By: Jana L. Davidson, Education Content Specialist for the Progressive Agriculture Foundation
Each March, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recognizes National Nutrition Month® with an education and information campaign.
This effort serves as a reminder that each one of us holds the tools to make healthier food choices. National Nutrition Month®, celebrated each year since 1980, focuses on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.
The 2017 theme, “Put Your Best Fork Forward,” reminds us that each bite counts. It also shows how making small changes during National Nutrition Month® and over time, helps improve health now and into the future.
At Progressive Agriculture Safety Days® across North America, more than 90 of the annual safety events offer a station to engage participants in goal setting, self-discipline and decision making for a healthier lifestyle.
During hands-on activities and demonstrations, participants learn how to read labels, select smart snacks, adopt physical activities or commit to daily exercise, understand the benefits of water, uncover the amount of sugar in various beverages and compare healthy and oversized portions.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics share these five tips to “Put Your Best Fork Forward” this year:
- Create an eating style that includes a variety of your favorite, healthful foods.
- Practice cooking more at home and experiment with healthier ingredients.
- How much we eat is as important as what we eat. Eat and drink the right amount for you, as MyPlate encourages us to do.
- Find activities that you enjoy and be physically active most days of the week.
- Manage your weight or lower your health risks by consulting a registered dietitian nutritionist. RDNs can provide sound, easy-to-follow personalized nutrition advice to meet your lifestyle, preferences and health-related needs.
Celebrate National Nutrition Month® and get the entire family involved in adopting a healthy lifestyle. Play games, download tip sheets, view recipe videos and more at http://sm.eatright.org/NNMinfo.
This safety message was brought to you by Clearfield County Safe Kids. Clearfield County Safe Kids is part of Safe Kids Worldwide (http://www.safekids.org/), a global organization dedicated to preventing injuries in children, the number one killer of kids in the United States.
For more information, please contact Judy Patterson, nutrition-safety advisor for Cen-Clear, at 814-342-5678, Ext. 2264.
The coalition always welcomes new members and traditionally meets the third Tuesday each month at 12 p.m. at Cen-Clear Child Services, 60 Industrial Park Rd., Clearfield, PA 16830.
The next meeting will be April 18. Donations to the local Clearfield County Safe Kids Coalition are tax-deductible and can help ensure the word about safe practices can be spread all year long.
Clearfield County Safe Kids is a co-sponsor of Clearfield County’s Progressive Agriculture Safety Day® held each September, Cen-Clear’s Safety Expo held each October and various other safety events throughout the county.