Encouraging and Equipping Families to Eat at Home for Improved Nutrition

Summary

Rockdale County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, MaryBeth Hornbeck, reached 42 parents, 6 secondary school students and 8 employees of Rockdale County through workshops highlighting strategies for preparing nutritious meals and snacks at home in a timely, budget-friendly manner.

Situation

Foods prepared outside the home, whether it's from a fast-food restaurant, take out counter or a table-service restaurant, are very common in the American diet. According to the Economic Research Service of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA ERS), households now spend 43.7% of their food dollars outside the home, compared to 25.9% in the 1970s. Additionally, between 1978 and 2008, the average percent of calories consumed from food prepared away from home rose from 18% to 32%. Though it is possible to eat healthfully away from home, on average, the USDA ERS found that meals and snacks outside the home yielded significant effects on calorie intake and overall diet quality. On average, each meal or snack eaten away from home adds 134 calories to daily calorie consumption and for Americans who are obese (BMI>30), each meal away from home typically adds 239 calories. These meals also have higher amounts of saturated fat, salt and sugar that individuals rarely balance meals out with more healthful meals prepared at home. Increasing caloric intake by 134 calories beyond the body's daily needs every day can result in over 10 pounds of weight gain over the course of a year. These extra calories can make it difficult to maintain a healthy weight, which, according to the National Institutes of Health is critical in the prevention and control of many chronic diseases including heart disease, hypertension, type 2 diabetes and several cancers. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimate that 50-70% of diseases in the US are preventable, as they are tied to modifiable risk factors like poor nutrition, excess weight and lack of physical activity. According to the Georgia Department of Health's 2012 data, 35% of adults in Rockdale County are obese (6% higher than state average) and this number has been increasing since 2004. Additionally, 28% of residents were physically inactive, compared to 25% throughout the state.

Response

In partnership with the Rockdale County Public Schools and Get Active Rockdale, the employee wellness program for Rockdale County, FACS agent, MaryBeth Hornbeck, presented four hour-long, workshops on meal planning, snack preparation and food label literacy. Attendees learned about MyPlate, how to streamline meal preparation and food spending, the 5-and-20 rule for reading nutrition facts panels and different resources, including University of Georgia Cooperative Extension's Food e-Talk website, for finding healthy recipes for the whole family.

Impact

Rockdale County Family and Consumer Sciences Agent, MaryBeth Hornbeck, reached 56 clients over four sessions with resources and strategies to make meals and snacks prepared at home more. Following the class, 65% of participants expressed increased confidence in their ability to make balanced meals for their families. Additionally, 78% of participants planned to prep vegetables and foods ahead of time to make healthy school/work lunches, snacks, and dinners easier to get on the table. 72% of participants said the workshops helped them understand how to make meals healthier and quicker and intended to have healthy food on-hand. 70% of participants felt they had more resources for where to look for ideas when they were in a rut and 65% of participants intended to use Food e-Talk as one of those resources. 100% of participants stated that the classes helped them find more useful information on the food label and intended to use them while shopping to make decisions at the store. One participant stated how helpful it was to learn about the 5-and-20 rule for contextualizing the percent daily value for nutrients such as saturated fat, sodium, vitamins and minerals. Another participant stated, “The most important thing I learned was how to pre-plan a menu for the week and how to get the kids involved in meal prep.”

State Issue

Food, Nutrition and Health

Details

• Year: 2016
• Geographic Scope: County
• County: Rockdale
• Program Areas:
  • Family and Consumer Sciences