Definition of Whole Grain
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently released a definition (or draft guidance) of whole grains, attempting to ameliorate label consistency within the food industry. According to the FDA, whole-grain foods should contain the three key ingredients of cereal grains—bran, endosperm, and germ. These three ingredients need to be present in the same relative proportions as they exist naturally. 
To read the Washington Post’s article on the release, visit http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/15/AR2006021502580.html S. Squires, “Guidelines Provide A Definition of Whole-Grain Food ,” February 16, 2006.

To read the FDA press release , visit http://www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/news/2006/NEW01317.html

Women’s Health Initiative Findings
The Women's Health Initiative (WHI) is a long-term national health study that focuses on strategies for preventing heart disease, breast and colorectal cancer and fracture in postmenopausal women. This fifteen year project involves over 161,000 women ages 50–79. Recently, findings of this study were published in the Journal of the American Medical Association to much media attention and scrutiny. The study found that women who follow a low-fat diet do not significantly reduce their risk of cancer or cardiovascular disease. 
In response to the WHI findings, the American Society for Nutrition released a press release encouraging us to look beyond the headlines, and to critically evaluate the findings of the WHI.

Read more...

Food Stamp Participation, Weight Change and Nutrition Education
The April edition of the Journal of Nutrition covered the “Food Assistance and the Well-Being of Low-Income Families” symposium. This symposium included five articles. Each article has the potential to impact Food Stamp Nutrition Education, particularly “ The Modifying Effects of Food Stamp Program Participation on the Relation between Food Insecurity and Weight Change in Women.” In this article, authors Jones and Frongillo investigated whether women participating in the Food Stamp Program underwent long-term weight change. The study presented data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics, which included 6,421 families (5,503 women) in 1999 and 2001.

Read more...

School Nutrition Policy: Will Parents and the Public Know What’s Going On?
Two years ago, in preparation for passage of the Child Nutrition and WIC Reauthorization Act of 2004, Congress debated a proposal from Senator Tom Harkin (D-Iowa) to limit the sale of snacks and sodas in schools. Not surprisingly, Harkin’s proposal was opposed by the snack food industry. But it was also opposed by legislators who value local control and oppose federal interference in local school administration. In the end, Harkin lost the fight. Instead of his proposal, Congress adopted a more modest requirement. Each school district that participates in the National School Lunch Program must establish “a local school wellness policy” that includes goals for nutrition education and physical activity, includes nutrition guidelines that cover all food available on school grounds and that promote student health and obesity reduction, includes a plan for measuring the district’s implementation of its policy and is written with input from parents, students, the school food service and the public.

Read more...

Montco Nutrition Outreach!
This year marks Montgomery County Community Action Development Commission’s (CADCOM’s) fifth year providing nutrition education to the low-income population. Originally focused on network building, the program has evolved to concentrate on direct program delivery. This year, to reflect the new focus, the program has been renamed Montco Nutrition Outreach! This program is funded by the Pennsylvania Nutrition Education Program as part of the USDA’s Food Stamp Program. As the nutrition educator, I conduct or report on a variety of nutritional programs such as Simply Good Eating, Healthy Living, Summer Youth Nutrition Program and the Teen Parent Program. I also deliver nutrition education through newsletters and demonstration events to thirty emergency food sites, the Norristown Farmers’ Market and the Commodity Supplement Food Program.

Read more...

Supermarkets: A Resource for Education
Are you currently involved in a nutrition education program? Are you interested in involving your program participants in nutrition education and applying this education to everyday life? Have you considered using your local supermarket as a resource for your educational programs? Supermarkets include a wide range of nutritional information giving participants in nutrition education programs the opportunity to learn many important lessons.
Before setting up an information table or organizing a tour, note that there are dates, times of day, and group size issues that will need to be negotiated with the store. In order to smoothly plan your program, you must first contact the store’s dietitian or consumer service representative. These professionals know the business and may oversee the programming, making your job a little easier.

Read more...

