Nutrition and Physical Activity Program the Centers

Nutrition and Physical Activity Program

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has a division that focuses on Nutrition, Physical, and Obesity to address the problem of obesity in the United States. This division provides funds to 25 states to tackle the challenges of obesity and other chronic diseases via statewide initiatives that are coordinated with various partners. In addition to preventing obesity and other chronic diseases, the primary focus of the Nutrition and Physical Activity Program is to improve the health of Americans through changing environments where people operate in daily. It will work to develop long-term and comprehensive efforts to tackle these diseases by implementing several evidence-based nutrition and physical activity strategies.

Through strategic public health initiatives, the outcome objectives of the Nutrition and Physical Activity include lessening the prevalence of obesity, enhance physical activity, and improve dietary behaviors. On the contrary, the impact objectives of this program are to enhance evidence-based strategies, increase environments that support healthful eating and physical activity, and enhance social and behavioral approaches.

As part of the funding the 25 states, the state programs are required to develop strategies to control and coordinate efforts within the state with numerous partners. The statewide efforts should be geared towards enhancing physical activity, improve the consumption of vegetables and fruits, lessen the consumption of high energy dense foods, and minimize television viewing ("Overweight and Obesity," 2011).

Nutrition and Physical Activity Program in Virginia:

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention started funding the Nutrition and Physical Activity Program in Virginia in the year 2003 for capacity building initiatives. Similar to other states, the Virginia state program uses the social-ecological model to completely understand the problem of overweight and obesity within the state. The model is also used by state and its partners to develop interventions to address the problem through society, community, organizational, interpersonal, and individual efforts. Currently, the burden of obesity in Virginia is estimated to be approximately 38% for overweight and 30% for obese individuals (Kennedy, 2011). When CDC began funding the overweight and obesity program in West Virginia, the medical costs associated with these problems were $588 million.

In attempts to address the problem, West Virginia has adopted several policy and legislative changes that are associated with healthy eating and active living. Some of these policies and legislations include West Virginia Healthy Lifestyles Act and new nutrition standards for schools. In addition, the state and CDC have adopted other activities that address these health problems through establishing for the state's residents to make healthy choices on nutrition and physical activity.

However, there are several obstacles that prevent the ability of these programs to meet the needs of the target population. Some of these obstacles include difficulties in establishing statewide standards in schools, challenges in limiting access to unhealthy foods, and difficulties in regulating the kinds of foods sold in certain events like sporting events in school (Hamre et. al, 2006).

In order to address these obstacles in the future, there are some necessary changes to social policy and trends that are geared towards reducing overweight and obesity. These changes include enacting policies and legislations that target schools and those that target physical activity. The social policy changes and trends to be adopted in the future should include efforts to encourage physical activity, offering worksite wellness training, establishing fitness programs, and provision of healthy foods.