This list of resources is not meant to be an all-inclusive list; rather, this list is a starting place for suggestions of materials that may be of benefit to your particular interest.
Table of Contents
Building Healthy Christian Communities Manual
- The Building Healthy Christian Communities Training Manual (1.5 MB) is designed to reach and teach community leaders who have the desire to address the rising incidence of Obesity in the state of Alabama. The manual contains step-by-step planning, implementation, and evaluation information utilized to coordinate the successful Relay for Health and Wellness program for five years.
- To get physical activity and nutrition on your local agenda, follow the steps taken at The Community Toolbox. The Community Toolbox is a service of the Work Group for Community Health and Development at the University of Kansas and a source of information for community-building techniques with more than 7,000 pages of practical guidance in creating change and improvement.
- ADPH provides information on action taken by the Alabama legislature regarding obesity in our state.
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- The CDC's quarterly publication, Preventing Chronic Disease, published by the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, features leading research supporting healthy lifestyles.
- The Surgeon General's Call to Action to Prevent and Decrease Overweight and Obesity includes a press release, the report, fact sheets on overweight and obesity, and online resources from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Resources.
- The Institute of Medicine of the National Academies has more than 1,800 members who volunteer their time, knowledge, and expertise to help advance and improve the health of the nation. As an independent, scientific advisor, the Institute strives to provide unbiased advice based on evidence and grounded in science.
- The Maternal and Child Health Library at Georgetown University offers links to sites on child obesity, physical activity, and school programs.
- Steps to a HealthierUS provides specific information on the HealthierUS initiative designed to help Americans, especially children, live longer, better, and healthier lives. The HealthierUS initiative helps Americans take steps to improve personal health and fitness. The program encourages all Americans to be physically active every day, eat a nutritious diet, get preventive screenings, and make healthy choices.
- The Alabama Cooperative Extension System offers information on topics such as reading food labels, understanding the food pyramid, shopping tips, healthy recipes, and much more.
- Dr. Bruce A. Berger has produced a motivational video discussing motivational interviewing techniques. The Obesity Task Force promotes these techniques as the method to work with persons who need to lose weight or make a lifestyle behavior change to improve health outcomes.
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- The United States Breastfeeding Committee is an independent nonprofit coalition of more than 40 nationally influential professional, educational, and governmental organizations, that share a common mission to improve the nation's health by working collaboratively to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.
- The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Blueprint for Action on Breastfeeding is a publication that establishes a comprehensive breastfeeding policy based on education, training, awareness, support, and research. The plan includes key recommendations that were refined by the members and reviewers of the Subcommittee on Breastfeeding during their deliberations of science-based findings.
- American Academy of Pediatrics has breastfeeding information online, including fact sheets, national campaign strategies, and resources.
Eating Away from Home
- American Heart Association has Tips by Cuisine, an online guide to choosing healthy meals away from home, including choosing a restaurant, dining out, eating fast food, and deciphering the menu.
- The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults offers reports, electronic textbooks, a Body Mass Index calculator, and other tip sheets to help prevent overweight and obesity in adults.
Eating Patterns of Americans
- Emotional eating is the practice of consuming large quantities of food - usually "comfort" or junk foods - in response to feelings instead of hunger. Experts estimate that 75% of overeating is caused by emotions. Learn more at Improving Your Eating Habits.
Healthy Food Choices
- From the USDA Food and Nutrition Information Center, Child Nutrition and Health is an online resource for parents, teachers, educators, and childcare providers interested in materials that will create a food and nutrition awareness in children while teaching them the ABCís of healthy eating.
- CulinarySchools.org provides information on health and nutrition for kids, including a list of healthy food choices and tips on how to maintain a good attitude toward fitness and weight.
- MyPlate carries the messages and dietary guidelines to make Americans aware of the vital health benefits of simple and modest improvements in nutrition, physical activity and lifestyle behavior.
