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Nutrition
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Increase
the proportion of adults eating five or more servings of fruits and
vegetables each day.
Target:
25.1 percent.
Baseline, 1995, 1996, and 1998: 18.3 percent of persons
age 18 and older consumed at least five or more servings of fruits
and vegetables each day.
Target Setting Method: 37 percent improvement.
Increase
the percent of middle school and high school students who eat any
fruit or fruit juice on a given day.
Target:
95 percent for both middle and high school students.
Baseline, 1997: 77.6 percent of middle school students
and 72.0 percent of high school students consumed fruit or fruit
juice on the day prior to survey.
Target Setting Method: Better than the best. Middle school
students represent 22.5 percent improvement; High school students
represent 32 percent improvement.
Increase
the percent of middle school and high school students who eat any
vegetables on a given day.
Target:
95 percent for both middle and high school students.
Baseline, 1997: 58.4 percent of middle schools students
and 91.2 percent of high school students consumed green salad/vegetables
on the day prior to survey.
Target Setting Method: Better than the best. Middle school
students represent 62.6 percent improvement; high school students
represent 4 percent improvement.
Decrease
the percent of middle school and high school students who eat high-fat
meats on a given day.
Target:
50 percent for both middle and high school students.
Baseline, 1997: 62.2 percent of middle school students
and 57.9 percent of high school students consumed high-fat meats
on the day prior to survey.
Target Setting Method: Better than the best. Middle school
students represent 19.6 percent improvement; High school students
represent 13.6 percent improvement.
Decrease
the percent of students who eat high-sugar snack foods on a given
day.
Target:
50 percent for both middle and high school students.
Baseline, 1997: 76.4 percent of middle school students
and 74.7 percent of high school students consumed high-sugar snack
foods on day prior to survey.
Target Setting Method: Better than the best. 34.6 percent
improvement for middle school students; 33 percent improvement
for high school students.
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Health
Promotion - Nutrition
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Beginning with breastfeeding and continuing
healthful eating habits throughout life provides the foundation for
health and well being. Improper nutrition and diet contribute to the
burden of preventable illnesses. Leading causes of morbidity and mortality
in North Carolina and the United States include heart disease, cancer
(lung, colon, rectum, breast, and prostate), stroke, and diabetes.
An estimated 20-40 percent of all deaths from heart disease and over
40 percent of all deaths from cancer are associated with the typical
American high-fat, low-fiber diet. Many of the risk factors for these
diseases are associated with being overweight and obese. One out of
three adults are overweight according to the National Research Council
of the National Academy of Sciences. Other health problems associated
with overweight and obesity include gall bladder disease, osteoarthritis,
sleep apnea, respiratory problems, and, for some, lack of mobility.
Americans receive 34 percent of their calories from dietary fat, down
from the previous level of 36 percent but well above the goal of 30
percent or less.
Research has shown strong and consistent
patterns of relationships between a diet rich in whole grains, fruits,
vegetables, dairy products, low-fats meats and meat alternatives,
and a lowered risk of a number of chronic diseases. This evidence,
derived from epidemiological, ecological, and some experimental
studies, is compelling.
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Older Adults
Nutritional well
being is critical to health, independence, and quality of life for
North Carolina’s older adults. Proper nutrition is even more
important as one ages due to the normal changes that take place
in digestion, absorption, and metabolism over the life span. Even
the decline in self-sufficiency exhibited by many older adults is
not necessarily age-dependent and may respond to nutritional intervention.
Demographic changes in North Carolina’s
population continue to impact nutrition and health issues. Older
adults run disproportionate risks of malnutrition and poverty as
well as poor overall health status. Surveys conducted in 1993 and
in 1997 at congregate nutrition sites across North Carolina showed
that approximately two-thirds of 10,000+ respondents were at moderate
or high risk of malnutrition. In fact, over 85 percent of older
adults suffer from chronic diseases and could benefit from dietary
intervention. Studies show that 35 to 40 percent of persons 60 years
and older consumed two or more servings of fruit a day. When asked
about three or more servings, the number dropped to 5 to 6 percent.
Only about a third of the older adults met the calcium recommendations.
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Disparities
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Populations that live in poverty or have
low-income are at highest risk for poor nutrition. Quality food is
often missing in local grocery stores in poorer neighborhoods; fresh
fruits and vegetables are often unaffordable. People who eat fast
food are also at risk for poor nutrition. Fast food menus provide
large servings that are inexpensive. Foods eaten away from home are
in high calories, sodium, saturated fat, and cholesterol, and are
lower in fiber and calcium than foods prepared and eaten at home. |
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Determinants/Risk
factors
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Lack of consistent nutrition messages; lack
of establishing healthful eating habits early in life and practices
over a lifetime; lack of nutrition education as part of comprehensive
school health education programs; lack of appropriate health education
services; certain lifestyles (eating away from home, etc.); food accessibility
and quality (e.g. year-round fresh fruit and vegetable quality in
communities); lack of (or poor marketing of) healthy food choices
in community settings (restaurants, worksites, schools, etc.); abundance
of inexpensive fast foods that are high in sodium, saturated fat,
and sugar and low in dietary fiber, iron, and calcium; poverty; limitations
of old age (mobility, physical problems, side effects of medications);
and persons with disabilities |
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| Health Promotion - Nutrition |
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