154065 Promoting Canada's new food guide

Monday, November 5, 2007

Peter Yendall, BComm (Honours) , Director, Public Affairs, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
Karen Robertson, MA Comms , Senior Communications Advisor, Health Canada, Ottawa, ON, Canada
  
Promoting Canada's New Food Guide

In 2004, Health Canada embarked on revising the 1992 Canada's Food Guide to Healthy Eating to provide Canadians with the most current information on eating well and living healthy. The Food Guide has been one of Canada's most trusted sources of information on healthy eating for over 65 years and is the second-most requested Government publication. The revision of the Guide was evidence-based, grounded in nutritional science, and developed within an overarching strategy to contribute to the health of Canadians.

The new Food Guide now emphasizes the importance of combining regular physical activity with healthy eating for overall health and vitality and if followed, most Canadians will meet their nutrient needs, achieve and maintain a healthy weight, and reduce their risk of chronic diseases, such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, heart disease, some types of cancer, and osteoporosis.

The new Food Guide includes a fulfillment piece, a guide for communicators and educators, a poster, and an enhanced web component that includes a personalized interactive web tool.

The comprehensive media strategy comprised a national television campaign promoting the new Food Guide as well as an earned media component that included simultaneous national events (English Canada and French Canada), a series of articles to 1300 community newspapers, a significant web presence, as well as recruitment of key stakeholders for third party endorsements.

While the Food Guide was launched in early 2007, initial feedback points to great success.

Learning Objectives:
1. Learn how Health Canada’s multi-faceted campaign, combining nutrition and physical activity, moves Canadians from awareness to action. 2.Recognize how public opinion research played a major role in the campaign and how to apply it to your initiative. 3.Learn to identify and understand the role of key stakeholders in promoting and communicating your campaign.

Keywords: Nutrition, Health Promotion

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

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