Multimedia Program Supports Diet, Exercise, Nutrition During COVID-19 Isolation

D-FEND program support health needs during COVID-19 quarantine

By Fred Miller – May 14, 2020

The Arkansas Nutrition and Exercise channel is a collaboration between the Center for Human Nutrition and Exercise is Medicine within the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture and the University of Arkansas, respectively. This is part of project D-FEND (Diet, Food, Exercise, and Nutrition during social distancing). The goal is to provide FAST FACTS that are science-based on topics related to nutrition, food, and exercise to help stay healthy during social distancing.

Media Contact

Fred Miller

U of A System Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station
(479) 575-5647 | fmiller@uark.edu

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — The time of coronavirus is no time to ignore diet and exercise.

A multimedia program from the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture is designed to help people focus on health and nutrition during COVID-19 isolation with video demonstrations, fact sheets and weekly open-forum online discussions.

The project is a collaboration of the Division of Agriculture’s Center for Human Nutrition and the University of Arkansas’ Exercise is Medicine program.

D-FEND — for Diet, Food, Exercise and Nutrition During social distancing — provides an open forum to discuss questions related to diet, food and exercise with scientific experts during COVID-19 isolation, said Jamie Baum, associate professor of nutrition for the Division of Agriculture and director of the Center for Human Nutrition.

Media Contact

Fred Miller

U of A System Division of Agriculture
Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station
(479) 575-5647 | fmiller@uark.edu

The program will also feature “Fast Facts” videos and fact sheets that are designed to help with decisions related to diet, food and exercise during social distancing, Baum said.

“I think this will be a way for people to connect in this time of isolation while also finding important and useful information

The open forum topics and “Fast Facts” are hosted or produced each week by Baum and University of Arkansas faculty and students from the Dale Bumpers College of Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences’ department of food science and the College of Education and Health Professions.

Baum will lead the first forum Friday, May 15, with an introduction to D-FEND, followed by a question-and-answer session. Register for Friday’s Forum .

Weekly topics so far include:

  • Venturing back out: shopping safely at the grocery
  • How to get your 10,000 steps at home
  • Get those Zzzzz’s: The importance of sleep
  • Exercising with your kids
  • Boost your immunity with diet and exercise
  • Budget bites! Snacks and meals that keep you full on a budget
  • Diet, exercise and mood
  • Kids in the kitchen: Cooking, eating healthy and food safety practices
  • Kids and exercise
  • Staying safe for the Fourth of July: Food safety, healthy recipes, physical activities

For more information contact Baum at the Center for Human Nutrition at cfhn@uark.edu or visit the D-FEND page .

he Center for Human Nutrition is a research collaboration of the Division of Agriculture’s Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station, the University of Arkansas and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

The Exercise is Medicine program is an initiative of the College of Education and Health Professions’ department of health, human performance and recreation.

To learn more about the Division of Agriculture Research, visit the Arkansas Agricultural Experiment Station website. Follow us on Twitter at @ArkAgResearch and Instagram at ArkAgResearch.

 

About the Division of Agriculture

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture’s mission is to strengthen agriculture, communities, and families by connecting trusted research to the adoption of best practices. Through the Agricultural Experiment Station and the Cooperative Extension Service, the Division of Agriculture conducts research and extension work within the nation’s historic land grant education system.

The Division of Agriculture is one of 20 entities within the University of Arkansas System. It has offices in all 75 counties in Arkansas and faculty on five system campuses.

The University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture offers all its Extension and Research programs and services without regard to race, color, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, national origin, religion, age, disability, marital or veteran status, genetic information, or any other legally protected status, and is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer.

D-FEND — Jamie Baum, associate professor of nutrition for the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.