North Carolina's Obesity Prevention Report

It is acknowledged that obesity is a growing concern within our nation. Now, more than ever, is it critical for individuals, families, and communities to become educated about health and wellness, exercise, and nutrition. As society disputes ways to alleviate high health care costs, there is still an overwhelming number of employees out of work due to illnesses caused by lack of adequate nutrition. Companies are losing valuable employees as well as taking a loss in productivity because those employees that are able to work cannot do so at the capacity they once could. Employers that want to build better reputations, increase productivity, and have healthier and happier employees are starting to introduce the concept of advocating for a healthier
The issue of obesity and other chronic diseases among employees of the state is so common, in fact, that North Carolina created a prevention plan to address it. Eat Smart, Move More NC and North Carolina’s Obesity Prevention Plan 2013-2020 work in conjunction with one another to help those working for the state and local government gain access to resources for healthy eating and physical activity (Eat Smart, Move More NC, 2013). It must be addressed that North Carolina has the fourteenth highest adult obesity rate with two-thirds of the adult population being overweight and obese. Along with these statistics, 40.8 percent of adults consume fruit less than one time per day, and 22 percent eat vegetables less than one time a day. These issue must come to the forefront, as the obesity and overweight percentages have doubled within the past twenty years and will only be improved with strict policy changes in nutritional education and promotion within the workplace of these adults. As seen in the methods of the Eat Smart, Move More campaign, all health promotion within the workplace is voluntary for employers. But, in order to dramatically improve the state’s statistics, nutrition and health promotion need to be mandatory (Eat Smart, Move More NC,
The program will take place once every other month in each working sector during some workers’ one hour lunch break, while other government workers (e.g. teachers) will stay after work for a maximum of one and a half hours to participate in the education and demonstration session. Each session will consist of a lesson which will change month-to-month, for example: vegetables for January then meat and meat substitutes for March, or protein for May then fats for July. In order to meet all the requirements and demand of the program, a team of experts will host each meeting. This team will consist of either one registered dietitian or nutrition consultant and a group of nutrition student volunteers enrolled at a local college (university or community). As the registered dietitian or nutrition consultant teaches the lesson to the employees, the students will demonstrate how to put the lesson into actual practice by cooking short, easy meals. These meals will represent healthy foods that government employees can afford, will have the time to cook, and contribute significant nutritional