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February 2, 2006 NDSU Campaign Stresses Healthy Eating, Physical Activity Jacob Bryce keeps his eyes focused on the three red peppers he is juggling. A grinning Sarah Klein, standing with her left hand on her hip, holds a bunch of green grapes in her other hand. Bryce, a North Dakota State University wrestler, and Klein, a member of the track and field team, are among a dozen NDSU Bison athletes featured in a poster that launches a statewide community service campaign called “Eat Smart. Play Hard.” The banner-type poster shows the athletes in their sports uniform, displaying fruit, vegetables and other healthy food, such as a wedge of cheese, loaf of bread and bowl of cereal. The NDSU Extension Service and Bison Athletics teamed up to coordinate the campaign, which emphasizes combining healthy eating and physical activity. “This program allows our athletes to serve as role models and promote a very important message to young people in classrooms throughout North Dakota,” says Troy Goergen, NDSU’s associate athletic director for marketing and media relations. “Childhood overweight and obesity are a topic of concern across the U.S.,” says NDSU Extension Service food and nutrition specialist Julie Garden-Robinson, who helped develop the campaign. “Today’s children may be the first generation to have a shorter lifespan than their parents.” A healthy lifestyle is important because it plays a major role in preventing chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and health disease, according to Garden-Robinson. Also, students with a nutritious diet and regular physical activity perform better in school. However, North Dakota children are falling short of nutrition and fitness goals. For instance, just 17 percent reported in a 2003 statewide survey that they consumed the recommended five or more servings of fruits and vegetables per day. Only 26 percent reported drinking three or more glasses of milk per day, and 71 percent didn’t participate in sufficient moderate physical activity. These survey results are the latest available. Adults should get at least 30 minutes of moderate exercise most days of the week to lower their risk of developing chronic diseases, 60 minutes a day to maintain their weight and 90 minutes to lose weight, Garden-Robinson says. Children need 60 minutes of physical activity a day. The “Eat Smart. Play Hard.” effort is based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s nutrition education initiative of the same name. It complements the On the Move to Better Health curriculum, which Extension agents have used in many schools throughout North Dakota, Garden-Robinson says. The Extension Service and NDSU Athletics also developed “Eat Smart. Play Hard.” bookmarks featuring the athletes, and they plan to release public service announcements with the “Eat Smart. Play Hard.” message in March. As part of the campaign, county Extension agents will visit elementary and middle schools to teach the students the importance of healthy eating and physical activity. While visiting the schools, the Extension agents will distribute the “Eat Smart. Play Hard.” posters and bookmarks to the students. Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Dakota, the North Dakota School Food Service Association and North Dakota Nutrition Council provided some of the funding for the project. For more information about the “Eat Smart. Play Hard.” campaign, visit the Web site at www.fns.usda.gov/eatsmartplayhard/. To learn more about health, nutrition and fitness, check out the NDSU Extension Service Web site at www.ag.ndsu.nodak.edu/food.htm or visit www.mypyramid.gov. ### Source:
Julie Garden-Robinson, (701) 231-7187, jgardenr@ndsuext.nodak.edu
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