On October 27, department chair, Dr. Stacey Snelling moderated a webinar featuring Dr. Margo Wootan, DSc- President of MXG Strategies, on Supporting Health through Food Policy. Dr. Wootan is known for her efforts in improving school food, requiring calorie labeling at fast-food and other chain restaurants, requiring trans-fat labeling on packaged foods, improving children’s menus at restaurants, reducing unhealthy food marketing aimed at children, and expanding on nutrition and physical activity programs at the Centers for Disease Control (CDC). Having been named one of the Most Innovative Women in Food and Drink by Fortune Magazine, she is also a co-founder of the National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA) and the Food Marketing Workgroup.

To provide some context for the scope and importance on Dr. Wootan’s work, Dr. Snelling gave some background on food statistics in the United States. “Food is the number one cause of poor health”, Snelling said. “Unfortunately, now we have surpassed tobacco and therefore, one would say that Americans are sick because of food choices, rather than healthier.” The current pandemic has exacerbated several causes of these outcomes including food insecurity.

Wootan addressed how attention to food and nutrition has skyrocketed since the 1990s, particularly in the political sphere. Much of this attention is due to the push from former first lady, Michelle Obama, and her “Let’s Move!” campaign. It used to be that “I would call and call and call in order to get a meeting with a congressional office and even then, would get the intern or legislative correspondent,” Wootan said. “And over time, just watching that interest grow to where members of Congress or assembly members would call me and say, ‘Hey, I’d like to do something.” This shift also included public interest and concern for better health and the environment. Grocery stores began to stock shelves with organic and plant-based options as the demand for such products grew. Dr. Wootan went on to describe how food marketing changed as a result of increased awareness surrounding nutrition and health outcomes, particularly in schools. “There’s still a lot of work to do and I think the food system still works against people more than it does for them,” she said. But recent changes in policy on the state and local levels have built momentum to the point where “the soft drink and snack food industry felt that their customers no longer wanted soda and junk food in schools and were getting too much bad press to make it work it.”

Dr. Wootan talked about local policies and the Healthy Hunger Free Kids act that pulled unhealthy snacks from schools. She mentioned how food policy changes are affected on every level but the national press surrounding nutrition in communities has helped develop momentum for the movement.

She explained how food manufacturers pay grocery stores to feature their products in high touch areas. Well-funded companies such as Coca Cola, have the resources to place their product in multiple places throughout the store, which markets to a shopper’s subconscious. On average, food manufacturers spend twice as much on marketing in supermarkets than they do on external advertising. Some companies even pay supermarkets to place their product, 25 different places around the store. “A number of advocates around the country, are encouraging supermarkets directly to clean up their act, and instead of promoting junk food so heavily, to switch things around and take control of their shelves,” Wootan said. Policy changes for supermarket regulation are still on a grassroots level but are predicted to experience significant increases in momentum in the coming months.

Dr. Wootan was then asked about her proudest moment in her food policy career. “I think the policy that’s had the biggest impact is Healthy Hunger Free Kids Act,” she said. A USDA study that came out earlier this year showed that the act has improved school lunches by about 40%. She also talked about labeling trans fat on products and ultimately eliminating it from the food supply. This significantly reduced the number of heart attacks per year by about 50,000 and made the policy more equitable. Regardless of education, race, economic status or time constraints, Americans do not have to be conscious of avoiding trans-fat.

A participant questioned why food policy and chronic disease are not a major issue for most politicians, since data shows they cause the majority of health concerns in Americans. Dr. Wootan explained how making prevention a priority is difficult. Things that cause death more suddenly and are out of an individual’s control receive more attention because they are scarier whereas things that kill more slowly, do not receive as much attention. “Its just the way we perceive risk,” she said.

Dr. Wootan used the COVID-19 pandemic as an example: “We’d all agree that the pandemic is terrible…200,000 people have died and its something that should be a priority…but unhealthy eating habits kill three times as many people every year.” Dr. Wootan continued that many people see food choices as an individual choice and think less about the social determinants or marketing that play into our ability to make choices. “Clearly, this is not an individual failing. This is a societal problem.”

To conclude, Dr. Wootan was asked to debunk the myth that eating healthy is more expensive than eating junk. She mentioned how the USDA has conducted studies indicating that fruits and vegetables are not more expensive than snack foods. An apple or a banana is generally cheaper than a bag of chips or a candy bar and is often more filling. She also noted how there are ways to shop for household food items that people tend to buy anyway but in a way that’s both health and affordable. “Look at the generic brand whole wheat pasta, rather than the fancy Italian white pasta!” she said. In the end, it saves money on health care costs as well, but for immediate shopping needs, “it does take some education.”

On September 30, 2020, esteemed Health Promotion Management alumni, Wolf Kirsten, Founder of International Health Consulting and Co-Founder of Global Centre for Healthy Workplaces, presented to alumni, current, and prospective students on Global Health Promotion in Times of a Global Pandemic. Moderated by Department Chair, Stacey Snelling, Kirsten provided background on his journey from AU to starting his own consulting company and launching a global healthy workplace awards system. 

