Nutrition Education is any combination of educational strategies, accompanied by environmental supports, designed to facilitate voluntary adoption of food choices and other food- and nutrition-related behaviors conducive to health and well-being. Nutrition education is delivered through multiple venues and involves activities at the individual, community, and policy levels.

This definition has been adopted by the Society for Nutrition Education and was authored by Dr. Isobel Contento, a leading authority in nutrition education. The work of nutrition educators takes place in colleges, universities and schools, government agencies, cooperative extension

Cooperative extension service

The Cooperative Extension Service, also known as the Extension Service of the USDA, is a non-formal educational program implemented in the United States designed to help people use research-based knowledge to improve their lives. The service is provided by the state's designated land-grant...

, communications and public relations firms, the food industry, voluntary and service organizations and with other reliable places of nutrition and health education information.

Examples of government agencies that incorporate nutrition education into their programs, include:

• Let's Move, launched by First Lady Michelle Obama
  Michelle Obama
  Michelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States...
  
   in February 2010, through the Healthier US School Challenge;
• USDA Food and Nutrition Service, which provides nutrition education materials to children and adults of all ages and nutrition education to Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) participants and applicants;
• USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture
  National Institute of Food and Agriculture
  The National Institute of Food and Agriculture is a U.S. Federal government body whose creation was mandated in the Food, Conservation, and Energy Act of 2008. It is intended to consolidate all federally-funded agricultural research, and will be subordinate to the Department of Agriculture...
  
   through the cooperative extension program; and
• MyPyramid.gov
  MyPyramid
  MyPyramid, released by the United States Department of Agriculture on April 19, 2005, is an update on the American food guide pyramid that was used until June 2, 2011, when the USDA's MyPlate replaced it. The icon stresses activity and moderation along with a proper mix of food groups in one's diet...
  
  , through the Ten Tips Nutrition Education Series.

Additional Publications

The Journal for Nutrition Education and Behavior, the official journal of the Society for Nutrition Education, documents and disseminates original research, emerging issues and practices relevant to nutrition education and behavior worldwide.

External links

• http://www.sne.org
• http://letsmove.gov
• http://www.mypyramid.gov/
• http://www.fns.usda.gov/fns/
• http://www.nifa.usda.gov/