Assessment Data
USDA Research and Extension Interventions
Federal Government and National Initiatives
School Initiatives for Healthy Nutrition Environment
Nutrition Education Resources
School Initiatives for Physical Activity
Community Initiatives for Physical Activity
Pedometer Based Walking Programs and Resources
Initiatives to Promote Bicycling
Native American Health Information
Health Information
Nutrient Analysis/Food Composition Information
Community Grant Opportunities
Assessment Data
http://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/yrbs/index.htm
Youth Risk Surveillance System (YRBS) national and state data by year.
http://www.cdc.gov/brfss/
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) national and state data by year.
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa
Nutrition & Physical Activity, National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention & Health Promotion, CDC. Includes links to "Data and Statistics" with "Obesity Trends" and "U. S. Physical Activity Statistics".
http://www.ba.ars.usda.gov/cnrg/index.html
Community Nutrition Maps gives state profiles for nutrient intake, physical activity and weight indicators, food secure indicators, and demographics. Information compiled by The Community Nutrition Research Group of the Beltsville Human Nutrition Research Center of the USDA, Agricultural Research Service.
http://mapp.naccho.org/mapp_introduction.asp
Mobilizing for Action Through Planning and Partnerships (MAPP) is a community-wide strategic planning tool for improving community health. The tool helps communities prioritize public health issues and identify resources for addressing them.
USDA Based Research and Extension Interventions
http://www.reeusda.gov/f4hn/nutrition/childhood-obesity/childhood-obesity.htm
Click on "Food, Nutrition, and Health"
Click on "Obesity and Healthy Weight"
http://www.cnr.berkeley.edu/cwh/activities/trends.shtml
Cooperative State Research, Education, and Extension/US Dept of Agriculture Project on "Reversing Childhood Obesity Trends: Helping Children Achieve Healthy Weights"
http://www.kidsnutrition.org
USDA/ARS children's Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College provides consumer news including a free newsletter, feeding guidelines, calculators for BMI and energy needs.
Federal Government and National Initiatives
http://www.healthierus.gov
President's Healthier US Initiative: Physical Fitness, Nutrition, Prevention, Make Healthy Choices.
http://fitness.gov
President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports including the President's Challenge Program.
http://bam.gov
Interactive web site created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for adolescents ages 9-13 to encourage youth to increase their level of physical activity and make healthy lifestyle choices.
http://www.cdc.gov/youthcampaign
"VERB It's what you do" is a national youth media campaign created by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for youth ages 9-13 to courage increased physical activity everyday.
http://www.recreation.gov
Information about how to locate federal recreation areas
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa
Click on "Overweight and Obesity" at the Nutrition & Physical Activity site of CDC's National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion for definitions of overweight and obesity, economic consequences, etc.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov
Click on "Interactive Tools and Resources" for Body Mass Index Calculator, Menu Planner, Portion Distortion Quiz, 10-Year Heart Attack Risk Calculator, Recipe Collections, Educational Campaigns (The Heart Truth for Women, Hearts N'Parks, etc)
http://www.niddk.nih.gov/index/htm
The Weight-control Information Network (WIN) provides the general public, health professionals with up-to-date, science-based information on weight control, obesity, physical activity and related nutritional issues.
http://www.shapeup.org
Shapeup America! is a nonprofit organization dedicated to achieving healthy weight for life. Includes a "Pediatric BMI Assessment Tool", information about childhood obesity, etc.
http://www.iom.edu
Click on "Child Health" at the Institute of Medicine for the report entitled, "Preventing Childhood Obesity: Health in the Balance". The report examines the behavioral, social, cultural, and other broad environmental factors involved in the increased prevalence of childhood obesity. An action plan for prevention is presented. Downloadable fact sheets available.
http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/guidelines/obesity/ob_home.htm
Federal guidelines entitled "Clinical Guidelines on the Identification, Evaluation, and Treatment of Overweight and Obesity in Adults" from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, in cooperation with the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Website includes information for patients, the public, and health professionals. A body mass index calculator and table are provided.
