Relevance

Consuming a healthy diet is essential for people of all ages. Despite the importance of a healthy diet, most people in the United States do not follow dietary recommendations. In Tennessee, average intake of fruits and vegetables, a key component of a healthy diet, is below recommendations. Only 11.1% adults in Tennessee consume the recommended amounts of fruit and only 9.6% of Tennessee adults meeting consume the recommended amounts of vegetables (CDC). A person’s food choices are dependent on multiple factors, including personal preferences, cultural traditions, and a person’s ability to access and afford nutritious foods. During the COVID-19 pandemic, existing challenges for consuming nutritious foods were exacerbated as many people lost employment, shopped for food differently, and encountered low inventory of food items in stores. Diet-related chronic conditions, like heart disease and diabetes, are highly prevalent in the United States and can be prevented and managed, in part, by making nutritious food choices. These chronic conditions increase risk for disability and early death and are costly, increasing direct healthcare costs, decreasing productivity, and increasing absenteeism from work. Tennessee has the 6th highest rate of cardiovascular disease (11%) and the 4th highest rate of diabetes (13.8%) in the United States (America’s Health Rankings). Interventions that help Tennesseans make healthy food choices are important to improve and maintain health for Tennesseans of all ages.

Response

In 2020, University of Tennessee Extension Family and Consumer Sciences (FCS) reached 6,739,729 adult and youth contacts through nutrition programming. University of Tennessee Extension FCS safely conducted in-person and virtual nutrition education programming, providing resources to help Tennesseans choose and prepare healthy foods within their food budgets. Through social media, email, printed publications, television, radio, and other communication efforts, University of Tennessee Extension FCS provided information to help Tennesseans make healthy food choices, know how to access federal nutrition assistance programs (such as P-EBT), choose nutritious foods that fit within their food budgets, and locate food pantries in their local communities.

Results

University of Tennessee Extension FCS helped Tennesseans plan and prepare healthy diets. Through surveys designed for nutrition education programs, participants reported dietary improvements. •3,124 of 3,720 (84%) of surveyed participants reported making dietary improvements that aligned with recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, such as eating more fruits, vegetables, and whole grains and drinking fewer sugar sweetened beverages. •1,364 of 1,863 (73%) of surveyed participants reported planning healthy meals. •5,879 of 6,532 (90%) of surveyed participants reported preparing healthy meals. University of Tennessee Extension FCS helped Tennesseans manage their food resources for healthy diets. Through surveys designed for nutrition education programs, participants reported they were better able to manage their food budgets and food resources. •524 of 911 (58%) of surveyed participants reported planning meals to manage their food resources. •4,907 of 5,259 (93%) of surveyed participants reported utilizing food resource management strategies, such as using coupons and the unit price while shopping, to purchase healthy foods within their budget. University of Tennessee Extension FCS helped make nutritious food choices an easy choice in the places where people live, work, eat, worship and play by implementing 101 nutrition supports, such as community gardens, across Tennessee communities.

Public Value Statement

The economic benefit of University of Tennessee Extension nutrition education is estimated at $22,493 through healthcare cost savings, resulting from dietary improvements that align with dietary recommendations in the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (Calculations estimated from Scrafford et al 2019).