Translating Nutrition Policies and Messages into Healthier Children: ADA’s Role

Abstract

Happy 2006! Welcome to a new year of challenges and opportunities, hard work, and fun at the American Dietetic Association. This year has the potential to be a real milestone for our Association and for dietetics professionals in so many ways. One of our Association’s top priorities for 2006 and beyond is the nutrition and health of our nation’s children. We know that far too many of America’s children are overfed but undernourished, are declining in physical activity, and have limited health literacy. What better place to reach children with the nutrition messages and services they need than in the central location of children’s lives, the school environment? Recently I had the opportunity to represent you before the Institute of Medicine’s (IOM’s) Committee on Nutrition Standards in Foods. I testified that ADA believes school food and nutrition environments should promote energy balance, moderation, and eating patterns that are consistent with the federal dietary and nutrition guidelines. I told IOM that school nutrition policies need to reinforce classroom nutrition education, regardless of parents’ involvement, so children can learn early on about choices and behaviors that will keep them healthy for life. In addition, educational goals including those of the National School Lunch Program and the School Breakfast Program should be supported and extended through policies at the federal, state, and local levels. I said school nutrition personnel, integral to foodservice systems, should be appropriately certified and possess principles and knowledge in food, nutrition, and food safety. ADA believes nutrition program directors in local school districts should be certified as registered dietitians, dietetic technicians, registered, or School Nutrition Association nutrition and school food specialists. With food and nutrition professionals in the right places, the results can be better-fed children who learn to choose healthful options, and school meals programs that invite participation and are profitable. The federal Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004 requires every school district to implement a wellness policy by this coming fall. School wellness policies represent an outstanding opportunity for ADA members to both improve child nutrition and advance dietetics professionals as the most valued providers of food and nutrition services. ADA has developed numerous tools and resources to help you make a difference in school wellness: •School Wellness and You: This PowerPoint presentation is designed for ADA members to download and use in your own communities and school districts. Visit http://www.eatright.org/ada/files/ADAWellnessPolicy.ppt.•Sample wellness policy: The National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity, of which ADA is a steering committee member, has developed a comprehensive set of model nutrition and physical activity policies based on nutrition science, public health research, and existing practices around the country. Visit http://www.schoolwellnesspolicies.org.•ADA Position Papers: Consult ADA’s positions on dietary guidance for children, local support for nutrition integrity in schools, nutrition services in comprehensive school health programs, and child and adolescent food and nutrition programs for insight on potential local opportunities for registered dietitians and for supporting documentation for ADA positions.•Advocacy training: ADA’s 2006 Public Policy Workshop is March 14-16, 2006, in Washington, DC. This year’s program is titled “The Tension between Science and Politics,” and is designed to help our members, professionals who use and rely on science, to work effectively in the political arena in order to shape public policy. All dietetics professionals should attend a public policy workshop at some point in their careers, as they can show you how to be the best possible advocate for yourself, for your Association, and for the entire profession. Successful development and implementation of national nutrition standards in schools will require supportive local policies developed through school-community partnerships. I firmly believe in what I testified to the IOM: that ADA and our members are uniquely qualified to interpret national standards, translate them into meaningful local standards and goals, and provide the top-quality nutrition services our children need.