1. Nutrition and Obesity Competitive Grants
Etta Saltos, Ph.D.
National Program Leader, Human Nutrition
February 23, 2010

2. OBESITY PROBLEM: Why USDA? Why NIFA?
1. USDA/NIFA Strategic Goal: One of 6, Improve the Nation’s Nutrition and Health
2. White House interest in combating childhood obesity (
3. USDA is responsible for Agriculture & Food Systems
The first question to ask is “why”. Why should CSREES be involved. I have listed 6 reasons. First, USDA has a long standing goal of “Promoting Health by Providing Access to safe, Affordable and Nutritious Food”. Work in this area supports President Bush’s “Healthier US” Initiative. USDA has been given the leadership role for one of the 4 pillars of this Initiative—the one on Healthy Diet. A healthy diet is one that helps you achieve and maintain a healthy weight & physical activity is an essential component. This makes sense that this is USDA’s part in the Initiative because USDA has primary responsibility for American ag & food systems.
There is no doubt that food plays an important role in obesity. In fact, the bottom line is simple—it is a matter of calories in and calories out under the influence of heredity. However, we also know that the etiology, prevention and treatment of obesity are extremely complex. We believe that CSREES, its REE partners and the Land-grant System are uniquely suited to take the multidisciplinary, coordinated approach that is needed to address the problem of obesity. The rest of what I am going to discuss is How we address the problem of obesity.
Focus on the last 2 reasons as to why USDA should be addressing the obesity epidemic. USDA, CSREES & the Land-grant system are uniquely able to address the complexity of the obesity problem.

3. OBESITY PROBLEM: Why USDA? Why NIFA?
4. Obesity = imbalance of food intake & energy expenditure
5. Etiology, prevention & treatment are multidimensional & extremely complex.
6. NIFA & Land-grant system are uniquely suited to take a multidimensional, coordinated approach.
Focus on the last 2 reasons as to why USDA should be addressing the obesity epidemic. USDA, NIFA & the Land-grant system are uniquely able to address the complexity of the obesity problem.
The first question to ask is “why”. Why should CSREES be involved. I have listed 6 reasons. First, USDA has a long standing goal of “Promoting Health by Providing Access to safe, Affordable and Nutritious Food”. Work in this area supports President Bush’s “Healthier US” Initiative. USDA has been given the leadership role for one of the 4 pillars of this Initiative—the one on Healthy Diet. A healthy diet is one that helps you achieve and maintain a healthy weight & physical activity is an essential component. This makes sense that this is USDA’s part in the Initiative because USDA has primary responsibility for American ag & food systems.
There is no doubt that food plays an important role in obesity. In fact, the bottom line is simple—it is a matter of calories in and calories out under the influence of heredity. However, we also know that the etiology, prevention and treatment of obesity are extremely complex. We believe that CSREES, its REE partners and the Land-grant System are uniquely suited to take the multidisciplinary, coordinated approach that is needed to address the problem of obesity. The rest of what I am going to discuss is How we address the problem of obesity.
Focus on the last 2 reasons as to why USDA should be addressing the obesity epidemic. USDA, CSREES & the Land-grant system are uniquely able to address the complexity of the obesity problem.

4. NIFA Niche Addresses Obesity
Prevention, not treatment
Behavioral & environmental factors, not biochemistry or genetics
Focus on food, not supplements or meal replacements
Include physical activity as part of obesity prevention

5. NIFA Niche Addresses Obesity
Improve health, not just weight
Focus on “eating competence” not just diet prescriptions
Promote healthy and enjoyable eating and physical activity
Respect body-size diversity
Address food/emotion relationships

6. AFRI Authorization
Created by the Food, Conservation and Energy Act of (Farm Bill)
Supersedes National Research Initiative (NRI) and Initiative for Future Agriculture and Food Systems (IFAFS)
Authorized for appropriation of $700M for FY (FY $202M; FY 2010 $262M)
No less than 30% will be made available for integrated programs
Of funds allocated for research, 40% for applied research & 60% for fundamental research
Indirect costs capped at 22%

7. AFRI Program Types Fundamental and Applied Research Education
Extension
Integrated Research, Education, and Extension
Coordinated Agricultural Project (CAP)

8. Integrated Projects – Putting It All Together
Bringing together the three components of the agricultural knowledge system (research, education, extension) around a problem or activity
Integrated Project
Research
Education
Extension
An integrated project is NOT a research project with a conference or web page development tacked on at the end. A good integrated project is like a three-legged stool. All three legs must be present to hold the stool up.

9. NIFA Integrated Programs
What does optimal integration look like?
Research, education, and extension components complement one another and are truly necessary for the ultimate success of the project.

