Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition
Extension
Colorado State University
Fort Collins, CO 80523-1571
Healthy Heart Beats
January-March 2008
Vol 30, Issue 1
Resources
- "Focus on Health, Not Weight"
- MyPyramid
- Community Health Resources
- Overweight and Obesity in Children
- Health and Nutrition Indicators
- New Data Analysis from What We Eat in America, NHANES 2003-2004
- Trends in the Health of Americans
"Focus on Health, Not Weight"
Follow this link http://www.uwyo.edu/winwyoming/projects.html to a new handout titled, "The ABCs of Health-Focused Well-Being," which is based, in part, on findings from the WIN the Rockies project. Click on the title on the right side of the page. (Note: This 8-page handout with color photos is a large file - 9 MB - which may require extra downloading time.)
The handout is the fourth publication in a series entitled "Focus on Health, Not Weight." The overall objective of this new publication is to increase awareness of and appreciation for a health-focused vs. a weight-focused approach to well-being. The format is appealing and easy to read. Most of the content is conveyed through definitions of 38 wide-ranging terms and concepts from A through Z. For example: Actions and behaviors, BMI and Consumerism start off the list.
Comments and questions may be forwarded to Suzanne Pelican, MS, RD, Food and Nutrition Specialist & WIN Wyoming Coordinator at pelican@uwyo.edu.
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MyPyramid
The Journal of Education and Nutrition Behavior has now made available open access to the November-December 2006 Supplement which contains numerous articles pertaining to the development of MyPyramid. Of particular interest to those working with consumers are the following articles:
- MyPyramid.gov Provides Consumers with Practical Nutrition Information at Their Fingertips
- MyPyramid Tracker Assesses Food Consumption, Physical Activity, and Energy Balance Status Interactively
- Designing MyPyramid for Kids Materials to Help Children Eat Right, Exercise, Have Fun
You can access this free supplement at Development of the MyPyramid Food Guidance System Supplement.
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Community Health Resources
CDC's newest online resource, the Community Health Resources Web site, www.cdc.gov/communityhealthresources, navigates you to CDC's best resources to plan, implement and evaluate community health initiatives. Site visitors can search or browse the Community Health Resources database for links to hundreds of useful tools, guides, handbooks, fact sheets and other information. The site is a collaboration of many CDC divisions and programs, including the Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity and the Division of Adult and Community Health.
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Overweight and Obesity in Children
The special issue of The Annals, the official journal of The American Academy of Political and Social Science, is entitled "Overweight and Obesity in America's Children: Causes, Consequences, Solutions," and is available at no charge for a limited time at http://ann.sagepub.com/content/vol615/issue1/.
Several articles worth noting are:
- Children, Television Viewing, and Weight Status: Summary and Recommendations from an Expert Panel Meeting
- Calories for Sale: Food Marketing to Children in the Twenty-First Century
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Health and Nutrition Indicators
An updated web resource that provides a snapshot of state and national health and nutrition indicators has been launched by Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists. The resource, called the Community Nutrition Map (CNMap), Version 2, can be found at http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=15656.
The Community Nutrition Map includes easy-to-read customized tables and color-coded maps. Indicators include data on estimated nutrient intakes, eating patterns, physical activity, body weight, demographics and food security. Food security is defined as an individual's ability to access enough food to lead an active, healthy life.
The Map Gallery provides percentages of individuals, state-by-state, who meet MyPyramid.gov food group recommendations, which include specified amounts of vegetables, grains, fruits, meats and dairy. Users can also look up percentages of individuals, state-by-state, who are at risk of nutrient inadequacy, or excess, for specific nutrients from food sources.
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New Data Analysis from What We Eat in America, NHANES 2003-2004
New data analysis from What We Eat in America, NHANES 2003-2004, has been released on the Food Surveys Research Group website. Data tables on mean nutrient intakes from foods for 21 gender/age groups by race/ethnicity and family income can be found at http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=14958. Reports from past USDA food surveys and studies dating back to the 1930s can be found by clicking http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=14392.
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Trends in the Health of Americans
Health, United States, 2007 with Chartbook on the Trends in the Health of Americans can be found at http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus07.pdf. This publication provides an annual picture of the health of Americans and could be relevant to program planning.
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