THIS ISSUE AVAILABLE ONLINE WITH EXPANDED INFORMATION AND PHOTOS AT:
http://www.hhs.gov/news/newsletter/weekly

IN THIS ISSUE:
1) HHS Invests in Faith Based Groups Around the Country
2) Secretary Thompson Works to Pass the TANF Reauthorization
3) HHS Responds to Hurricane Isabel
4) The Secretary's Challenge
5) Personal Health
6) Secretary Tommy G. Thompson's public schedule

HHS Invests in Faith Based Groups Around the Country

Secretary Tommy G. Thompson announced $8.1 million in grants to faith-based community institutions around the country. The funds are designed to help the groups improve their ability to provide social services to those most in need.

"The people who commit themselves to bettering the lives of our nation's most vulnerable citizens represent our compassionate soul, and we must do more to help them succeed," Secretary Thompson said. "Today's grants will help many faith-based and community organizations to expand services to better help homeless families, at-risk children, people fighting addiction and others in need."

The grants are part of President Bush's Faith Based and Community Initiative announced in January 2001, the initiative that assists groups in effectively competing for grants and other public funds as they often provide unique services that should be supported and not barred from federal assistance. HHS' Compassion Capital Fund was created two years ago and has a $35 million budget for the current fiscal year. In addition to these grants, HHS is providing $24 million in continuing grants to earlier Compassion Capital Fund grantees.

For more information please visit http://www.hhs.gov/fbci/.

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Secretary Thompson Works to Pass the TANF Reauthorization

HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson held a press conference Tuesday with Senators Rick Santorum and Jim Talent on Capitol Hill reiterating the importance of passing the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) reauthorization bill at the end of this month. President Bush and Secretary Thompson are dedicated to welfare reform and the opportunities it represents for millions of Americans who have benefited from the program.

"Welfare reform in America is helping people be better prepared to go out, get a job and build better lives for themselves and their families." Secretary Thompson said. "We want to improve upon this highly successful program so we can continue to help families complete the transition from the dependence upon a welfare check to the independence of a paycheck."

Since 1996 when welfare reform took effect, welfare caseloads have been cut in half and the portion of children living under poverty have dropped from 20.5 to 16.2 percent. The program also offers valuable job training and increased skills for adults who previously had fewer options while job searching.

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HHS Responds to Hurricane Isabel

Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy G. Thompson made available the department's full resources for the onset of Hurricane Isabel. Three Disaster Medical Assistance Teams were deployed to areas in the path of the hurricane before landfall in order to be on hand to perform emergency needs assessments in the wake of the storm.

Secretary Thompson also sent a Secretary's Emergency Response Team to Richmond, Va., and Raleigh, N.C., to support state and local authorities in assessing and responding to any public health needs that came about during and following the storm.

"Protecting your health and safety is just as important after a hurricane as during one," Secretary Thompson said. "We want people to respond safely and effectively so that their lives can return to normal as quickly as possible."

Secretary Thompson also visited two Northern Virginia hospitals Thursday night and thanked the staff for their tireless dedication and assistance in responding to the hurricane.

Visit www.hhs.gov for public health information, clean-up tips and fact sheets on food and water safety related hurricanes.

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The Secretary's Challenge
Steps to a Healtheir HHS

Remember to exercise 30 minutes a day, five days a week for the next six weeks now through Oct. 31 to participate in the Secretary's Challenge. Log onto the Web site www.presidentschallenge.org at least once every seven days to track your progress.

Looking for a way to fit in more physical activity? Having trouble getting motivated? Sign up for the Secretary's Challenge today!

Look for the signs that read "I'm a Champ" or "I'm Your Coach" and ask for details. And check out the Web site at http://www.presidentschallenge.org.

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Personal Health

Have you noticed that the size of muffins, candy bars, and soft drinks has grown over the years? How about portions of restaurant foods like pasta dishes, steaks, and french fries? As portion sizes grow, people tend to eat more often more than they need to stay healthy.

Larger food portions have more calories. Eating more calories than you need may lead to weight gain. Too much weight gain can put you at risk for weight-related diseases like type 2 diabetes, heart disease and some cancers.

Managing your weight calls for more than just choosing a healthful variety of foods like vegetables, fruits, grains (especially whole grains), beans, and low-fat meat, poultry, and dairy products. It also calls for looking at how much and how often you eat.

How do I know how big my portions are?

The portion size that you are used to eating may be equal to two or three standard servings. Take a look at this Nutrition Facts label for cookies. The serving size is two cookies, but if you eat four cookies, you are eating two servings-and double the calories, fat, and other nutrients in a standard serving.