10. NIFA Integrated Programs
Integrated Project Characteristics
Stakeholder Driven
Issue / Problem Focused
Outcome Oriented

11. NIFA Integrated Programs
Strong Integrated Projects Include:
Collaborative Team Approach
Management Plan
Evaluation Plan
Sustained Educational Initiatives

12. AFRI Integrated Programs
Research, Education and Extension (2 of 3 components
Logic model required
No more than 2/3 of budget devoted to any single component
Management plan required
Thus waivers often are exercised for matches

13. AFRI 2010 Five Societal Challenge Areas
Keep American agriculture competitive while ending world hunger
Improve nutrition and end child obesity
Improve food safety for all Americans
Secure America’s energy future through renewable biofuels
Mitigate and adapt agriculture to variations in climate

14. AFRI 2010 Grants will be larger – up to $25M and longer in duration
Grants will be longer in duration – up to 5 yrs and in some cases, renewal will be granted upon achieving specific goals.
Pre- and postdoctoral fellowship grants “NIFA Fellows”

15. AFRI RFA
AFRI Request for Application: Also available from Grants.gov (search “AFRI”) Grants workshops:

16. Please read the RFA

17. Where did I see those blasted evaluation criteria?
Evaluation factors are program-dependent and very important. They are in the RFA.
Understand evaluation criteria before writing the proposal

18. Highlights
Researchers at the University of Illinois, Iowa State and Michigan State Universities are studying the relationship between food insecurity, stress and obesity
Family stressors are positively associated with child overweight and obesity
Public policies to alleviate stress may help reduce childhood obesity
Gundersen, et al. (2008) Pediatrics, 122: e529-e540
Garasky, et al. (2009) Social Science Research, 38:
Lohman, et al. (2009) Journal of Adolescent Health, 45:
Data sources: Welfare, Children and Families: A Three City Study; Child Development Supplement of the Panel Study of Income Dynamics. Stressors include family disruption and conflict, mental and physical health problems, housing issues, health care stureggles, financial strain, and lack of cognitive stimulation and emotional support

19. Education Highlights
Troth Yeddha’ Nutrition Project, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Interior-Aleutians Campus
Expand opportunities to educate rural health, behavioral health workers,
Tribal administrators, others
about nutrition & obesity
prevention
Prepare students to provide
nutrition & obesity prevention
to community members
This is an education and extension projectl 7 students completed 12-credit program in May, 09; 15 students began in September, 09. Educating rural school cooks, tribal administrators, Head Start educators, diabetes prevention workers, elder nutrition workers, and students with an interest in nutrition.
Working on Occupational Endorsement and a Certificate in Rural Nutrition. Many of the community people
touched by these projects increased physical activity, decreased
soda and sugary beverages, increased drinking water, switched
to healthier olive and canola oils, learned the healthful nutritional
values of local berries, salmon and game meat while increasing
health awareness.
Services

20. Integrated Project Highlight
From NRI:
Food Friends: Get Movin’ with Mighty Moves®, Colorado State University
Intervention to enhance preschoolers' gross motor skills, increase their physical activity levels in the classroom and encourage families to be more active
Intervention led to significant increases in gross motor abilities and physical fitness when compared to control group.
Approach: focus groups; study in Head Care centers.
Preschool intervention has contributed to the establishment of healthful behaviors for proper growth and development in the early years
Received $2.8M from CO Health Foundation to expand throughout state.

21. Integrated Project Highlight
From NRI:
Families and Schools for Health (FISH) project, Oklahoma State University
Test effectiveness of three intervention components, one targeting family eating and exercise, one that adds a family dynamics/therapy component, and one that targets school peers by facilitating inclusiveness and acceptance
Parental feeding practices predict general parenting styles
Interventions with children that fail to address parenting styles are not likely to be successful
Hubbs-Tait, et al. (2008). Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 108:
Intervention carried out in the context of family and peer relationships. Restriction, pressure to eat and monitoring significantly predicted an authoritarian parenting style. Responsibility, restriction, monitoring and modeling predicted an authoritative style; and modeling and restrictin signficantly predicted a permissive style.

22. Characteristics of Successful Nutrition Education Interventions
Intensive interventions with multiple components of nutrition education
Tailored intervention (s) to an individual rather than just nutrition education by itself
Formal rather than informal nutrition education format
Combination of education activities reinforced in multiple venues
Connection to community environment factors that influence obesity

23. Human Nutrition & Obesity
Abstracts of previously funded projects from National Research Initiative (2008 and earlier):
Abstracts of previously funded projects from AFRI (2009 and later):

26. Human Nutrition and Obesity National Program Leaders
Etta Saltos National Program Leader ; Susan Welsh ;

27. THANK YOU!