VANCOUVER - The Dietitians of Canada have recognized the British Columbia government for its efforts in promoting healthy eating and physical activity through ActNow BC.

"Every move is a good move," said Minister of State for ActNow BC Gordon Hogg, as he accepted the award. "Good nutrition is one of the pillars of ActNow BC. By making small changes in diet and exercise, we can improve our quality of life."

At the Dietitians of Canada Conference, the following were recognized:

* Provincial Nutritionist Lisa Forster-Coull, for her vision and leadership in bringing Dietitians of Canada and Dial-a-Dietitian together. She will be the Canada Speaker at the International Congress of Dietetics in Japan next year.

* Nutritionist Cathy Richards, on behalf of the ministries of Health and Education for their work with the School Food and Beverage Sales Guidelines. These guidelines encourage schools to adopt healthier choices in vending machines and food sales.

* Allison Bunney for her work on the nutritional impact of food hampers in B.C.

"It's important that all British Columbians understand the impact proper nutrition can have on their overall health," said Health Minister George Abbott. "Many types of disease, including heart disease and diabetes, as well as the health of our immune systems, are impacted by the foods we eat. We need to be reminded that we have a lot of control over our
health through nutrition."

While the rest of Canada received poor grades in the latest Conference Board of Canada Report on socio-economic performance, ActNow BC is being highlighted as a model that should be incorporated across Canada.

The Conference Board of Canada's How Canada Performs: A Report Card on Canada states that British Columbia'sinternationally lauded ActNow BC program, which encourages citizens to exercise more and eat healthier food, is a particularly promising model of intra-governmental collaboration in healthy policy development.

How Canada Performs: A Report Card on Canada is a comprehensive and detailed comparison of Canada's socio-economic performance with that of other leading industrialized countries.

ActNow BC is a partnership-based cross-ministry health and wellness initiative that promotes healthy living choicesto improve the quality of life for all British Columbians. A key goal of the initiative is to make British Columbia the healthiest region ever to host an Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games in 2010.

For more information on the Dietitians of Canada visit: www.dietitians.ca

To view How Canada Performs: A Report Card on Canada, visit: www.conferenceboard.ca

For additional information on ActNow BC, visit: www.actnowbc.ca