Nutrition is an important part of public health

During National Nutrition Month, we recognize the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), which is funded by the USDA Food and Nutrition Services. WIC provides checks for supplemental foods, health care and social service referrals, breastfeeding promotion and support and nutrition education to low-income and nutritionally at risk, pregnant, post-partum and breastfeeding women, and to infants and children up to age five.

Studies have shown the WIC Program has a positive impact in the following health outcomes:

• Reducing premature births 
• Reducing low and very low birth-weight babies 
• Reducing fetal and infant deaths 
• Reducing the incidence of low-iron anemia 
• Increasing access to prenatal care earlier in pregnancy 
• Increasing pregnant women’s consumption of key nutrients such as iron, protein, calcium, and Vitamins A and C 
• Increasing immunization rates 
• Improving diet quality 
• Increasing access to regular health care 

In Maine, WIC local agency clinic services are contracted statewide in each of the eight public health districts. Clinic services include: program eligibility, income verification, nutrition assessment and education, breast feeding education, hemoglobin screening, anthropometrics, referrals, and checks for healthy foods.

The average monthly participation in Maine is approximately 20,000. The projected cost of food per participant for federal fiscal year 2016 is $59.45 per month. More than three-quarters of women who accessed the program in federal fiscal year 2016 initiated breastfeeding, with more than one-third breastfeeding longer than three months and more than one-quarter breastfeeding longer than six months. More than 16 percent of WIC children ages two through five who had been overweight are now at a healthy weight.

March is National Nutrition Month

The theme for National Nutrition Month 2016 is "Savor the Flavor of Eating Right," which encourages everyone to take time to enjoy food traditions and appreciate the pleasures, great flavors and social experiences food can add to our lives. How, when, why and where we eat are just as important as what we eat. Develop a mindful eating pattern that includes nutritious and flavorful foods. That's the best way to savor the flavor of eating right!

Try some of these tips to introduce mindful eating into your routine.

• Ask yourself why you are eating
• Eat more slowly
• Savor the silence and focus on the food
• Pay attention to flavor and texture
• Reconnect to food by knowing how was it grown, where it came from and how it got here

National Nutrition Month is a nutrition education and information campaign created to focus America’s attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.

For more information:

• ChooseMyPlate
• National Nutrition Month
  

National Nutrition Month

The Nutrition Month 2014 theme is Enjoy the Taste of Eating Right. Consumer research suggests that people tend to purchase and eat more of the foods that taste great to them. The trick lies in convincing people that foods low in saturated fats, sodium, and added sugars and rich in color, fiber, and poly- and monounsaturated fats are tasty.

The 2012 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System data and the 2011 Maine Integrated Youth Health Survey data tell us that 28% of Maine's adult and 13% of Maine's youth population are obese. These data also show that only one third of Maine's adult and youth population meet the fruit and vegetable recommendations.  Many of the most common chronic diseases that cut Maine residents' lives short are influenced by food intake, activity level, and weight status, so it's important that Maine focuses on strategies to aid people in enjoying the taste of eating right.

Here are a few suggestions from the US CDC Division of Physical Activity, Nutrition, and Obesity Prevention:

• Increase access to healthy foods
  • o   Consider which foods are readily available at work, school, and the childcare center. Aim to make the environment support the words "making the easy choice the healthy choice."
  • o   Is there a grocery store with affordable and varied produce within 10 miles of residents in rural areas? Or 1 mile in urban areas? If not, what could be done?
  • o   Is there a farmers' market in those areas that live greater than the 10 or 1 mile from a grocery store? If not what can be done about it?
  • Support farm to school and farm to institution.
    • o   Farm to School programs introduce youth to healthy foods in their natural state and often include taste testing. This has been shown to increase youth's likelihood of eating foods like fruits and vegetables.
    • o   Does your child's school have a garden? Growing a vegetable garden is another great way to create interest in eating fruits and vegetables.

For more information, visithttp://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/index.html

National Nutrition Month

March is a time to set healthy eating goals. Physical activity and proper nutrition are key components in the prevention and treatment of chronic diseases, such as diabetes and cardiovascular disease, and their risk factors, including high blood pressure and obesity. National Nutrition Month focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.

Make sure you are eating the recommended amounts of fruits, vegetables, grains, protein foods, and dairy each day – guidelines, recipes, and other tools are available at ChooseMyPlate.gov. Additional information on healthy eating and physical activity is also available at LetsMove.gov.

Maine CDC’s Physical Activity and Nutrition Program focuses on increased physical activity, increased consumption of fruits and vegetables, increased duration of breastfeeding, improved caloric balance and expenditure, food safety, and food security. For more information, visit http://healthymainepartnerships.org/panp/.