TRAVIS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.-- Nurses, medics and administration professionals from the 60th Inpatient Squadron at David Grant USAF Medical Center at Travis Air Force Base, California, hosted nutritional medicine personnel during their My Plate training day pot luck March 21.
March is National Nutrition Month, and in celebration the 60th IPTS focused their training day on My Plate, and eating healthy, nutritious meals.
Training days typically consisting of a variety of briefings and activities are held monthly in the 60th IPTS to educate the staff about topics related to their career field. When 1st Lt. Sarah Yetzer began planning the training day, she wanted it to be different than other training days.
“Because it is National Nutrition Month, we wanted to focus on healthy choices and learn about My Plate, the United States Department of Agriculture recommendation for healthy eating,” said Yetzer. “It is absolutely a challenge for Airmen with shift work to have healthy diets because of time constraints, and we thought this would help.”
For the pot-luck, the six flights from the 60th IPTS brought in healthy food items. Additionally, each section created one plate to be judged by Capt. Jeffery Perry, and Senior Airman Bryan Metcalfe, from nutritional medicine.
“We love nutrition, it’s what we do,” said Perry. “We were overjoyed when lieutenant Yetzer asked us to collaborate for the training day.”
Perry and Metcalfe sampled food from each flight, and selected the plate that was closest to the My Plate recommendation as the winner. Their goal plate focused on variety, amount and nutrition, as well as foods and beverages low in saturated fat, sodium and added sugars.
“Around the Air Force we have many obligations besides our primary duty that keeps us busy,” said Perry. “Security forces for instance is constantly worrying about other people. With jobs like these, you don’t always remember to take care of yourself.”
The Air Force puts high standards on physical health and readiness, and understanding proper nutrition is helpful to achieving success.
Twice a year, Airmen around the Air Force are placed in three categories after taking a fitness assessment. If they receive a composite score equal to or greater than 90, and meet all minimum components, they are placed in the excellent category. Airmen who receive a composite score of 75-89.99 with all minimum components met are deemed satisfactory, and those who receive a composite score less than 75 and/or one or more minimum components not met fall in to the unsatisfactory category.
One of the most convenient tools for maintaining good health and achieving an excellent score on a fitness assessment is understanding nutritional needs. These Airmen at David Grant USAF Medical Center are doing just that.
“I think it did inspire conversation about what healthy food is,” added Yetzer. “This event resulted in people looking at their own eating habits and what healthier options they have.”