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Strategic Objective
Promote Healthy Diet and Physical Activity Behavior
Strategic Objective
Overview
The Administration has set a goal to solve the problem of childhood obesity within a generation so that children born today will reach adulthood at a healthy weight. The First Lady’s Let’s Move! campaign has been central to this effort, and USDA will continue to play a critical role in its success. In addition, USDA is fighting to reverse the rapid increase in childhood obesity by improving school meals and the school nutrition environment. On school days, children who participate in both the breakfast and lunch programs consume as many as half of their calories at school. The Department must ensure that all foods served in school contribute to good health, and the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act provided new authority to set common-sense nutrition standards for food sold throughout the school day. USDA will work with schools to implement the new standards for all foods sold in school, and will continue to support ongoing implementation of updated school meals nutrition standards.
USDA is also encouraging and supporting WIC mothers to breastfeed their infants by strengthening breastfeeding policy and program activities. Breastfeeding is linked to a lower risk of numerous health problems for both mother and infant. It also may have a protective effect against pediatric overweight and obesity. Breast milk provides the best source of infant nutrition and helps infants get a healthy start in life. USDA will recognize and reward State achievements in promoting breastfeeding through performance awards, expand the availability of peer-counseling in WIC clinics, and continue its core promotion and support activities.
Furthermore, USDA is working to double the number of Americans who eat five or more servings of fruits and vegetables daily. Too many Americans simply do not eat enough of these nutrient-dense foods to support good nutrition. The Department establishes evidence-based nutrition guidance, the basis for which is the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), which are developed in partnership with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
The Department is also working to improve access to healthful, locally produced food in under-served communities through a multifaceted strategy that focuses on food production, distribution, and both traditional and non-traditional retail options. Through research and technical and financial assistance, the Department will help producers produce, distribute and market healthy foods locally. The Department will also encourage additional farmers markets in low-access areas to become authorized SNAP vendors, equip markets to accept SNAP through electronic benefit transfer (EBT), work with local and private partners to test and expand the use of incentive programs for healthy food purchases, and promote greater use of farmers markets by SNAP participants. Through its farm-to-school efforts, USDA also connects schools with regional and local producers to increase producers’ market opportunities as well as young people’s access to healthy, local foods.
To improve Americans’ physical activity behaviors, USDA is promoting the use of the Nation’s public lands. Most Americans need to move more to promote their health and well-being and improve the energy balance between the calories they consume and those they expend. National forests and grasslands are America’s backyard, offering chances to increase physical activity. Over 90 million National Forest System visitors participate in outdoor-based physical activities each year. USDA will promote the use of these lands and facilities to nurture the body and mind in natural settings near local communities. The Department also will increase access to green space through such programs as the Forest Service’s Urban and Community Forestry program.
Read Less...Progress Update
ACHIEVEMENTS: USDA is committed to supporting local food systems and expanding access for SNAP participants’ to healthy foods. For that reason, USDA has made it a priority to increase the availability of SNAP at farmers’ markets by using FY 2015 funds to provide grants to entities working with the farmers’ market community to provide markets with different types of assistance.
CHALLENGES: USDA Food Nutrition Service (FNS) continues to face several challenges to increasing the availability of SNAP at farmers’ markets. For example, FNS must identify farmers’ markets and direct-marketing farmers who are eligible to participate in SNAP; successfully encourage markets and farmers to become SNAP-authorized; and provide technical assistance.
