Extension Communications
3614 Administrative Services Building
Ames, Iowa 50011-3614
(515) 294-9915
3/12/01
Release: Immediate
Contacts:
Connie Betterley, Expanded Food and Nutrition Education
Program, 515-294-1511, cbetter@iastate.edu
Carol Ouverson, Continuing Education and Communication
Services, 515-294-9640, couverso@iastate.edu
Study Shows Nutrition Education Pays
AMES, Iowa -- Nutrition education makes an economic impact through significant health care savings, according to a recently released study from Iowa State University Extension.
The study examined Iowa's Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP) and found that for every dollar spent to bring nutrition education to Iowa families, $10.75 is saved in future health care costs.
"This study used current health care costs, as well as current wage rates, to quantify the benefits that occur with changes in nutritional habits," stated Helen Jensen, professor of economics with the Center for Agricultural and Rural Development (CARD) at ISU.
"Good nutritional habits benefit families by improving their health and well-being. Health care costs are lowered when well-nourished families avoid diseases such as osteoporosis, foodborne illness, obesity, diabetes, and commonly occurring infant diseases," according to Connie Betterley, state coordinator of EFNEP.
EFNEP has educated low-income families in Iowa for over 30 years. Each year about 2,000 families in seven counties learn how to eat better and spend their food dollars wisely, Betterley said.
EFNEP is funded through USDA-CSREES; Iowa has received flat funding of $873,324 per year since October 1996. Additional funding of approximately $213,000 is provided through the seven local county ISU Extension councils, local agency partners and additional grant funding, Betterley said.
Copies of the study, An Evaluation of the Costs and Benefits of Iowa's EFNEP, PM 1865, are available at $4.00 each from Extension Distribution Center, ISU, Ames, 515-294-5247. The study also may be accessed online at http://www.extension.iastate.edu/Pages/pubs/catalog.htm, following the EFNEP link.
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