School Initiatives for Healthy Nutrition Environment
http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/Healthy/index.htm
The USDA Team Nutrition website for "Healthy School Nutrition Environment" provides information about the action kit entitled, "Changing the Scene: Improving the School Nutrition Environment" and other resources.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/HealthierUS/index.htm
The HealthierUS School Challenge Program allows schools to be certified as either a Silver or Gold Team Nutrition School as determined by specified standards/criteria utilizing a Self-Assessment Form.
http://www.cdc.gov/HealthyYouth/CSHP/index.htm
Healthy Youth! Coordinated School Health Programs consists of eight components: healthy school environment; nutrition services; health promotion for staff; family/community involvement; health education; physical education; health services; counseling, psychological, & social services.
http://apps.nccd.cdc.gov/shi
A self-assessment and planning tool for schools is available to improve the effectiveness of health and safety policies including nutrition and physical activity. It is based on the same components as seen in the Coordinated School Health Programs. Separate tools are available for Elementary Schools and for Middle & High Schools.
http://www.actionforhealthykids.org/html/main.htm
A nationwide initiative of 51 state teams who are dedicated to improving the health and educational performance of children through better nutrition and physical activity in schools. A state profile on North Dakota schools is available. Includes a special report entitled "The Learning Connection: The Value of Improving Nutrition and Physical Activity in Our Schools"
http://www.nasbe.org/HealthySchools/index.html
The National Association of State Boards of Education has a national initiative related to healthy schools. A school health policy guide is available which is entitled, " Fit, Healthy, and Ready to Learn: Part 1-Physical Activity, Healthy Eating, and Tobacco Use Prevention".
http://www.asfsa.org/childnutrition/govtaffairs/statutes/
The American School Food Association (name change to School Nutrition Association) has a "State Policy Index" website. The policies related to school food service and nutrition can be reviewed for each state.
http://www.pasasf.org
Parents Advocating School Accountability (PASA) developed by parents of Aptos Middle School, San Francisco, CA with topics such as the following: (1) how to get rid of junk food; (2) how to ban soda in schools; (3) a list of non-food based fund raising ideas.
Nutrition Education Resources
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/etext/000060.html
Links to "Weight Control and Obesity": Childhood Obesity; Treatment & Prevention Guidelines & Background; Evaluating Weight Control Programs; Practical On-line Weight Control Assistance; Losing Weight Safely; Non-diet Approach; etc.
http://www.fns.usda.gov/tn/Resources/nibbles.html
Nutrition newsletters for parents of young children with such topics as the following: How much is enough?; Enjoying the Family Meal; Let's Eat Out! Healthful Fast Foods; Family Meals-Fast, Healthful, etc.
http://www.montanadieteticassociation.org
Eat Right Montana provides monthly nutrition education materials related to promoting "Healthy Families".
School Initiatives for Physical Activity
http://www.pe4life.org
P.E.4LIFE is a non-profit, advocacy organization dedicated to the delivery of health, fitness, and sports activities to all students, every day in school. Provides PEP Grant updates, monthly newsletters, articles, news links, National P.E. Day, Community Action Kit, etc.
http://www.fitnessfinders.net/NewFiles/Content/Tips.html
Encourages youth and their families to be physically fit. Provides information for schools about physical fitness. Family fitness activities to promote increased physical activity.
http://www.aahperd.org
American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation & Dance (AAHPERD) is an alliance that promotes healthy lifestyles through high quality programs. The alliance includes the following associations:
National Association for Health Education (NAHE)
American Association for Leisure and Recreation (AALR)
American Association for Active Lifestyles & Fitness (AAALF)
National Association for Sport & Physical Education (NASPE)
National Association for Girls and Women in Sport (NAGWS)
National Dance Association (NDA)
http://www.take10.net
"Take 10" is a classroom-based physical activity program for kindergarten to fifth grade students developed by the International Life Science Institute's Center for Health Promotion. "Take 10" materials contain safe and age-appropriate 10-minute physical activities.
http://www.sparkpe.org
SPARK physical activity programs for children: early childhood, elementary, lifelong wellness, middle-school, and after school. SPARK was initially funded as a 5-year research study from the National Institute of Health's Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute in 1989 with documented effectiveness at promoting increased physical activity.
