Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity Program

The goal of Michigan's Nutrition, Physical Activity, and Obesity (NPAO) Program is to prevent and control obesity and other chronic diseases through healthful eating and physical activity. This goal will be achieved through strategic public health efforts aimed at increasing the number of policies and standards  in place to support physical activity and healthful eating, increasing access to and use of environments to support healthful eating and physical activity, and increasing the number of social and behavioral approaches that complement policy and environmental strategies to promote healthful eating and physical activity.

The long-term success of the program will rest on its ability to leverage resources and coordinate interventions with multiple partners to address the six  principle target health behaviors of the program:

·         Increase physical activity
·         Increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables
·         Decrease the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages
·         Increase breastfeeding initiation, duration and exclusivity
·         Reduce the consumption of high-energy-dense foods
·         Decrease television viewing

The program also emphasizes reducing health disparities related to race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, geography, gender, age, disability, and other risk factors.    

Michigan's NPAO Program encourages implementation of local and statewide interventions based on the Social-Ecological Model, a framework that takes a more holistic approach to the obesity problem, looking at all levels of influence (societal, community, organizational, interpersonal, and individual) that can be addressed to support long-term, healthful eating and physical activity choices. This "systems approach" to overweight and obesity helps communities to develop interventions that include a wide range of individual and institutional stakeholders.          

What's New? Overweight and Obesity in Michigan: Surveillance Report Series - see below for reports Physical Activity Nutrition Breastfeeding Obesity                      Upcoming  Events The Business Case for Breastfeeding: Michigan's Train-the-Trainer Event August 24th and 25th, 2009         NPAO Funded Programs Building Healthy Communities Healthy Kids, Healthy Michigan Head Start Project Michigan Steps Up   Healthy Weight Partnership The Michigan Healthy Weight Partnership was established for the purpose of overseeing the implementation and evaluation of Michigan's obesity state plan. Members include over 50 state, local, public and private organizations who assisted with the creation of the state plan and/or whose organizations are actively engaged in completing activities consistent with the state plan's objectives. Orientation to the Healthy Weight Partnership September 23, 2008 Meeting Minutes Presentations January 29, 2009 Meeting Presentations June 9, 2009 Meeting Presentations Updates Inaugural Edition of the Michigan Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Program (NPAO) Update: March 2009 Planning Documents and Resources The Five Year Strategic Plan: 2005-2010 The five-year strategic plan to address the epidemic of obesity in Michigan, entitled Preventing Obesity and Reducing Chronic Disease: The Michigan Healthy Eating and Physical Activity Plan is effective 2005-2010 and will be revised in the coming year. Annual Implementation and Partnership Plan Serves as a guide for the activities and collaborations that will occur this year to accomplish the objectives of the state's Five-Year Strategic Plan. The Partnership Plan gives specific information about efforts to improve the Healthy Weight Partnership by increasing the quality of participation and the diversity of the membership. -  Partner Program Profile Form   - Technical Assistance Manual Surveillance Resources Obesity Surveillance Data Briefs The  Physical Activity chapter contains surveillance data on Physical Inactivity, Inadequate Physical Activity, Television Viewing (Youth) and Computer/Video Game Use (Youth).  This is the first released chapter of the "Overweight and Obesity in Michigan" Surveillance Report Series.   The  Nutrition chapter  contains data on Inadequate Fruit and Vegetable Consumption, Fast Food (Adults) and Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (Youth).       The  Obesity chapter  contains surveillance data on prevalence of overweight and obesity in adults, youth and children and health complications associated with obesity (Adults). The  Breastfeeding chapter  contains surveillance data on breastfeeding initiation, duration, and barriers.          Contact Information:        Cardiovascular Health, Nutrition and Physical Activity Section                  109 W. Michigan Avenue, P.O. Box 30195               Lansing, Michigan  48909              517-335-8766     Fax: 517-335-8593 Gwen Imes, Manager imesg@michigan.gov Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity Program      Program Staff