Eat
Smart, Move More
With poor eating habits
and sedentary lifestyles fast becoming our top killers, Cumberland County families
need new tools to help them eat smarter and move more.
The N.C. Cooperative Extension
Service has partnered with the N.C. Division of Public Health and the N.C. Academy
of Family Physicians to create this educational program aimed at helping families
learn to do what generations past used to do - eat at home and be more active
throughout the day.
"I don't have time"
or "It is too expensive" are common responses when people are asked
why the don't eat at home. Well, unscientific experiments have found that at
home cooked meal cost half what the take out meal cost, and only takes about
10 additional minutes. Also, an at home meal contains about half
the calories and less than half the fat of the take out meal, which is consistent
with research which shows that families who eat out more often eat more calories,
more fat and sugar, and get fewer nutrients. Therefore, we know what to do but
just aren't doing it because of a perceived lack of time, or even a lack of
basic skills. One of our goals is that Eat Smart, Move More will teach families
how to fix simple meals in minutes.
The program also encourages
families to plan television-viewing time to make more time for physical activity.
“The physical activity goal of this program is to get adults to
build 30 minutes of activity into their daily routine and build 60 minutes of
activity into their children's daily routine,” said Judy Klinck, Executive Director
of Better Health of Cumberland County.
The program consists
of four modules:
Eating
Smart at Home
Eating
Smart on the Run
Moving
More, Everyday, Everywhere
Moving
More, Watching Less
Better Health is offering
Eat Smart, Move More to community groups such as civic clubs, churches, businesses
and other organizations who want to help improve the health of their members.
See related information on Better Health's "Did You Know?" page.
If
you would like to participate in the program as an organization or a volunteer,
call Robin Sledge at
483-7534.
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