search for state-level bills related to nutrition and physical activity topics. MyPyramid Plan The new USDA food pyramid replaces "one size fits all" with a customizable eating and exercise plan. 5 A Day Fruit and Vegetable of the Month This CDC Web site provides fun facts about a variety of seasonal fruits and vegetables, information on how to prepare them, and great tasting recipe ideas to help meet the five-a-day goal.

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