Tennessee On the Move Tackles Overweight and Obesity Problems

by Michael Zemel

We're fat and it's killing us!

More than 365,000 A mericans die from overweight-related illnesses each year, up from 300,000 just a few years ago. At this rate, overweight and obesity will surpass cigarette smoking as the nation’s #1 killer in just a few years.

Here in the southeast, the problem is even worse, and Tennessee is now the ninth fattest state in the nation. Something must change, but what? We know that it’s possible to prevent and reverse obesity by eating smart and exercising more, but knowing doesn’t necessarily equate to behavior change. While some people attempt to radically change their lives, and others throw up their hands in frustration, the University of Tennessee Nutrition Institute has an alternate solution. Their program, Tennessee On the Move (TOM), helps people take small steps towards sustaining healthy behavior change. This incremental approach has helped many individuals achieve lasting results, because sustaining healthy lifestyle patterns is the only way to lasting weight management success.

The creators of Tennessee On the Move, Dr. Michael Zemel and Siri-Datar Khalsa, M.S., R.D., and their parent organization, A merica On the Move, recognize that it is more valuable to meet people where they are when setting dietary and physical activity goals than to preach gold standards that are too difficult for most to attain—and even more difficult to maintain over a lifetime. This novel program helps participants make small adjustments to their existing lifestyle rather than approaching total lifestyle replacement. It is this individualized step-by-step approach and the focus on positive reinforcement that keeps people coming to and staying with Tennessee On the Move.

Coordinated out of the Nutrition Institute in the College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences, this initiative is

During the annual Boys and Girls Club Duck Race in downtown Knoxville in the spring of 2005, Tennessee on the Move set up games and activities to educate and engage youngsters in the three messages of TOM: move more, eat smart, and include dairy.

based on scientific research in the fields of nutrition and exercise science. There are three basic components to the program:

The first and second messages are consistent with the messages of the national program, America On the Move. The third is unique to the Tennessee On the Move program and is based on strong research from our own Nutrition Institute in the Department of Nutrition.

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Overweight and Obesity Problems

 

Contact CEHHS

335 Claxton Complex
1122 Volunteer Boulevard
Knoxville, Tennessee 37996

Phone: 865-974-2201
Fax: 865-974-8718