THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20

POSTER SESSION: NUTRITION EDUCATION/PUBLIC RELATIONSCOMPLIANCE WITH FOOD GUIDE PYRAMID RECOMMENDATIONS OFSENIOR PARTICIPANTS IN A HOSPITAL-BASED HEALTH EDUCATIONPROGRAM. E.A. Fox, PhD,RD,LD, J.C. BONILLA, MS,RD, C.E.Shields, MD, Texas Tech University, Texas TechUniversity Health Sciences Center, Lubbock, TXThe Seniors Are Special program, a hospital-basedwellness and benefits program, provides health andsocial services education at monthly meetings forpersons over 55 years of age. The purpose of this studywas to evaluate the eating patterns of free-livingelderly who receive health education. The researcherspresented an invited program on the Food Pyramid forNational Nutrition Month. Attendees, 28 males and 61females, responded to a validated 50-item food frequencyand a 23-item demographic profile. The mean age of the89 participants was 72.3 years, range 58.3-87.0 years;52.8% were married; 57.0% had more than 12 years ofeducation; 19.5% had an income less than $6,000annually, and an additional 16.1% had an annual incomebetween $6,000 and $10,000. Eating habits showed thatparticipants ate foods high in sugar, sodium, and fatless than 1-2 times per week. The majority declaredinfrequent use of foods high in sugar (57.1%), sodium(53.9t), and fat (60.7%). However, use of high-fiberfoods was limited to 1-2 times per week as well.Participants met the Food Pyramid servingrecommendations 3-4 times per week on the average.Difficulties were noted with meeting the dailyrecommendations for 6-11 servings of breads and starchesand 2-3 servings of dairy products. No significantdifferences were noted in eating habits by gender orincome level; however, a significant difference wasfound among married and unmarried seniors in meetingPyramid recommendations (pe=.- 043). Health educationprogramming for seniors should emphasize increasedintake of high-fiber foods and dairy or other calcium-rich foods in the daily diet.

THE FUTURE DIETITIAN: AN EDUCATOR AND A LOBBYIST. N.A.Marcus, MS, BS, P.E. Fatzinger, MS, RD, LD, G. Sharov, RD, LD, andM. Woodard, BA, JD, ARA Healthcare Nutrition Services and MarylandAssociation of Counties (MACO), Baltimore and Annapolis, MD

Success for dietitians in the future will be dependent upon our abilityto influence legislators and position ourselves within the businessindustry. Acknowledging this, one intern requested to spend a day ofthe internship during the month of March, attending a generalassembly session in Annapolis, MD. The objective of this rotation wasto familiarize the student with the general process of lobbying toinfluence the passage of bills. The methodology involved attending ageneral assembly hearing to extend the existing dietitian licensure actfor another ten years and a state legislative conference. A preliminarytrip to Annapolis with the program director was undertaken to increasecomfort and to deliver "post it' notes to select general assemblymembers in honor of National Nutrition Month. The student then spenta day with a skilled MACO lobbyist observing the process andsubsequently shared her experiences with fellow interns. Thefollowing observations (results) were shared.1. Attending hearings dealing with non-nutrition related issues,e.g.

worker's compensation and minor's access to tobacco, the internwas able to get a better grasp of the legislative process.

2. The intern was introduced to her district Senator, a member of thesubcommittee, which votes on all bills regulating dietitian licensurerenewal and built rapport by discussing personal issues relevant inthe district, e.g. placement of street lights for safety.

3. Much to the student's surprise, the legislators demonstrated agenuine interest in meeting their constituents and learning of theirconcerns.

4. Being introduced to the opposition's lobbyists via a neutral lobbyistallowed the student to see lobbying as an occupation not apassionate avocation.

5. The process of "how a bill becomes a law" is detailed, complexand also contains a personal side.

In summary, educating legislators on nutrition issues and getting toknow them personally is crucial to get the support to keep nutritionservices viable now and in the future. Thus a legislative rotation for allinterns is strongly encouraged based upon these results.

A LA CARTE FOR YOUR HEART - A NATIONAL NUTRITIONMONTH CELEBRATION. S.E.Kent, MS, RD, LD; D.M.Sombat,RD, LD; P.C.Taylor; C.B.White, RD, LD, Food and NutritionSystems, Saint Luke's Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio.