Keystone Active Zone Debuts in June
New Statewide Campaign Promotes Close-to-Home Parks and Trails for Fitness and Fun
Imagine a Pennsylvania where all of our fantastic local parks and trails are filled with residents—walking, biking, playing with children—taking full advantage of Mother Nature’s gymnasium in their backyards. Across the state, dedicated groups are coming together in new, unique partnerships to achieve this vision. The campaign that is helping to make it happen—Keystone Active Zones—goes live to the public in June 2006.
Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition and Activity (PANA) has teamed up with the Department of Conservation and National Resources (DCNR), the Department of Health (DOH) and the Pennsylvania Recreation and Park Society (PRPS), to create a new, statewide campaign that encourages residents to make use of their local parks and trails as great places for fun and fitness—the Keystone Active Zones. The program includes a Web-based inventory that sorts parks and trails by amenities, and features a passport incentive program that local schools and workplace wellness programs can use to encourage residents to visit these parks.

Read more...

At Issue: MNT and FSNE
The Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services defines medical nutrition therapy (MNT) as “nutritional diagnostic therapy and counseling services provided by a registered dietitian or nutritional professional for the purpose of managing disease.”1 Most people involved in Food Stamp Nutrition Education (FSNE) programs are aware that funds to provide MNT are not allowable. According to the FSNE Plan Guidance, “Allowable FSNE activities include those health promotion activities and interventions aimed at primary prevention of disease. These health promotion activities should be designed to help FSP eligibles establish and maintain physically active lifestyles and healthy eating habits. Primary prevention includes activities to help FSP eligibles prevent or to postpone the onset of chronic disease by establishing more physically active lifestyles and healthier eating habits. Secondary prevention interventions and medical nutrition therapy are not allowable FSNE expenditures. Secondary prevention interventions include activities that help people who already have a chronic disease cope with and control these conditions and prevent additional disability.”2

Read more...

PA NEN Grassroots Initiative: Testing Peer-to-Peer Nutrition Education
Everybody wants to know how to be healthy. Although we, as nutrition professionals, do not have the magic pill people are hoping for, we are looking for the best ways to provide knowledge and a means for positive behavior change. The Pennsylvania Nutrition Education Network (PA NEN) is testing, with the assistance of committees and members, methods that may not be common, but may be the more effective in promoting healthy lifestyles.  
The PA NEN just completed a training session with the staff from the Reading Salvation Army for our Peer-to-Peer Nutrition Education Pilot. We are testing the idea that nutrition education might be more effective if conducted within the friendly environment of one’s own community, taught by peers. 

Read more...

Research Update
In the last issue of Food for Thought, the research committee began a series of articles on the effectiveness of different approaches of conducting nutrition education. Allison Karpyn, chair of the Pennsylvania Nutrition Education Network (PA NEN) research committee, shared an article on the use of text messaging in nutrition education. In the next issue, we will review current research on innovative practices within our field. This month, however, we would like to share some ideas about another innovative approach to education.
An interactive multimedia (IMM) presentation uses technology to bring educational theorems into action. As Confucius taught us, “What I hear, I forget. What I see, I remember. What I do, I understand.” Using this idea of interaction, the likelihood that participants will understand our messages increases.

Read more...

Committee Corner
The Pennsylvania Nutrition Education Network Outreach Committee, chaired by Karima Rose, has been working diligently to recruit for the Network—to date the network has grown to over 340 members. New member folders have been delivered to all committee members. The committee has taken an active role in promoting the network while out at various meetings and conferences. Moving forward the committee will:

Strengthening the Food Resource Safety Net
"Strengthening the Food Resource Safety Net", the 6th annual conference co-sponsored by the Pennsylvania Nutrition Education Network and the Pennsylvania Hunger Action Center, was held on May 22-23, 2006 in Harrisburg, PA.
Thank you to the PA NEN Conference Committee, staff, speakers and all who helped to make this event a great success! Look for a more in-depth look at the workshops and speaker presentations in upcoming issues of Food for Thought.