To see how many servings a package contains, check the "servings per container" listed on the Nutrition Facts label. You may be surprised to find that small containers often have more than one serving inside.

Learning to recognize standard serving sizes can help you judge how much you are eating. When cooking for yourself, use measuring cups and spoons to measure your usual food portions and compare them to standard serving sizes from Nutrition Facts labels for a week or so. Put the measured food on a plate before you start eating. This will help you see what one standard serving of a food looks like compared to how much you normally eat.

Another way to keep track of your portions is to use a food diary. Writing down when, what, how much, where, and why you eat can help you be aware of the amount of food you are eating and the times you tend to eat too much. The chart below shows what 1 day of a person's food diary might look like.

After reading the food diary, you can see that this person chose sensible portion sizes for breakfast and lunch-she ate to satisfy her hunger. She had a large chocolate bar in the afternoon for emotional reasons-boredom, not in response to hunger. If you tend to eat when you are not hungry, try doing something else, like taking a break to walk around the block or call a friend, instead of eating.

By 8 p.m., this person was very hungry and ate large portions of higher-fat, higher-calorie foods. If she had made an early evening snack of fruit or pretzels, she might have been less hungry at 8 p.m. and eaten less. She also may have eaten more than she needed because she was at a social event, and was not paying attention to how much she was eating. Through your diary, you can become aware of the times and reasons you eat too much, and try to make different choices in the future.

How can I control portions at home?

You do not need to measure and count everything you eat for the rest of your life-just long enough to recognize standard serving sizes. Try these other ideas to help you control portions at home:

• Take a standard serving out of the package and eat it off a plate instead of eating straight out of a large box or bag.
• Avoid eating in front of the TV or while busy with other activities. Pay attention to what you are eating and fully enjoy the smell and taste of your foods.
• Eat slowly so your brain can get the message that your stomach is full.
• Take seconds of vegetables or salads instead of higher-fat, higher-calorie parts of a meal such as meats or desserts.
• When cooking in large batches, freeze food that you will not serve right away. This way, you won't be tempted to finish eating the whole batch before the food goes bad. And you'll have ready-made food for another day. Freeze in single-meal-sized containers.
• Try to eat three sensible meals at regular times throughout the day. Skipping meals may lead you to eat larger portions of high-calorie, high-fat foods at your next meal or snack. Eat breakfast every day.
• Keep snacking to a minimum. Eating many snacks throughout the day may lead to weight gain.
• When you do have a treat like chips, cookies, or ice cream, eat only one serving, eat it slowly, and enjoy it!

Is getting more food for your money always a good value?

Have you noticed that it only costs a few cents more to get a larger size of fries or soft drink? Getting a larger portion of food for just a little extra money may seem like a good value, but you end up with more food and calories than you need.

Before you buy your next "value combo," be sure you are making the best choice for your health and your wallet. If you are with someone else, share the large-size meal. If you are eating alone, skip the special deal and just order what you need.

How can I control portions when eating out?

Research shows that the more often a person eats out, the more body fat he or she has. Try to prepare more meals at home. Eat out and get take-out foods less often. When you do eat away from home, try these tips to help you control portions:

• Share your meal, order a half-portion, or order an appetizer as a main meal.
• Take half or more of your meal home. You can even ask for your half-meal to be boxed up before you begin eating so you will not be tempted to eat more than you need.
• Stop eating when you begin to feel full. Focus on enjoying the setting and your friends or family for the rest of the meal.
• Avoid large beverages, such as "supersize" soft drinks. They have a large number of calories. Order the small size, choose a calorie-free beverage, or drink water with a slice of lemon.
• When traveling, bring along nutritious foods that will not spoil such as fresh fruit, small cans of fruit, peanut butter and jelly (spread both thin) sandwiches, whole grain crackers, carrot sticks, air-popped popcorn, and bottled water. If you stop at a fast food restaurant, choose one that serves salads, or order the small burger with lettuce and tomato. Have water or nonfat milk with your meal instead of a soft drink. If you want french fries, order the small size.

Remember...

The amount of calories you eat affects your weight and health. In addition to selecting a healthful variety of foods, look at the size of the portions you eat. Choosing nutritious foods and keeping portion sizes sensible may help you reach and stay at a healthy weight.

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Secretary Tommy G. Thompson's public schedule:

• Tuesday, September 23 at 10:00 am - TANF PRESS CONFERENCE at the United States Capitol, Mansfield Room, S207

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Last updated September 23, 2003
United States Department of Health and Human Services
Contact the HHS Newsletter Team.