Prevention of Overweight and Obesity Through Nutrition

Our daily nutrition is a primary means of control or reducing weight and reducing the risk of obesity and related medical conditions. Recent efforts have been made to make consumers aware of the importance of a balanced eating plan, portion size, and levels of saturated fat.

Resources from Federal and State Governments

Administration for Children and Families, Fit Source: A Web Directory for Providers.  Provides links to tools for child care providers to integrate healthy nutrition and physical activity into programs. Can search by topic and age groups. http://www2.nccic.org/fitsource/index.cfm

US Department of Agriculture,

• Food Pyramid Chart: Steps to a Healthier US http://www.mypyramid.gov/
• The Child Care Nutrition Resource System.  Provides recipes, resources and information to prepare healthy meals. http://www.nal.usda.gov/childcare/
• General Child Health and Nutrition, provides links to many resources and documents. http://www.nal.usda.gov/childcare/Resources/general_nutrition.html
• Interactive nutrition sites for kids http://www.nal.usda.gov/childcare/Resources/interactive.html
• Non-English Child Nutrition Materials can select among numerous languages http://www.nal.usda.gov/childcare/Resources/multilingual_multicultural.html
• Nutrition Education Materials for Kids and Caregivers. Materials to make learning about nutrition fun. http://www.nal.usda.gov/childcare/Resources/nutrition_education.html
• Food Sources of Important Nutrients http://www.nal.usda.gov/childcare/Resources/nutrients.html

US DHHS and USDA: Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2005. Published every five years. http://www.healthierus.gov/dietaryguidelines/

Bright Futures Nutrition Family Facts Based at Georgetown University, Bright Futures is a federally funded national health promotion initiative.  http://www.brightfutures.org/nutritionfamfact/index.html

National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. The DASH (Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension) Eating Plan Hypertension is related to, risk factor for and consequence of overweight and obesity. Not designed to be a weight-loss plan. http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/hbp/dash/new_dash.pdf

National Food Service Management Institute, authorized in 1989 by Congress and locate at the University of Mississippi Oxford campus. See list of resources and bibliographies. http://www.nfsmi.org/Information/Bibliographies.html

Resources from Associations, Non-Profit Organizations and Academia

California Center for Health Improvement,

• Addressing Childhood Obesity: Nutrition Education and Policies in Schools http://www.healthpolicyguide.org/doc.asp?id=6450
• Healthy Eating Options http://www.healthpolicycoach.org/doc.asp?id=3742
• School Breakfast Program http://www.healthpolicycoach.org/doc.asp?id=3717

Colorado State University Cooperative Extension: Feeding Young Children Fact Sheet http://www.ext.colostate.edu/PUBS/FOODNUT/09366.html

Nutrition and Fitness for a Healthy New York.  Great site for kids. http://www.nutritionandfitnessny.org/index.htm

Per Serving Take Action: Per Serving is a national coalition of health, nutrition, consumer organizations dedicated to getting food writers, newspapers and other in print media to analyze recipes and provide accurate nutritional information for consumers. Site provides a checklist of activities to get involved in your community http://www.per-serving.org/voice.asp

Shape Up America Non-profit organization founded by Dr. C Everett Koop to raise awareness of obesity as health issue.  Extensive information and tools.

• Shape up and Drop 10 weight loss management tool. http://www.shapeup.org/shape/sud10index.html
• Cyberkitchen walks reader through process to identifying weight management and nutrition goals and provide menus for achieving goals. http://www.shapeup.org/atmstd/kitchen/introtxt.html

University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension, Wisconsin Nutrition Education Program: Food and Nutrition Fact Sheets for Low-Income Audiences http://www.uwex.edu/ces/wnep/teach/foodfact.cfm

Efforts to require accurate food labeling has assisted consumers in knowing exactly what they are eating in terms of overall calories, constitute components (fats, proteins, sugars, fiber), and artificial or scientifically derived items (such as artificial colors or preservatives)

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Site developed by ORC Macro
Page last updated: 07/18/2006

ACT for Health, Adolescent and Child Targets for Health Foundation, Inc., is an educational and charitable non-profit, non-governmental organization, tax-exempt under Section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.