'Change Clubs' get Americans moving - USA Today

Miriam Nelson is taking her message of exercise and healthy eating on the road.

The nutrition researcher from Tufts University in Boston has been touting the benefits of nutritious food and regular physical activity for years.

In the 1990s, she spearheaded ground-breaking research that showed that women can gain muscle strength, flexibility and balance into their 70s and beyond if they do weight training regularly. She has written a number of books on the benefits of exercise, including Strong Women Stay Young.

She was vice chair of the committee that created the 2008 Physical Activity Guidelines for Americans, which encouraged adults to get at least 2½ hours of moderate-intensity physical activity each week. And she was also a member of the committee that wrote the latest federal dietary guidelines to help people eat healthier.

Now she's taking her message directly to communities around the country. For the next nine weeks, she is traveling from Kenai, Alaska, to Brodheadsville, Pa., encouraging people in eight towns — where she has previously helped start community exercise programs — to make changes so everyone is healthier.

"This came out of the desire to help people understand the factors in their communities that determine their body weight, what they eat and how active they are," says Nelson, author of a new book, The Social Network Diet: Change Yourself, Change Your World written with Jennifer Ackerman (FastPencil, $12.95).

Several recent studies show that weight gain spreads through social networks; that is, one person's obesity can significantly increase the chance that his or her friends, siblings and spouse also will become heavy. And if a person slims down, the people around him or her also may lose weight.

At the heart of the matter is the sharing of acceptable norms for weight, as well as sharing similar eating and exercise environments.

Her goal with this new book and the trip is to develop social networks of tens of thousands of people.

Within each of these first eight communities, Nelson is forming what she calls Change Clubs, groups of women who come together to work on changing themselves and their communities, and reverse the obesity epidemic.

The clubs may make improvements at schools, parks, community programs and other places. So far, mostly women have signed on, but Nelson hopes more men will get onboard. The clubs plan to:

•Serve healthier fare at concession stands at rodeos, basketball and football games in Choteau, Mont. "Right now it's fried food and sugar-sweetened beverages," Nelson says. Those in charge plan to offer more apples, local produce, bottled water and 100% juice.

•Increase physical activity in Kenai, Alaska, by establishing a volunteer network to lead historical walks, nature walks and berry-picking forays.

•Work on improving food and beverage choices at after-school programs in Pratt, Kan., as well as getting kids to become more active.

"People can take on the food culture and improve it," says Nelson, director of the John Hancock Research Center on Physical Activity, Nutrition and Obesity Prevention at Tufts. "Others can create their own Change Clubs in whatever town they are in. The hope is that the actions of these people will have a ripple effect that spreads, creating the major change this country so desperately needs."

To start a change club, go to www.strongwomen. com/tour

Besides your social network, the environment has a huge impact on your weight and activity level, Nelson says. "You can walk down almost any street in any community and stores carry more unhealthy foods than healthy ones."

In many places, it's hard to be physically active because of a limited number of sidewalks and biking and hiking trails.

To jump-start your weight loss, nutrition expert Miriam Nelson suggests trying to eat the healthiest way possible for seven days.

The goal of her plan is to wean yourself off of sugary and processed foods and to learn to enjoy the taste of foods such as fruits and vegetables. By doing this, you should cut calories and yet feel full and satisfied, says Nelson, author of The Social Network Diet.

Here are her suggestion for the seven-day jump-start plan:

•Focus on the foundation. Each day, eat at least three whole vegetables, three whole fruits, three servings of whole grains (oatmeal, whole-grain barley, brown rice) and three servings (four ounces) of lean protein-rich foods.

•Eat these foods in abundance. You may eat as many whole vegetables, fruits, legumes (black beans, chickpeas, pinto beans) and whole grains as you like.

•Avoid two no-nos for the week. No added sugars or refined grains. That means you'll be cutting out processed foods, fast food, salty snacks, sugary beverages.

•Do 150 minutes of moderate physical activity a week. Or 75 minutes of vigorous activity during the seven-day period. Try to break a sweat at least three times a week because research shows vigorous exercise offers great benefits, Nelson says.

•Strength traintwo to three days per week.

If you follow this plan, you're going to lose weight naturally over time, she says.

"While it will be really tough to follow this jump-start program, what you learn from it will be invaluable," Nelson says.

"You will learn a few key things that you can adopt for the rest of your life. You don't have to live a perfectly clean life. Making a few changes will go a long way."

14 Sep, 2011

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