Message from the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of Health

This content was archived on June 24, 2013.

National Nutrition Month

March 2011

March is Nutrition Month in Canada. This year, Dietitians of Canada has chosen the theme, " Celebrate food...from field to table!" to promote healthy eating.

Our government supports the health and well-being of Canadians and their families, through various healthy-eating initiatives:

Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide and Eating Well with Canada's Food Guide - First Nations, Inuit, and Métis, provide Canadians with simple and easy-to-follow nutrition advice. These guides advise on how much food you need, what types of foods are better for you, and healthy ways to prepare them. The First Nations, Inuit, and Métis guide also reflects the values, traditions, and food choices of Aboriginal peoples.

The Eat Well and Be Active Educational Toolkit includes an educational poster and downloadable activity plans. The Toolkit can be used by health educators to increase Canadians' knowledge of healthy eating and physical activity, and to inspire them to take action to maintain and improve their health.

Federal, provincial and territorial Health Ministers have agreed to make childhood obesity a collective priority by endorsing Curbing Childhood Obesity: A Federal, Provincial and Territorial Framework for Action to Promote Healthy Weights. This framework is guiding our work to engage citizens, government and non-government partners, as well as industry to develop a shared approach to turning the tide on childhood obesity. This will include discussions on different ways to increase the availability and accessibility of nutritious foods, and to reduce the marketing to children and youth of foods and beverages that are high in fat, sugar, or sodium. We are also seeking opportunities to work with health partners to create environments that support healthy weights.

In the fall, I launched the Nutrition Facts Education Campaign with Food & Consumer Products of Canada. The campaign helps consumers better understand and use the Nutrition Facts table, specifically the % Daily Value. It does this with messaging on food packages, in the national media, and on Health Canada's educational website. Dietitians of Canada have also included information on the % Daily Value in their newly launched cookbook.

In May 2010, the Minister of Indian and Northern Affairs Canada and I announced the creation of Nutrition North Canada, which will replace the Food Mail Program as of April 1, 2011. This new program will subsidize retailers for the cost of shipping healthy, perishable foods to northern isolated communities, as well as support nutrition education activities.

To find out more about these initiatives and healthy eating, please visit Health Canada's website. For ideas on how to get physically active, please visit the Public Health Agency of Canada website.

In keeping with National Nutrition Month, I encourage Canadians to make every effort to choose nutritious food, whatever the occasion.

Leona Aglukkaq
Minister of Health
Government of Canada