National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity

The National Alliance for Nutrition and Activity (NANA) advocates federal policies and programs to promote healthy eating and physical activity to help reduce the illnesses, disabilities, premature deaths, and costs caused by diet and inactivity-related diseases, such as heart disease, cancer, high blood pressure, diabetes, and obesity.

NANA promotes, within the legislative and executive branches of government, a better understanding of the importance of healthy eating, physical activity, and obesity control to the nation's health and health-care costs. NANA aims to cultivate champions for nutrition, physical activity, and obesity prevention in Congress and federal agencies. Efforts include supporting effective education programs, advocating adequate funding for programs, and promoting policy and environmental changes that help Americans eat better and be more physically active.

After a decade of national, state and local advocacy to improve the quality of school foods, the NANA coalition led the effort to pass the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act, a bill to improve and reauthorize the child nutrition programs. It includes a provision to get unhealthy foods and beverages out of vending machines, a la carte lines and other school venues. The passage of this historic legislation provides over 31 million American children with greater access to healthy school food. President Obama signed the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act into law on December 13, 2010.

NANA also has led the effort to strengthen resources for nutrition and physical activity promotion at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). As a result of our efforts, CDC's Division of Nutrition, Physical Activity and Obesity's funding has increased from $2 million per year in FY 1998 to $45 million per year in FY 2010.

NANA's policy priorities include: