Part three of a community discussion on a healthy eating, physical activity and healthy body weight.

To continue to part four – click here.

Policies set the guidelines for how we behave.

You can have a “personal policy” for what you eat and how physically active you are each day.

Are there policies for your family, business, congregation or community organization about healthy eating or active living?

When we have a written policy about what should happen, the policy influences how we behave and how we interact with our environment.

This month we are introducing example policies on Healthy Eating and Active Living that were adapted from a Live Healthy in Faith guide published by the Georgia Department of Public Health.

These policies can be applied to an individual, a family, a business, a community organization or a congregation.  A policy in either of the two areas – Healthy Eating or Active Living – helps you set goals and guidelines for your behaviors.

Think about the guidelines and policies you are now aware of in each of the places you find yourself each week:

• Home
• School
• Work
• Faith Community/Place of Worship
• Other places within the community

Are you aware of any policies or guidelines in these places that relate to healthy eating?

Are a certain percentage of food offered at meetings, in cafeterias, or in vending machines low in fat, sodium and total calories?

Do the restaurants where you eat offer (and easily identify) lower calorie, healthy options on their menu?

Do you make a point of eating healthy meals most (if not all) of your meals during the week?

Take a look at the Healthy Foods Policy and think about how you might adapt this policy to fit into your life.

Talk about it with classmates, friends, family or co-workers to see where a policy like this might be good.

As we talked about earlier in our conversation, a big factor in achieving and maintaining healthy body weight is physical activity.  And just like Healthy Eating, having a policy in place can support this behavior.

Now, let’s look at the Active Living Policy and think about how you might adapt this policy to fit into your life.

Talk about it with classmates, friends, family or co-workers to see where a policy like this might be good.

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