Note: This site is for reviewing legacy plan of work data from 2007-2011. If you are looking for the current plan of work interface, visit pow.nmsu.edu.

KA 703. Nutrition Education and Behavior (Shiprock Tribal Extension)

Plan Goal

To improve the health of residents living on the Navajo Nation reservation in the Northern Agency by providing education on healthy food choices, food preparation and food resource management.

Situation Statement

When the word nutrition is spoken on the Navajo Nation reservation, a majority of individuals cringe. Why? The reason is many individuals think that it means no potatoes, fry bread, tortilla or mutton stew in their diet. That's not the case at all and that's when moderation comes into play. Moderation means eating neither, too much food which can result in excess weight, or too little food that can lead to numerous nutrient deficiencies and low body mass.

Therefore, good nutrition is the key to improve and maintain health. Five of the leading causes of death includes heart disease, cancer, stroke, diabetes and hypertension and they all link to one's diet. Obesity and overweight now affects 57% of New Mexico adults (16.2 % of youth in San Juan county are overweight). These individuals are at increased risk of illness from hypertension, type 2 diabetes, coronary heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea and respiratory problems, and certain cancers. In San Juan County 26.1% of the youth live in poverty (Kids Count, 2006). New Mexico has one of the highest rates of poverty in the nation with 18.4% of New Mexicans living below poverty (US Bureau of the Census, 2000). Low income populations face problems associated with inadequate nutrition. In some cases, children do not eat enough to sustain health and to grow and develop. Generally, individuals make poor food choices, which can lead to chronic disease problems such as obesity, diabetes, and heart disease. There are benefits such as Food Stamps and WIC to provide resources to those in need of food assistance, however this resource is often not maximized.

Finally, it's important to reach out to the youth early in life with nutrition education. So that they will establish healthy habits early in life to help prevent health issues.

Target Audience and Actions

The target audience for nutrition education and behavior will be the Northern Agency on the Navajo Nation Reservation, including, individuals, families, youth, and seniors. The focus will be the Northern Agency limited resource audiences, that include Native Americans, Spanish-speaking, and Anglo residents of the Norhtern Agency on the Navajo Nation Reservation.

The Shiprock Tribal Extension Home Economist will coordinate, plan, and implement the following:

1. A minimum of 2 and a maximum of 4 Kitchen Creations Diabetes Cooking Schools series classes will be taught each year to residents of the Northern Agency. ( The focus is on healthy food choices including balancing low and high carbohydrate foods and food preparations skills.)

2. Food Safety, meal management and nutriation education presentations will be provided to area public and private service caregivers and other audiences when called.

3. Keep Moving, Keep Healthy serier classes (targets diabetic monitoring, physcial activity, and healthy food choices.)

Short-Term Objectives

After attending 3 Keep moving, Keep healthy sessions the participants will increase their knowledge about; healthier food choices, and learn the importance of physical exercise by 40%.
40% of the participants will learn how to monitor their diabetes.
40% of the participants will learn the importance of healthy food choices.

Kitchen Creations Objectives:
After attending 4 sessions of Kitchen Creations the 40% of the participants will:
Learn how foods from each food group affect blood glucose.
Identify the serving sizes of different foods.
Learn to use the 50/50 Method to plan three balanced meals.
Identify a serving size, number of servings, and total calories per day.
Learn to use herbs and spices to flavor foods without adding fat and salt.
Learn important facts about diabetes management.
Understand the importance of increasing their physical activity.

Medium-Term Objectives

30% of all participants will control their portion sizes by using the Diabetes Food Guide Pyramid and 50/50 method.
30% of all participants will adopt new food resource management.
40% of participants will get medical tests important for diabetes management.
40% of participants will increase physical activity.

Long-Term Objectives

20% of the participants will decrease their rate of chronic disease ( obesity, cancer, heart disease, diabetes) by adopting healthier cooking and eating habits.
20% of the participants will adopt and sustain healthy practices for family and self health.
20% of Kitchen Creations participants will adopt healthier cooking and eating habits and maintain a healthy glucose level.

Evaluation Plan

Pre/Post knowledge tests will be administerd to determine the level of knowledge gained.
Participants knowledge and behavior will be evaluated through program comment sheets, surveys, and short/medium objectives.