Mission & History
Our Mission:
Reverse the rising tide of obesity and chronic disease among North Carolinians by helping them to eat smart, move more and achieve a healthy weight.
Our History:
The Physical Activity and Nutrition (PAN) Unit was formed in October 1997 when the N.C. Division of Public Health (DPH) reorganized, merging the existing Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Health and the Nutrition Branch in Health Promotion at DPH. The unit consisted of six physical activity and nutrition experts.
In October of 1998, North Carolina was one of two states in the country to receive comprehensive funding focusing on the prevention of cardiovascular disease from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As a result, the Cardiovascular Health Unit (CVH) was established in DPH, and became a sister unit to the Physical Activity and Nutrition Unit within the Health Promotion Branch. These new cardiovascular health funds helped establish new positions in the PAN Unit.
The Cardiovascular Health Unit, with the help of the N.C. Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force asked the N.C. General Assembly for $300,000 to support state efforts to promote cardiovascular health among North Carolinians, focusing on the preventive behaviors known most to impact heart health: healthy eating and physical activity. $150,000 of this state allocation was dedicated to support the efforts of the PAN Unit and the work of Local Physical Activity and Nutrition Coalitions throughout the state’s 100 counties.
In 1998, in addition to CDC funding, the state of North Carolina and the Federal Preventive Health and Health Services Block grant provided funding to the PAN Unit to support health promotion efforts in all local and district health departments in the state. As one of the nation’s first health promotion programs, the purpose was to implement policy and environmental change addressing poor eating habits, sedentary lifestyles and tobacco use. This funding continues to support the N.C. Statewide Health Promotion program today.
During 1999 and 2000, the PAN Unit partnered with the N.C. Health and Fitness Foundation, a non-profit organization, to create a strategic plan titled Be Active North Carolina 1999-2003. The Be Active strategic plan created a framework for policy and environmental change to support physical activity in North Carolina. The N.C. Health and Fitness Foundation became Be Active North Carolina, Incorporated in 2000 and their work continues today.
In 2000, the CDC awarded DPH a three-year grant to develop a state plan for preventing childhood overweight. DPH, with its internal and external partners, formed the North Carolina Healthy Weight Initiative. The Healthy Weight Initiative’s 100-member task force began the development of 12 key recommendations for preventing overweight in children, and published their recommendations in a document, Moving Our Children Toward a Healthy Weight: Finding the Will and the Way. The recommendations target increasing physical activity, improving eating patterns and reducing disparities in the prevalence of childhood overweight.
Also, in 2000, the PAN Unit began to lead the writing process for two companion documents: The North Carolina Blueprint For Changing Policies and Environments In Support of Healthy Eating and The North Carolina Blueprint For Changing Policies and Environments In Support of Increased Physical Activity. The Blueprints were written to guide community-based efforts to change policies and environments to support increased physical activity and healthy eating, while increasing public awareness about the importance of the need for such change.
In 2001, the PAN Unit and the CVH Unit, in partnership with N.C. Cooperative Extension Service and UNC-Chapel Hill School of Public Health, delivered statewide workshops to build community capacity and advocate for policy and media advocacy work around physical activity and healthy eating for North Carolinians. The series was titled "Imagine a North Carolina," and focused on creating change in policies and environments in North Carolina, enabling its citizens to improve their health by becoming more physically active and eating healthier.
On September 25, 2002, DPH released Moving Our Children To a Healthy Weight: Finding The Will and The Way and the Blueprints at the Eat Smart, Move More: Finding the Will and the Way conference in Chapel Hill. The conference centered around the release of these three tools, which were developed to help North Carolinians address the epidemic of overweight and obesity. Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Carmen Hooker Odom praised DPH for working with public and private partners to develop the tools, and urged all North Carolinians to become involved in working toward the recommendations outlined in the three documents.
In 2003, the CDC’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Program to Prevent Obesity and Other Chronic Diseases (NPAO) awarded DPH a five-year grant to address obesity and chronic disease prevention. NPAO helps states prevent obesity and other chronic diseases by addressing two closely related factors - poor nutrition and inadequate physical activity. The program supports states with developing and implementing science-based nutrition and physical activity interventions. The program’s major goals are balancing caloric intake and expenditure; increasing physical activity; improving nutrition through increased consumption of fruits and vegetables; reducing television time; and increasing breastfeeding.
NPAO is the primary source of funding for NC’s efforts to promote physical activity and nutrition. In the fight against obesity, North Carolina is making major strides in promoting nutrition and physical activity. The PAN Unit became a Branch, and the home of the CDC obesity funding. CDC funds DPH at the Basic Implementation level due to the growing number of stellar programs arising from its work with its outstanding partners. The PAN Branch continuously works with both internal partners within DPH and an extensive number of external partners to promote healthy eating and physical activity, and to combat the obesity epidemic in the state. Our work includes the NC Statewide Health Promotion Program, the NC Arthritis Program and partnering in the leadership of Eat Smart, Move More…North Carolina.
PAN Branch serves as a member of the ESMM Leadership Team and staffs Eat Smart, Move More…North Carolina, a statewide movement that encourages healthy eating and physical activity wherever people live, learn, earn, play and pray. Eat Smart, Move More…NC partners have developed and implemented many programs and tools aimed at improving eating and physical activity behaviors among North Carolinians. Please visit www.EatSmartMoveMoreNC.com to learn more.