To celebrate National Nutrition Month(NNM) SaintLuke's Medical Center(SLMC) invited chefs from localrestaurants to demonstrate heart healthy luncheon mealsevery Tuesday and Friday in the Medical Center cafeteria. Thegoals of the project were to demonstrate heart healthy foodideas to the cafeteria customers; train the chefs in adjustingrecipes to be heart healthy; increase cafeteria sales; publicizethe cooperative efforts of Registered Dietitians and chefs;improve the perception of heart healthy foods; and increasevisibility for SLMC. The project met a general goal to helpconsumers make better food choices and develop soundeating habits. Recipes were submitted by the invited chefs fornutrient analysis. If ingredient adjustment was necessary tomeet heart healthy criteria, the chefs were contacted withsuggested changes. A Registered Dietitian or DieteticTechnician Registered were teamed with the chefs at eachpresentation to answer questions and provide nutritioneducation materials. Home use recipes with the nutrientanalysis were provided in the cafeteria during the presentationand for a few days later. The food items were sold toemployees and visitors of SLMC. The cafeteria sales increasedby 13% with a 12% increase in check average. The city newspaper publicized the celebration midway through NNM in thefoods section with pictures and recipes. The paper also listedthe upcoming dates, chefs, and recipe names. The month wasa success in that all the goals were met. Some of the recipesdemonstrated during NNM were so well accepted byconsumers that they will be offered on future cafeteria menucycles.

"EAT RIGHT AMERICA" EATING LEAN COMPETITION -A TOOL FOR NU-TRITION AND FITNESS PROMOTION AT THE WORKSITE. M. Pawlik-Pevarski, MS, RD, and E.M. Tolson, MS, RD, Gainesville V.A. Medical Center,Gainesville, FL.

The objectives of this project were to: 1) increase employee awareness of theimportance of good nutrition and exercise, 2) promote National Nutrition Month, 3)further establish the dietitians as the nutrition experts within our medical center. 4)help employees set realistic weight loss and fitness goals, and 5) promote sounddieting practices in reaching those goals.

Although healthy eating and routine exercise are goals for many Americans,the impetus to make lifestyle changes continues to elude them. In an effort to pro-mote employee wellness, a four-week healthy eating contest called the Eat RightAmerica Competition held during National Nutrition Month at the Gainesville V.A.Medical Center. Participants paid $5.00 to enter the competition. All money col-lected was distributed as prizes at the end of the competition. Winners were se-lected by awarding points for performing various tasks such as: attending weeklyweigh-ins, completing weekly nutrition quizzes, maintaining a daily food record,keeping an exercise journal, attending on-site aerobics classes, submitting a healthyrecipe, and attending a lunch-time nutrition lecture. A pre-test was given at the ini-tial weigh-in to assess nutrition knowledge and to quantify the amount of time par-ticipants exercised prior to the competition. Participants received a nutrition infor-mation packet at each weekly weigh-in that emphasized one of the USDA's DietaryGuidelines and included that week's nutrition quiz. An evaluation was given at theend of the competition to gauge employee acceptance of the contest and to surveypresent exercise practices. Two staff dietitians were available throughout the com-petition for individual counseling and to answer participant's questions.

Thirty-two employees initially joined the competition; 26 employees attended 2or more weigh-ins and were considered active participants. Contestants reported anincrease in the amount of time spent exercising, from 70 min./week to 196min./week. A total of 73.75 pounds were lost over the four-week period for an av-erage of 2.83 pounds per employee. There was a measurable gain in nutritionknowledge based on the results of the pre-test and weekly nutrition quizzes. Posi-tive feedback was received from all of the participants. Every respondent said thatthey would recommend the competition to a coworker and/or participate again ifoffered in the future.

National Nutrition Month can be positively marketed at the worksite throughan employee competition that emphasizes nutrition and fitness. Progress towardsweight loss and fitness goals, as well as week-to-week interaction with dietitians,enhanced employee regard for the expertise of the dietetic staff The promotion ofNational Nutrition Month is an excellent public relation tool for the dietitian.

A-90 / SEPTEMBER 1994 SUPPLEMENT VOLUME 94 NUMBER 9