Every year since 1980, March is known as National Nutrition Month. The campaign focuses attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits.

National Nutrition Month is an annual campaign sponsored by the American Dietetic Association (ADA) to promote nutrition awareness and education. It originated in 1973 as "National Nutrition Week" and expanded to the month-long observance in 1980 in response to growing public interest in nutrition.

This year's theme, “Put Your Best Fork Forward,” inspires us to start with small changes in our eating habits – one forkful at a time.

This serves as a reminder that each of us holds the tool to make healthier food choices. Making small changes now and over time will improve your health now and into the future. There is no time like the present to start making some healthier choices and take advantage of all the resources available to you throughout this month.

The key messages for this years’ National Nutrition Month celebration:

Create an eating style that includes a variety of your favorite, healthful foods. Start your day with a nutritious breakfast. Fill half your plate with fruits and vegetables. Make at least half of the grains you eat whole grains.

Practice cooking more at home and experiment with healthier ingredients.

How much we eat is as important as what we eat. Eat and drink the right amount for you, as MyPlate encourages us to do. Nutrient-dense options- foods packed with important nutrients- are naturally lean or low in solid fats and have little or no added solid fats, sugars or sodium.

Find activities that you enjoy and be physically active most days of the week.

Manage your weight or lower your health risks by consulting a registered dietitian nutritionist (RDN). They can provide sound, easy-to-follow personalized nutrition advice to meet your lifestyle, preferences and health-related needs. Anyone can call themselves a nutritionist, but only a RDN has completed multiple layers of education and training.