Overview

Background

We live in a land of high quantity, low quality food with ultra-processed options high in sodium, added sugar, saturated fats, and refined carbohydrates as the norm. This approach to eating is linked to cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke, gallbladder disease, osteoarthritis, sleep apnea, respiratory conditions, mental health disorders, chronic pain and certain cancers, including breast cancer in women.

Commitment Statement

AMWA understands the impact of nutrition on health and disease and the role of food as medicine. AMWA commits to incorporating healthy nutrition into AMWA conferences and promoting this education in all AMWA branches. We will advocate for clinical curricula that address nutritional issues and the barriers posed by social and structural determinants of health.

In 2022, President Biden released a new federal strategy to end hunger and to increase physical activity by 2030. Our government held public listening sessions around the country to better understand what issues were most important to address. 5 Pillars were developed from the information collected to uphold the scope and strategy of the project. AMWA participated with a well-attended listening session to discuss themes of importance to our membership. We also promoted local activities, including food drives, physical activity (developing a Full Stack Challenge), awareness campaigns, and more.

The 5 pillars from the White House Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health included:

• Poverty as the root cause of hunger
• Integrating health and nutrition
• Empowering consumers
• Supporting physical activity
• Research on nutrition