Wolf Kirsten began development of the Global Centre for Healthy Workplaces as a result of being part of a World Health Organization (WHO) panel of experts to develop a model that reflected health in the workplace. Areas within the Healthy Workplace model included psychosocial work environment, personal health resources, physical work environment and enterprise community involvement. While this model may have been comprehensive, a rollout strategy was needed to connect the model to the corporate sector. The solution became the Global Healthy Workplace Awards program. 

The awards program drew success as it spread through the corporate world, recruiting various countries, public and private enterprises of different sizes, and government organizations. By using the WHO model, awards are scored based on a questionnaire and proof of execution within the company. A panel of Global Awards judges review the applications and choose two finalists from three categories based on size. The six companies are then invited to the Global Healthy Workplace Summit, where they present on their workplace program and are given a score by the judges that accounts for a percentage of the final score. Since 2013, the summit has been held in a different country each year but will be virtual in 2020.  

“The Global Summit will explore how to build organisational resilience during times of crisis and address business continuity and mental wellbeing challenges featuring key speakers from the ILO, IES, ABCHealth, Optum and Arogyaworld, as well as presentations from the world’s best workplace health programmes from GSK, HSBC, Cognosante, Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, APHRC and Swisse Wellness. Plus the findings from the global Working at Home Wellbeing Survey will be released.”

The Global Centre for Healthy Workplaces has also initiated other projects worldwide. Duty of Care for non-governmental organizations (NGO’s) was examined to help to create uniformed standards for employee wellbeing. The Healthy Investments project is a study into how investors and financial institutions perceive healthy workplaces in valuing their portfolio, outside of financial indicators only. Another current global project is the Working from Home Wellbeing Survey which uses an instrument developed by the Institute of Employment Studies in the UK to assess the impact of working from home on a global scale. Finally, the Global Centre launched the Global Alliance for Healthy Workplaces in 2016 which brings together key international organizations and leading corporations for a stronger global voice and alignment of initiatives.

The Global Centre for Healthy Workplaces provides a space in which organizations worldwide can come together to achieve a higher standard of wellness for their employees and seeks to achieve a healthier, more productive working experience, regardless of company size, location or circumstance.

On October 22, 2019, the Department of Health Studies (DHS) hosted Necia Freeman at a screening of the Netflix Oscar Nominated Documentary short,Heroin(E) a panel event for students, DHS faculty, and DHS staff. This documentary details three Hunting West Virginia native's (a fire chief, a judge, and a missionary) quest to save their community from the heroine epidemic in the Region. Missionary at Back Packs and Brown Bags Ministry, Necia Freeman, came to speak on what is being done in the community now, details on drug court, and the future of Huntington. The discussion was moderated by Dr. Anastasia Snelling.

Bob Rosen is Chairman and CEO of Healthy Companies International. Bob Rosen is the best-selling author of eight books, including the New York Times bestseller, Grounded: How Leaders Stay Rooted in an Uncertain World, and the Washington Post bestseller, CONSCIOUS: The Power of Awareness in Business and Life. Bob Rosen presented to faculty and staff in the Department of Health Studies, Human Resources, and AhealthyU about leadership on September 18, 2018. 

On October 4, 2018, Dr. Karambu Ringera from Meru, Kenya gave an enlightening talk on the importance of empowerment for creating social change. Regardless of a person’s life situation, it is imperative for a person to feel that they have the self-efficacy necessary to take charge of their life. This is essential for improving health behaviors, yet people who come from challenging situations often think of themselves as victims, rather than leaders. Dr. Ringera challenged this paradigm and gave examples of how she is inspiring change in marginalized groups in Kenya by empowering individuals to find change within themselves.

The Department of Health Studies showed the documentary, The Liberation, on November 5, 2018. The Liberation tells the story about recovering addicts, former drug dealers, and felons going through the DC Central Kitchen Culinary Training Program. Students from Professor Young’s Living and Dying in DC class and Professor Davis’ Food Justice Matters class attended the event, as well as students, faculty, and staff in the Department of Health Studies. Brendan Canty, one of the directors of the film and Professors Celeste Davis and Jessica Young led a panel to answer questions and discuss the film.

On February 19, 2019, the Department of Health Studies (DHS) hosted The Role of Community Organizations in Promoting Health in DC for students, DHS faculty, and DHS staff. Rodrigo Stein, Health Promotion and Health Equity Manager at La Clinica del Pueblo, Jessica Rogers, Development Operations Manager at DC Central Kitchen, and Molly McGlinchy from Capital Area Food Bank led a panel discussion about how their organizations are promoting health in Washington, DC and how students can get involved in their organizations. Professor Melissa Hawkins moderated the panel discussion.