Friday, April 9, 2010

It's National Public Health Week!

This week we celebrate National Public Health Week, an annual observance led by the American Public Health Association.  The theme for 2010 is “A Healthier America: One Community at a Time.” Our nation’s health is in poor shape. Even though we spend more money on healthcare than any other country, about 46 million Americans do not have health insurance. Providing health insurance to all Americans is just one step to becoming a healthier nation.  Nearly 900,000 people die from preventable deaths each year. If we truly want to become the healthiest nation in one generation, we must invest in a long-term and comprehensive approach to prevention both at the clinical and community level.

We all must to commit to promoting good health in our communities to create the wave effect across the country.  It starts with small changes in our neighborhoods, schools, work places, and cities, but can create momentum to inspire others to take action until it spreads from coast to coast.  Start small, but think BIG.  DC Voices for MEAL Choices is committed to educating the people of the Washington, DC metro area about making healthy food choices both within and outside of the home.  We are committed to ensuring the community is aware of our right to know what is contained in the food we consume and the effects of proper nutrition on our long-term health.

Even though Congress recently passed national menu labeling within the health reform bill, this is just one small change in stopping the obesity epidemic and helping our nation become the healthiest in one generation.  DVMC will continue to advocate for comprehensive nutrition policies and community programs, including those promoting nutrition education, access to healthy food in schools and communities, and food safety.  We encourage you to join the Metropolitan Washington Public Health Association and DVMC as we work to make our community safe and healthy for all.

Why not start by doing something easy?  Urge congress to improve the nutrition and wellness policies in our nation’s schools by visiting https://secure3.convio.net/apha/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=279. Tell your friends and family to do the same and share these videos to promote good health!


http://generationpublichealth.org/

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