Dear Americans, Eat Your Fruits and Vegetables!

Jefferson County Public Health is continually working to increase knowledge about balanced, healthy diets and active living, beginning very early in life and continuing across the lifespan. Eating a healthy diet full of fruits and vegetables and leading an active lifestyle can drastically improve overall health. For example, did you know that eating more fruits and vegetables can increase a person’s intake of essential nutrients and reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers? Plus, fruits and veggies can also help manage body weight, as they are a filling, healthy substitute to other unhealthier and more energy-dense foods. So, then, why are only 13.1% of American adults eating enough fruits (based on the national dietary recommendations) and only 8.9% eating enough vegetables?

Being active and eating healthy is paramount to achieving a healthier weight and minimizing the negative health consequences of being overweight or obese. Spurred by sedentary lifestyles and unhealthy diets, it is now estimated that more than 1/3 of American adults are obese and 17% of all children and adolescents are obese in the United States. New efforts are needed to build consumer desire and demand for fruits and vegetables through more reasonable and competitive pricing, as well as promotion of the associated health benefits of a balanced diet in child care centers, schools, grocery stores, communities and at work.

Are you ready to make some healthy diet changes right away? The American Heart Association includes the following among their tips for increasing daily intake of fruits and vegetables:

§  Fill at least half your plate with fruits and vegetables

§  All produce counts: canned, dried, fresh and frozen

§  Compare food labels on canned, dried and frozen fruits and vegetables and choose the lowest sodium and added sugar content

§  Add a fruit or vegetable salad to lunch or dinner

§  Eat raw vegetable sticks instead of chips

§  Carry dried fruit, such as raisins, dates or dried apricots for snacks

§  Add chopped vegetables like onions, garlic and celery when preparing soup, stew, beans, rice and sauces

For more information on nutrition resources available through JCPH, visit the Nutrition Services and Women, Infants and Children webpage. 

Help Your Child Stay at a Healthy Weight

One in 3 children in the United States is overweight or obese. Childhood obesity puts kids at risk for health problems that were once seen only in adults, like type 2 diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease. September is National Childhood Obesity Awareness Month and Jefferson County Public Health encourages families to make healthy changes together. Childhood obesity can be prevented.

• Get active outside: Walk around the neighborhood, go on a bike ride, or play at the park. Jeffco Open Space and Parks offers diverse trails and outdoor activities for everyone to enjoy.
  
• Limit screen time: Keep screen time (time spent on the computer, watching TV, or playing video games) to 2 hours or less a day. Check out these tips for helping your family limit screen time.
  
• Make healthy meals: Buy and serve more vegetables, fruits, and whole-grain foods. Livewell Colorado also offers tips for buying and eating healthy and includes healthy recipes.
  
• Become a part of WE CAN, a national initiative to reduce childhood obesity.

Jefferson County Public Health (JCPH) is working with parents, schools, policymakers, communities, businesses and others to improve active living and healthy eating for everyone in Jefferson County. JCPH has provided technical assistance to several municipalities in Jefferson County as they adopt policies that improve their communities’ access to physical activity and healthy food. Learn more about the Livewell Colorado HEAL (Healthy Eating and Active Living) Cities and Towns Campaign Please view our community health improvement plan at www.healthypeoplehealthyplacesjeffco.com.

Health Grows in your Local Community Garden

by Erika Jerme

Just in time for Earth Day, planting season is upon us. Connect to the earth and improve your health by joining a community garden! Community gardening has substantial benefits for the environment, as well as for health. Community gardens help to improve local ecology by bringing green spaces to urban neighborhoods[1] and increasing habitat for pollinators including bees.[2] Gardens also beautify neighborhoods and increase property values: gardens on formerly vacant lots have been found to decrease blight, reduce crime, and prevent illegal dumping of trash or hazardous materials.[3]

Community gardens also have positive health impacts. Family members of gardeners are 3.5 times more likely than non-gardeners to eat the recommended five servings of fruits and vegetables per day.[4] A study of gardeners in the Denver metro found that 56% of community gardeners met national recommendations to consume fruits and vegetables at least 5 times per day, compared with 37% of home gardeners and only 25% of non-gardeners.[5] Moreover, gardeners often exchange recipes and tips on growing different fruits and vegetables, developing new social norms around healthy eating.[6] Particularly in neighborhoods that lack healthy, affordable food retail outlets like grocery stores or farmers markets, community gardens can increase access to fresh fruits and vegetables.[7] In addition to improving nutrition, gardening gets people outdoors and active, and improves mental well-being.[8] Finally, residents who participate in community gardens build relationships and increase trust with their neighbors. This increased social cohesion is also associated with better health.[9]

Visit Denver Urban Gardens at www.dug.org to learn more about community gardening, and to find a garden near you.

JCPH encourages families to eat local produce whether from the grocery store, farmers’ markets or home garden. For those who grow, consider donating to help others. Produce for Pantries is a coalition of 16 Colorado organizations dedicated to addressing local hunger by encouraging community, school and home garderners to plant, grow and share healthy food with a food pantry or hunger relief organization in their neighnorhood. There still is a need for gardeners to grow and donate food freshly grown produce! For more information about local food pantries, call the Hunger Free Hotline at 855-855-4626. For more information about Produce for Pantries, please visit www.produceforpantries.com or email produceforpantries@gmail.com. 

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[1] Ferris, J., Norman, C. and J. Sempik. 2001. “People, Land and Sustainability: Community Gardens and the Social Dimensions of Sustainable Development.” Social Policy & Administration 35(5): 559-568.

[2] Matteson, K.C., Ascher, J.S. and G.A. Langellotto. 2008. “Bee Richness and Abundance in New York City Urban Gardens.” Annals of the Entomological Society of America 101(1): 140-150.

[3] Schukoske, Jane E. 2000. “Community Development through Gardening: State and Local Policies Transforming Urban Open Space.” New York University Journal of Legislation and Public Policy 3(2): 351-392.

[4] Alaimo, Katherine, Packnett, Elizabeth, Miles, Richard A., Kruger, Daniel J. 2008. “Fruit and Vegetable Intake Among Urban Community Gardeners.” Journal of Nutritional Education & Behavior 40: 94-101.

[5] Litt, J., et al. 2011. “The Influence of Social Involvement, Neighborhood Aesthetics, and Community Garden Participation on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption.” American Journal of Public Health 101(8): 1466-1473.

[6] Teig, E., et al. 2009. “Collective efficacy in Denver, Colorado: Strengthening neighborhoods and health through community gardens.” Health and Place 15: 1115-1122.

[7] Twiss, J., et al. 2003. “Community gardens: Lessons learned from California Healthy Cities and Communities.” American Journal of Public Health 93(9): 1435-1438. 

[8] Teig, E., et al. 2009. “Collective efficacy in Denver, Colorado: Strengthening neighborhoods and health through community gardens.” Health and Place 15: 1115-1122.

[9] Teig, E., et al. 2009. “Collective efficacy in Denver, Colorado: Strengthening neighborhoods and health through community gardens.” Health and Place 15: 1115-1122.