http://www.azdhs.gov/phs/physicalactivity/play.htm
PLAY-Promoting Lifetime Activity for Youth is a program from the Arizona Department of Health Services. PLAY targets grades four through eight. It is a teacher-directed program designed to promote 60 minutes of daily, independent physical activity in youth.
http://www.cooperinst.org/ftginfo.asp
FitnessGram/ActivityGram are fitness and activity assessments for youth and children which were developed by The Cooper Institute in Dallas, Texas. The FitnessGram assessment includes items in three areas of fitness: aerobic capacity; body composition; muscle strength, endurance, and flexibility. The ActivityGram assessment is a three day recall of physical activity
Community Initiatives for Physical Activity
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/aces.htm
Active Community Environments Initiative from The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) promotes walking, bicycling, and the development of accessible recreation facilities.
http://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpa/physical/health_professionals/index.htm
Resources for health professionals to promote active communities which includes a handbook entitled, " Promoting Physical Activity: A Guide for Community Action".
http://www.activelivingbydesign.org
Innovative approaches to increase physical activity through community design, public policies and communications strategies presented by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (administered by UNC School of Public Health). Provides funding to advance physical activity through community partnerships.
http://www.ncppa.org
The National Coalition for Promoting Physical Activity is a national collaborative partnership of organizations (public, private, and industry) who promote physical activity for all Americans. Contains a report, "Physical Activity Legislative Resource Tools" of a conference which reviewed the intersection of physical activity and legislative policy for six areas: (1) transportation, (2) trails/environment, (3) sports/recreation, (4)obesity prevention/wellness, (5) school programming, (6) access/disparity issues.
http://www.presidentschallenge.org
The President's Challenge is a program that encourages all Americans to make being active part of their everyday lives. The program has an Active Lifestyle Award or a Presidential Award (Bronze Award, Silver Award, and Gold Award for increasing levels of physical activity). Join as an individual or as a group( kids, teens, adults, seniors in schools, worksites, community groups).
http://www.walkable.org
Walkable Communities, Inc. is a nonprofit corporation organized to help communities, or parts of communities become more walkable and pedestrian friendly. Services include presentations, workshops, assistance with community planning efforts, and mediation in community disputes over planning issues.
http://americawalks.org
America Walks is a national coalition of local advocacy groups from across the country dedicated to promoting walkable communities. The mission is to foster the development of community-based pedestrian advocacy groups and to educate the public about the benefits of walking.
http://www.americaonthemove.org
America On the Move is a national initiative dedicated to helping individuals and communities across the U.S. make positive changes to support healthy eating and active living for improved health. America On the Move is an initiative of the nonprofit organization, The Partnership to Promote Healthy Eating and Active Living (http://www.ppheal.org)
http://www.michiganfitness.org/active/Physical_activity_sur.php
A tool for "Assessment of Health Attitudes and Behaviors of Michigan Citizens"
concerning physical activity. The tool could be used as prototype for community or worksite wellness survey.
http://www.preventioninstitute.org/sa//enact.html
The Environmental Nutrition and Activity Strategies Tool (ENACT) was developed to help communities and institutions to assess and to make positive changes in their nutrition and physical activity environments.
Pedometer Based Walking Programs and Resources:
http://www.fitness.gov/pcpfs_research_digs.htm
A research publication, "Taking Steps Toward Increased Physical activity: Using Pedometers to Measure and Motivate", June 2002, is from the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Other research publications related to physical activity also available.
http://www.walknwnd.com
Williams County, ND Extension Office, with other community organizations, runs an eight week Lewis and Clark Trail Fitness Challenge based on pedometer use with a log to record steps.
http://www.oznet.ksu.edu/walk/about.aspx
Kansas State University Extension Service runs an eight week walking program. Other forms of exercise may be substituted or combined with walking.
http://lancaster.unl.edu/food/walk.htm
University of Nebraska Cooperative Extension in Lancaster County has a "Steps for Health Program" using pedometers with a log to determine progress.
http://www.shapeup.org/10000steps.html
Shape-Up America! Is a non-profit organization dedicated to achieving healthy weight for life. The 10,000 Steps Program is a pedometer based program includes a pedometer, a copy of the "10,000 Steps Per Day Program", "Walking Log" booklet copy of "Healthy Weight, Healthy Living" and "Fitting Fitness In" (fee).
http://acefitness.org/fitfacts/fitfacts_list.cfm
More than a 100 one-page fact sheets on various fitness topics from the American Council on Exercise(ACE). ACE is a nonprofit organization committed to enriching quality of life through safe and effective physical activity.
