Title: AHPA Advocacy and Policy News
Author:
Section/SPIG: Food and Nutrition
Issue Date:
The National Health, Nutrition, and Physical Activity Tracking Act, H.R. 2844
The National Health, Nutrition, and Physical Activity Tracking Act, H.R. 2844, needs to be a major legislative priority in 2005. This bill will be essential to maintaining the health and nutrition data collection, regular updating of the food composition data, and adequate funding for these public health measures. The data from the federal nutrition monitoring system will impact public health programs, food assistance programs, dietary guidance, food labeling and fortification, food safety, and bio-security.
This legislation assures that the federal government will always collect and analyze data on the health and dietary intakes of a nationally representative sample of the US population essential to decisions on numerous food and nutrition policies. Data from national nutrition monitoring have an impact on billions of dollars in federal expenditures on food assistance, nutrition education, bioterrorism, food safety, public health programs, and food additive and pesticide reviews and approvals. For example, recent policies related to mercury in fish, folate supplementation of the food supply, changes in nutrition labeling to curb obesity, and the recently released Dietary Guidelines are based on the federal What Americans Eat survey, part of the national nutrition monitoring system.
This bill reauthorizes the National Nutrition Monitoring and Related Research Act of 1990 (NNMRRA) that expired in 2003, after having led to the cost effective and efficient integration of the separate DHHS and USDA nutrition monitoring surveys. The results of the continuous monitoring of what Americans eat and their various health measures also leverage billions of private sector dollars that are allocated to nutrition labeling, food product development, commodity production, bioterrorism, and food safety assessments.
Please contact your Senators and Representatives and urge them to support the National Health, Nutrition, and Physical Activity Tracking Act (H.R 2844) in the 109th legislative session. We await action on this bill in the Senate and House Agriculture Committees. This legislation has already gained support from USDA, DHHS, and CDC. We want to maintain the momentum and with your help have this bill passed. To gain more details reference the August issue of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association (105(8); 1196-1200), August 2005, Pages 1196-1200. If you are interested in discussing this important legislation further or would like a sample letter, please contact Nancy Chapman at (202) 659-1858 or <nancy@nchapman.com>.
-Nancy Chapman MPH, RD
-Leigh Ann Edwards MPH
2005 Governing Council Preparations
As we approach the APHA Governing Council meetings that will occur at the Annual Meeting in Philadelphia, the Food and Nutrition Section Governing Councilors look for input from Section members to assist in the following ways:
2005 Proposed Policies Review and Feedback
To date there are 13 proposed polices for the Governing Council to consider during the 2005 meeting. To access these polices go to <www.apha.org/private/2005_proposed_policies/2005_policies.htm>.
Policies of particular interest to the Food and Nutrition Section include:
Supporting the WHO Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health (LB04-3). This policy was submitted as a late-breaker by the Food and Nutrition Section last year and is now on the agenda to make it a fully adopted policy of the Association.
Protecting Human Milk From Persistent Toxic Chemical Contaminants
Responsibility of The Food and Drug Administration to Set and Enforce Lead Standards to Protect Children From Overexposure to Lead in Candy Products (LB04-2)
This policy was submitted as a late-breaker last year by another section, and members of the Food and Nutrition Section expressed some concerns with this policy.
Impending Crisis in the Public Health Workforce:Increasing and Strengthening the Public Health Workforce to Address Current and Future Challenges
The Food and Nutrition Section is making plans to submit a Late-Breaker policy related to proposed cuts in the Food Stamp Program -- more information will be published in the next Section newsletter, scheduled to be out prior to Annual Meeting.
Input on these and other polices being presented should be forwarded to Food and Nutrition Section Councilors (see contact information below).
Election of Officers Input
At the Annual Meeting the election of APHA president-elect and Executive Board members will occur. See the biographies of candidates in the August 2005 The Nation’s Health newspaper. Those nominated are:
President-Elect:
Edwin C. Marshall, OD, MS, MPH
Deborah Klein Walker, EdD
Executive Board (three members to be elected)
Chris Day, MPH
Linda Landesman, DrPH, MSW
Andrew Dennis McBride, MD, MPH
Carles Muntaner, PhD, MPH
Linda Rae Murray, MD, MPH
Ellen R. Shaffer, PhD, MPH
Feedback from Section Members will assist the Governing Councilors in voting.
Other Association Business Input
Other Association business will occur during the Governing Council sessions, including identifying Association priorities of work for the coming year, and other items not yet published in the final agenda. Discussion of other business will occur at Section business meetings that will occur during the Annual Meeting.
Member Concerns and Issues
As representatives of the Section, the Governing Councilors welcome other feedback on the Association from Section members.
Governing Councilors Contact Information
The Section’s Governing Councilors look forward to hearing from you!-
Beth Dixon at beth.dixon@nyu.edu
Anna-Maria Siega-Riz at am_siegariz@unc.edu
Joan Trendell at jtrendel@hhcorp.org
Help APHA Reduce the Marketing and Advertising of Nutrition Poor Foods Directed at Children’s and Adolescents
Obesity/overweight has been described as a global epidemic among children and adolescents. In addition, only 2 percent of children (2-19 years) meet the USDA’s five main recommendations for a healthy diet. While a number of factors contribute to obesity and poor diets in children, food and beverage marketing and advertising directed at children is a key area of concern.
Children are exposed to a tremendous amount of marketing, through schools, television advertising, website advergames, cross promotions with movies, contests, toys, and other youth promotions. Studies show (and companies and parents know) that food marketing affects children’s food preferences, choices, and purchase requests.
Thus, in 2003, APHA adopted a policy statement (2003-17) that recommends that children be protected from commercial influences that may adversely affect their diets, weight, or health. The policy statement includes a number of ideas for how you can work to reduce junk food marketing to children. For example, you can support APHA in this effort by:
• Writing to your Senators and Congressional Representative to ask them to cosponsor the Harkin/Woolsey bills to have the U.S. Department of Agriculture update its nutrition standards for foods sold out vending machines, cafeteria a la carte (snack) lines and other venues outside of the school lunch and breakfast programs.
• Work at the federal, state or local level to make schools advertising-free zones.
• Urge food manufacturers, fast-food restaurants, television stations, supermarkets, schools, and others not market foods of poor nutritional quality to children.
We hope you will join in this effort to support parents and protect children. For more information, contact Dr. Margo Wootan, Chair, Public Policy Committee, Food and Nutrition Section, APHA at (202) 777-8352 or <mwootan@cspinet.org>.