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| about PANA |  |
As youth, we learn the importance of eating a well-balanced diet and being physically active every day. Yet, we don’t always find ourselves in an environment that’s supportive of making these healthy choices.
For decades, organizations across the country have been working to reduce health risks – cancer, diabetes, heart disease, etc. – associated with a poor diet and sedentary lifestyle. In Pennsylvania, these and other organizations have come together under one unifying network to collectively influence a change in culture where making healthy choices is easy.
Since 2003, Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition and Activity (PANA) have worked collectively to make it easier to be healthy in the places where we live, learn, work and play. By bringing together health and wellness champions at the local, regional and state level, the network is changing environments to support healthy eating and physical activity options.
Led by staff at the Center for Nutrition and Activity Promotion at Penn State Hershey Children's Hospital, PANA engages schools, recreation centers, local parks and trails, healthcare, and the community in programs, campaigns and events that promote healthy eating and active living. The success of these initiatives has resulted in the development of a national, branded social movement: nrgBalance™ — make healthy easy.
Through nrgBalance, the Center is poised to expand PANA’s accomplishments to the national level.
Established by the Pennsylvania Department of Health with funding from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, PANA was originally formed to facilitate the implementation of Pennsylvania’s Nutrition and Physical Activity Plan to Prevent Obesity and Related Chronic Diseases, published in 2003 by the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
PANA officially began operating in January 2003. Since that time, the network has grown to encompass individuals and organizations from healthcare, education, local municipalities, transportation, parks and recreation, local health councils, community health organizations and the government.
Its efforts, guided by a 15–20-member advisory council and supported by a broader network of leadership partners, have:
Pennsylvania Advocates for Nutrition and Activity work collectively to make it easier to be healthy in the places we live, learn, work and play by changing environments to support healthier eating and physical activity options.