Initiatives to Promote Bicycling
http://www.bikewalk.org
Promotes neighborhoods and communities where people walk and bicycle. Includes a community assessment tool.
http://www.americabikes.org
Supports transportation legislation which promotes increased safe routes for biking.
http://www.pedbikeinfo.org
The Pedestrian and Bicycle Information Center is a clearinghouse for information about pedestrian and bicycle issues: health and safety, engineering, advocacy, education, enforcement, access, and mobility.
http://www.bikeleague.org
The League of American Bicyclists mission is to promote bicycling for fun, fitness and transportation and work through advocacy and education for a bicycle-friendly America.
Native American Health Information
http://www.ihs.gov/MedicalPrograms/Medical_index.asp
Indian Health Service (DHHS) Medical Programs: Cardiology; Kidney Disease; Child Health; Diabetes; Elder Care; Epidemiology; Health Care Information; Women's Health;
Etc.
http://herb.umd.umich.edu
Native American Ethnobotany: a database of foods, drugs, dyes, and fibers of Native American peoples derived from plants
http://www.aihec.org
American Indian Higher Education Consortium (AIHEC) mission is to support the work of the member colleges and tribal self-determination: 34 tribal colleges in the United States and one Canadian institution.
http://www.ncai.org
National Congress of American Indians founded in 1944 is the oldest and largest tribal government organization in the U.S.. NCAI serves as a forum for consensus-based policy development among its membership of over 250 tribal governments from every region of the U.S.. Provides legislative updates on health information.
http://www.nihb.org
National Indian Health Board provides an information portal about Indian Health issues including information about legislation, health topics, and health resources. Health resources include information about conferences, grant opportunities, job openings, etc.
Health Information
http://www.healthfinder.gov
Developed by the Department of Health and Human Services to provide reliable consumer health information. It includes a list of "National Health Observances" for each year.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query
PubMed provides abstracts of research-based articles from health and medical journals from the National Library of Medicine. Some articles may be available as full text.
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus
Medline Plus provides reliable health information for consumers developed by the National Library of Medicine.
Nutrient Analysis / Food Composition Information
http://www.usda.gov/cnpp/projects.html
The Interactive Healthy Eating Index is an online dietary assessment tool that provides a quick measure of a person's diet quality.
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/srch/search.htm
Download the USDA National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference onto your computer's hard drive. This will allow you to have access to the USDA National Nutrient Database without being connected to the internet. There are also downloads for use on Palm OS persona digital assistants (PDAs).
http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp
USDA Home and Garden Bulletin No. 72, "Nutritive Value of Foods". Print a copy for convenient reference about the nutrient composition of foods.
Community Grant Opportunities
http://medicine.nodak.edu/crh
Click on "State Office of Rural Health"
Click on "BCBS Rural Health Grant"
Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota Rural Health Grant Program is a rural health grant program with the purpose " to support communities who demonstrate an effective plan to successfully transition to new models of rural health care delivery." To be accepted for review, a proposal must show how a consortium will address a rural health issue in an innovative fashion. Each proposal must address access to care, cost effective services, and/or quality of care.
http://dakmed.org
Dakota Medical Foundation's vision is to improve health and access to health care services in the Red River Valley region of North Dakota and Minnesota. There is a special focus on children's health and health care and diabetes health needs. Contact the staff to determine eligible programs for grant development.
http://www.lifp.org
Local Initiatives Funding Partners Program(LIFP) is a national program office for The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). LIFP is a partnership program between The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and local grantmakers that supports innovative, community-based projects to improve health and health care for vulnerable populations.
LIFP provides grants of $100,000 to $500,000 per project, which must be matched dollar dor dollar by local grantmakers such as community foundation, family foundations, corporate grantmakers, and others.
Healthy
Weight