- WebMd contains a variety of information on healthy eating and fitness. Search this site to learn about portion sizes, Body Mass Index, healthy recipes, and evaluate your diet.
Preparation Skills and Easy, Convenient Recipes
- Silver Threads is a newsletter published by the University of Missouri Extension Regional Specialists. It contains information including healthy recipes and articles on nutrition and physical activity for older adults.
- Delicious Decisions from the American Heart Association is an online cookbook that lets you search for heart healthy recipes.
- The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Cooperative Extension's Recipe Central offers tips on cooking healthy, economical meals at home.
- Food and Health Communications provides free recipes that are high in fiber, low in fat and sodium and are based on whole grains, vegetables, beans and fruit. They are easy to make using common ingredients and best of all they are well-tested and taste great.
- MyPlate can help you choose the foods and amounts that are right for you.
- The Weight-Control Information Network provides the general public, health professionals, the media, and Congress with up-to-date, science-based information on weight control, obesity, physical activity, and related nutritional issues. "Just Enough for You: About Food PortionsĒ is an example of a handout.
Smart Food Shopping
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Parenting Skills Topics
Learning Skills To Evaluate Advertisement
- Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI) report, Marketing Junk Food to Kids and Pestering Parents, identifies a plethora of ways that companies target kids in their homes, in their schools, on the web, and wherever else kids go.
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Physical Activity Topics
Increasing Physical Activity
- The ADPH Nutrition and Physical Activity Division implements nutrition and physical activity interventions, and promotes policy and environmental initiatives to increase the number of Alabamians who maintain a healthy weight, eat balanced meals, and are physically active. Visit Physical Activity learn about activities and exercises that can work for you.
- Scale Back Alabama is an eight-week, weight-loss program designed to help people lose weight in a healthy manner by eating sensibly and getting exercise.
- Healthy lifestyles benefit everyone. Y5210 is a simple, teachable concept that has been identified in public health communities in a number of ways - but all of the various forms teach the same evidence based formula for preventing and reducing the incidence of childhood obesity.
- American College of Sports Medicine's mission is devoted to public awareness and education about the positive aspects of physical activity for people of all ages, from all walks of life.
- Auburn, Alabama has been recognized as a model bikeable, walkable community. More information to make your community walkable can be found on the city's website.
- The Community Guide's systematic review of the effectiveness of selected population-based interventions designed to increase levels of physical activity focused on interventions in three areas: informational approaches to increasing physical activity; behavioral and social approaches to increasing physical activity; and environmental and policy changes to increasing physical activity.
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Weight of the Nation
The Alabama Obesity Task Force encourages the use of the Weight of the Nation materials and video. The Powerpoint presentations below can be used to explain why obesity is a concern and how to utilize the HBO materials. Two versions are posted to meet requests for short presentations (20 minutes or less) and long versions (30 to 60 minutes). If you utilize the materials, please email us and let us know. We would like to have an idea of the types of presentations given. We hope this will be helpful.
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School Interventions and Policy Changes
The CDC provides information on using the School Healthy Index to access a School Health Index.
School Wellness Policies
- Team Nutrition serves as a clearinghouse of information on the components that should be considered when establishing a school wellness policy. Examples of policies already developed by schools and state agencies are provided as resources and references. These policies are not endorsed by USDA nor do they represent a comprehensive list. They are provided to enable schools to have a variety of examples for local policy development.
- Action for Healthy Kids (AFHK) is a nationwide initiative dedicated to improving the health and educational performance of children through better nutrition and physical activity in schools. This effort represents a response to our nation's epidemic of overweight, sedentary, and undernourished children and adolescents. Healthy schools produce healthy students and healthy students are better able to learn and achieve their true potential.
- Team Nutrition is an integrated, behavior-based, comprehensive plan for promoting the nutritional health of the nationís children.
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Start! is the American Heart Association's walking for a healthier lifestyle program. This online program enables participants to track their activities, distance traveled, and what they are eating.
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