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Monthly Board Report - April 2001
Nutrition Month Activities
Submitted by Dianne Oickle and Heather Deegan,
Registered Dietitians and Public Health Nutritionists
March is Nutrition Month, and this year the dietitians at the Health Unit had a very busy time! The theme of this year’s National Nutrition Month campaign was “Make Sense of the Food You Eat.” The focus of the campaign was on debunking nutrition myths, uncovering the truth behind “fad” diets, profiling popular nutrition issues, and sources of credible and reliable nutrition information.
A press kit was sent to all tri-county newspapers and radio stations. It contained a press release, contact information for the dietitians at the Health Unit, as well as fact sheets and a pamphlet addressing the theme of Nutrition Month. The press kit also contained a series of four nutrition articles for publication in local newspapers, covering topics such as weight loss diets, vitamin and mineral supplements, nutrition myths, and a focus on the difference between a dietitian and a nutritionist. The health unit website (www.healthunit.org) homepage also had a link to Nutrition Month information where these articles were also posted.
The release of this press kit led to a number of media activities. Three radio interviews were completed for the stations CFJR, CJET, and 103.7 The Point. In addition, two appearances were made on the Bruce Wylie Show (CFJR) – one appearance was a 20 minute radio interview, and the other a 1 hour call-in question and answer show on nutrition. An interview and photograph were done with the Brockville Recorder and Times to promote the nutrition month messages. Many of the local newspapers have printed some or all of the nutrition articles sent with the press kit. As well, there is interest from several area publications in having a regular nutrition column published throughout the year.
Health Unit staff education included a copy of each of the nutrition articles sent to each staff via e-mail. As well on March 30, the dietitians conducted a lunch time nutrition game show - "Who Wants to be a Millionaire…or at least rich with nutrition knowledge?" The game show covered topics such as fad diets, nutrition myths, and healthy eating.
Two fact sheets and a pamphlet on nutrition myths and sources of reliable nutrition information were sent to each physician, fitness club, senior’s organization, school, and workplace for distribution. In addition, a display consisting of a poster plus copies of the fact sheets and pamphlet was set up in each Health Unit office for the month.
A number of presentations were conducted around the Tri-County: Taylor House in Carleton Place on teen nutrition; the Brockville Public Library on nutrition myths; ;;Heart and Stroke Foundation in Brockville and Perth on nutrition and heart health; and McMartin House in Perth on general nutrition. |
