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American Council for Fitness and Nutrition Partners With American Dietetic Association Foundation on New Obesity Initiative for At-Risk Children

Posted on: Monday, 24 October 2005, 09:00 CDT

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 24 /PRNewswire/ -- The American Council for Fitness and Nutrition (ACFN) and the American Dietetic Association Foundation (ADAF) today announced a new initiative focusing on African-American and Hispanic children, populations that data show are at particular risk of obesity. The initiative, which will begin in 2006, will focus on helping community leaders build and expand programs that will help families adopt healthier lifestyles.

"Cultural relevance is a critical new frontier in the battle against obesity," said registered dietitian Sharon Cox, a member of the ACFN Advisory Board; the American Dietetic Association (ADA); and the National Organization of Blacks in Dietetics and Nutrition (NOBIDAN), a networking group affiliated with the ADA. "Today's announcement signals the commitment of ACFN members, its advisory board and supporters to help dietitians, physical activity experts and other local leaders nationwide make a meaningful impact on obesity trend lines among the children who need it most."

Registered dietitian Cecilia Pozo Fileti, also a member of the ACFN Advisory Board; the ADA; and head of the Latinos and Hispanics in Dietetics and Nutrition (LAHIDAN), a networking group affiliated with ADA, said, "ACFN and the ADA Foundation are ideal partners to address a need that goes beyond putting great nutrition and physical activity resources into the hands of community leaders. We intend to show how to achieve collaboration in communities -- the key to getting more families and children involved."

ACFN and ADAF will conduct a detailed analysis of existing data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other sources to assess the need and greatest opportunities for impact among African-American and Hispanic children. Based on that analysis, the organizations will develop two separate authoritative guides for African-American and Hispanic community leaders on how to build and expand programs designed to help families adopt and maintain healthier lifestyles.

ACFN and the ADAF will recruit other partners among respected organizations in the African-American and Hispanic communities and invite them to participate in both the development and dissemination of the guides. ACFN also is reaching out to organizations that have developed or are planning to develop resources for battling obesity among children in at-risk populations to solicit their collaboration and identify ways to complement their efforts. As part of this effort, ACFN pledged a gift of $25,000 to the ADA Foundation.

ACFN Chair Susan Finn, Ph.D., R.D., L.D., F.A.D.A., said, "Dietitians work every day with people undertaking the daunting task of changing their lifestyle to invest in the long-term health of themselves and more importantly their children. The ADA brings credibility and expertise to this initiative, as well as the ability to turn the guidance we produce into action through its vast network of members. We are grateful to embark together on this new endeavor." She is a former president of the ADA.

ACFN officially launched the ADAF initiative and partnership today at the ADA Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo (FNCE). During the event, ACFN is sponsoring a workshop on cultural competency by NOBIDAN and a business meeting of LAHIDAN. ACFN also is distributing toolkits for African-American community leaders, co-sponsored by NOBIDAN, and Hispanic community leaders, co-sponsored by LAHIDAN. Those toolkits will serve as the foundation for the more detailed guides ACFN and ADA will develop and disseminate in this joint initiative. The current toolkits are available for download at http://www.acfn.org/b1/.

Visit ACFN at booth #330 at FNCE. ABOUT THE AMERICAN COUNCIL FOR FITNESS AND NUTRITION:

The American Council for Fitness and Nutrition (ACFN) is a nonprofit organization that brings together food and beverage companies, associations and health and nutrition advocates to work toward viable long-term solutions to the nation's obesity epidemic. ACFN represents a diverse group of organizations and is guided by an advisory board of experts in the fields of nutrition, physical activity and behavior change. ACFN works with partners to raise awareness of programs and policies that seek to improve health and wellness in America. For more information, please visit http://www.acfn.org/.

ABOUT THE AMERICAN DIETETIC ASSOCIATION FOUNDATION:

The American Dietetic Association Foundation is the philanthropic arm of the American Dietetic Association, the largest organization of food and nutrition professionals in the world. ADAF is a nonprofit organization working to advance the future of dietetics through research and education. For more information, please visit http://www.eatright.org/.

American Council for Fitness and Nutrition

CONTACT: Shane Kinkennon, +1-202-715-1513, Shane.Kinkennon@dittus.com,or Christine Tucci, +1-202-715-1517, Christine.Tucci@dittus.com, both for theAmerican Council for Fitness and Nutrition; or Lori Ferme of the AmericanCouncil for Fitness and Nutrition, +1-800-877-1600, ext. 4802,media@eatright.org

Web site: http://www.acfn.org/http://www.eatright.org/

Source: PRNewswire

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