March is National Nutrition Month®
100% Fad Free

Home | PSAs | Press Release | Newsletter Article | Additional Nutrition Resources | Feedback Form

2007 National Nutrition Month®
The Best Path to Fitness and Health is to be 100% Fad Free

Diet fads come and go, and some may help you lose weight – in the short term. For National Nutrition Month® 2007, the American Dietetic Association says the most effective long-term way to achieve a healthful lifestyle is to be 100% Fad Free. 

Keep in mind these key messages to enjoy a 100% Fad Free lifestyle:

• Develop an eating plan for lifelong health. Too often, people adopt the latest food fad rather than focusing on overall health. Get back to basics and use the new Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPyramid as your guide to healthy eating.

• Choose foods sensibly by looking at the big picture. A single food or meal won’t make or break a healthful diet. When consumed in moderation in appropriate portions, all foods can fit into a healthful diet.

• Learn how to spot a food fad. Unreasonable or exaggerated claims that eating (or not eating) specific foods, nutrient supplements or combinations of foods may cure disease or offer quick weight loss are key features of fad diets.

• Find your balance between food and physical activity. Regular physical activity is important for your overall health and fitness plus it helps control body weight, promotes a feeling of well-being and reduces the risk of chronic diseases.

• Food and nutrition misinformation can have harmful effects on your health and well-being, as well as your wallet. Registered dietitians are uniquely qualified to communicate current and emerging science-based nutrition information and are an instrumental part of developing a diet plan that meets your individual needs.

Click here for examples of healthy eating recipes.

Click here for information on healthy snacks.

Test your nutrition IQ with a quiz.

Here are easy to read assessments of some of the most popular diet plans, including Atkins, the Zone Diet, Dr. Phil’s Ultimate Diet and many others. 
Popular Diets Reviewed: 2005 | 2006 | 2007

• Press Release — You may wish to issue a press release to your local newspaper, radio, and/or television station announcing nutrition month and any events you have planned. Here are some suggestions from the National Nutrition Month website that you may want to use as a starting point for your local press release.

• Newsletter articles are a good way to get information out. This is a draft article you may want to include in your own newsletter, and/or ask other organizations to run.

• Ask your local grocer to order special foods for you event(s), including exotic or out of season fruits and vegetables.  This is usually done a week in advance of your events and classes.

• Classroom activities — The American Dietetics Association has come up with some great ideas to incorporate into the classroom. You could offer to go into the schools or share these ideas with teachers in your community.  

• Radio and CB ads and public service announcements

• Community Forum — A community forum is always a great way to bring attention to the issue. There are a number of different ways you can approach this. It can be a stand alone event or part of an existing group meeting.

  • The PowerPoint slide presentations can be used in their entirety or parts of them to help people understand the need for balanced nutrition.

    • University of Kentucky Fad Diet

    • Healthy Utah Fad Diets

    • University of Georgia Cooperative Extension Service Fad Diets

  • A panel discussion can take place at an existing meeting or as a special event. Identify three to five people in your community who represent different parts of the message you want to convey. For example, you may decide the primary message you wish to get out to your community is that it is important to avoid low carbohydrate diets.  You may choose to have a medical provider, a local nutrition expert, and your WIC Coordinator to serve on your panel. Generally each one will have a set amount of time to talk about their perspective, and then you open it up to questions from the audience. It is always a good idea to develop some questions for the facilitator to ask.

• A Brown Bag Lunch with a Power Point, a panel presentation, or general group discussion is a good way to pull together busy people.

• You may consider hosting a Nutrition Health Fair, inviting your local partners to help put this event together.

Other event ideas are available at the American Dietetic Association website.

Links to Additional Nutrition Resources

Link to information on why and when you might want to consult with a registered dietician.

Tell us what you are doing to promote Nutrition Month.

Do you have a question or need more information?

Karol Fink, M.S., R.D.
Nutrition Specialist
State of Alaska Obesity Prevention and Control
Phone: 907-269-3457
Fax: 907-269-5446