Are you looking for new ways to promote and support active living, healthy eating or breastfeeding where you live, work or play? By following a few simple steps, you can create your own customized action plan built on the same goals, strategies and activities that form the foundation for the Nebraska Physical Activity and Nutrition State Plan.

Meeting Convenes Partners, Envisions Partnership's Future

On Thursday, November 15, partners from across Nebraska convened in Lincoln for the 2012 Partners N Health Annual Partnership Meeting. Sixty-one partners attended the event, bringing their expertise from five settings (child care, schools, worksites, communities, and health care) and all three topic areas (healthy eating, active living, and breastfeeding) to reflect on a year of Partners N Health successes and to chart the course for the Partnership's future. Presentation slides from the event and an annual evaluation report will be available shortly on the Partners N Health website.

 

Click here to see photos from the event. Click here to see the "We Are Partners N Health: The Nebraska Photovoice Project" Gallery. At the meeting, partners voted on the Photovoice Project's winning photos: "Arcadia Public School Garden," submitted by Chuck Cone of Loup Basin Public Health Department, and "The Nebraska Little Voices for Healthy Choices Initiative," submitted by Rick Helweg of Teach a Kid to Fish. Thank you to all who submitted photos!

(From L to R) Ann Fritz, Bruce Rowe, Brian Coyle, and Dr. Laura Wilwerding pose for a picture at the November 15 Annual Partnership Meeting.

Register for the Statewide Health Literacy Summit on Jan. 30

This one-day summit at Bryan Medical Center West in Lincoln will bring together Nebraskans who are interested in promoting and improving health literacy. Registration is $20 and includes breakfast and lunch. Space is limited. Send questions to healthliteracyNE@gmail.com or call 402-937-8840. Click here to register.
 

 

CDC Launches Interactive Database for Behavioral Risk Factors and Health Indicators 

The updated Sortable Stats 2.0 site provides users with easy access to extensive public health data on states, regions, and the nation. Sortable Stats is an interactive database with data on 31 behavioral risk factors and health indicators. With Sortable Stats 2.0, users can: view, sort, and analyze data at the state, regional, and national levels; sort indicator data by demographic categories (e.g., race, gender, age) and historical trends; view data in graphs, tables, and maps; and easily export data to Excel spreadsheets, PowerPoint, or for use in other materials. 

 

 

Public Health Institute Launches New Website

The Public Health Institute recently launched its new website, which features an updated look, more resources, and news and events to help build healthier, more resilient communities. The website features over 200 publications, cutting edge research and tools, covering everything from food marketing to kids to best practices in telehealth to workforce development.

Free Online Training Program: Partnership, Leadership, Policy, Evaluation and New Action Planning Module

Evidence-Based Cancer Control, a web-based training program formed collaboratively by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services and the CDC Prevention Research Center in St. Louis, enables practitioners to strengthen the critical thinking skills necessary to implement evidence-based practice. Currently the following modules are available: Partnership, Leadership, Policy, Evaluation and Action Planning. Each module contains an introductory explanation, a scenario that applies concepts to real-world situations, and resources for additional information.

 

 

Free Online Built Environment Assessment Training Available

This free introductory built-environment assessment course providestraining on how to assess parks and trails for physical activity. In addition, the training offers an in-depth nutrition environment course which provides training on how to use the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey (NEMS) tools developed to assess the nutrition environments of stores and restaurants using NEMS-S (NEMS for stores) and NEMS-R (NRMS for restaurants), respectively.

 

 

Eat Healthy, Be Active Workshop Materials Available Online

Six one-hour workshops were developed, based on the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 and 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans. Each workshop includes a lesson plan, learning objectives, talking points, hands-on activities, videos, and handouts. The workshops are designed for community educators, health promoters, dietitians/nutritionists, cooperative extension agents, and others to teach to adults in a wide variety of community settings. Click here to access the materials.

 

 

Interactive Atlases of Diabetes, Obesity, and Physical Inactivity Now Available Online

Diabetes has become a major health concern in the United States, driven in part by the increasing prevalence of risk factors for type 2 diabetes, such as obesity and physical inactivity. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Division of Diabetes Translation recently released interactive atlases as tools for the public to view data and trends of diagnosed diabetes, obesity, and leisure-time physical inactivity at the national, state, and county levels. You can see the interactive atlas with Nebraska data here.

USDA Expands Food Compass Map

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) recently expanded its Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass, a searchable map of projects that have received federal support for local food work. The USDA developed the Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food initiative (KYF2) in 2009 to support producers, businesses and communities that are building local food systems and to help consumers learn more about where their food comes from. 

 

 

Revised Food Buying Guide for Schools Now Available
Need help calculating how many bunches of celery you should prepare for 100 servings or determining whether 35 pounds of frozen sweet potatoes is enough for 200 servings? The revised fruit and vegetable section of the Food Buying Guide, prepared by the USDA, separates fruits and vegetables and categorizes vegetables into the subgroups outlined in the new meal pattern requirements.

 

 

Rudd Center Finds Parent Support for Limiting Marketing of Unhealthy Foods to Kids

The Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University has issued a new report on parents' attitudes about food marketing to children. Parents "expressed broad support for limiting unhealthy food marketing and other policies to help them encourage their children to eat healthy." Click here to read the report.

 

 

Choices Magazine Evaluates Food Deserts in America

Choices, the magazine of food, farm, and resource issues, recently featured a series of articles that explore the topic of food access and its ramifications for diet and health in the United States. Articles examine the disparities of healthy food access, the effect of food deserts on purchases of fresh fruits and vegetables, and consequences of food deserts on the economy.

 

 

 

The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center (PBIC) recently announced the opening of the fifth round of the Walk Friendly Communities (WFC) application process to recognize communities' commitment to improve conditions related to walking. Applications are due December 15 and designated communities will be announced in February. All communities receive detailed feedback on where and how they can improve. Lincoln and Omaha have previously been designated with an honorable mention by PBIC and the WFC initiative for their efforts to improve walking conditions in the community. To download the text version of the application, click here. A list of current Walk Friendly Communities is available here. 

 

 

Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Mid-Course Report Now Available for Public Comment

The Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans Mid-Course Report: Strategies for Increasing Physical Activity Among Youth summarizes evidence-based intervention strategies for increasing physical activity in youth ages 3 to 17. The report describes interventions for increasing activity in several key settings where youth live, play, and learn, including school, preschool and child care, community, family and home, and primary care. For more information and to download the draft report, click here.

 

 

NIH Study Finds Leisure-Time Physical Activity Extends Life Leisure-time physical activity is associated with longer life expectancy, even at relatively low levels of activity and regardless of body weight, according to a study by a team of researchers led by the National Cancer Institute (NCI), part of the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The study found that people who engaged in leisure-time physical activity had life expectancy gains of as much as 4.5 years.

 

 

Infographic: Better Transportation Options = Healthier Lives

The NewPublicHealth National Prevention Strategy series is underway, including interviews with Cabinet Secretaries and their National Prevention Council designees, exploring the impact of transportation, education and more on health. Better Transportation Options = Healthier Lives tells a visual story on the role of transportation in the health of our communities. 

 

 

Report Connects Public Health and Transportation Planning

A new report from the American Public Health Association and the Safe Routes to School National Partnership shows how public health can be a part of transportation planning and design. Promoting Active Transportation: An Opportunity for Health explains the planning process (with specific detail on the new federal transportation bill), provides communications strategies, and includes three case studies.