Cooperative
Extension
FAMILY AND CONSUMER SCIENCES - MCE OFFICE
Improving Diet, Nutrition, and Health
Overview
Improving Diet, Nutrition, and Health
Nutrition
Extension nutrition education programs, consistent with national health and nutrition policy recommendations, encourage eating and exercise habits that promote good health and prevent chronic diseases. Because Maryland has one of the highest death rates from cancer in the country (more than 10,000 cancer deaths per year), a top priority is conducting programs on the relationship between nutrition and cancer risk reduction.
Many of the risk factors for coronary heart disease, the leading cause of death in Maryland and the United States, are related to diet and physical activity. Programs focus on helping individuals identify heart disease risk factors they can modify. Through changes in eating and exercise habits, participants are taught how to lower their levels of blood cholesterol, maintain a healthy weight and reduce their blood pressure.
Programs delivered to parents and day care providers and through the State's 4-H program are designed to establish good lifelong eating and exercise habits in children and to promote a child's optimal growth and development. Such programs emphasize the importance of eating a well-balanced diet and participating in enjoyable physical activities.
Although nutrition education programs are available to all segments of the state's population, special efforts are made to reach residents who are at enhanced nutritional risk, such as senior citizens and diverse groups of women and infants participating in the WIC program and other women of childbearing age or who are pregnant.
The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) conducted in 9 counties and Baltimore City, helps limited-income, culturally diverse families acquire knowledge and skills to make healthful food choices, and to enhance self-esteem and personal development.
Food Safety
Extension programs in food safety emphasize practical steps that consumers can take to avoid food borne illness during the handling, storage, and preparation of foods. Because the elderly and young children are at a higher risk for food borne illness than the general population, programs are often directed to nursing home staff or to day care providers, food service workers and professionals in senior centers and other businesses and agencies.
Food safety programs also help consumers make informed choices by evaluating the perceived risks of food (e.g., pesticide residues, irradiation, food additives) versus the benefits (nutrition, price, convenience). A food safety Rapid Response Team alerts Extension agents throughout the state to important food safety issues or media releases, enabling them to respond to questions or concerns from consumers. Extension agents also provide advice to consumers about home canning and other forms of food preservation, to assure that only safe, recommended procedures are followed.
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