Publication Date
Fall 2025
Document Type
Poster
Primary Faculty (Chairperson)
Dr. Denise Ogorek
Secondary Faculty
Dr. Dawn Magee
Abstract
Background: Over 100 million American adults are obese. This has increased from 38.5% in 2013-2016 to 41.8% in 2017-2020 and is predicted to keep rising. Significant health risks are linked to obesity, prompting weight loss movements at the local, national and global level. Recently, Semaglutide has been favored in weight loss programs but must be augmented by education on healthy diet and physical activity for weight reduction and maintenance.
Purpose: The purpose of this scholarly project was to pilot the MyPlate method on healthy diet and physical activity and determine its effects on patient knowledge of healthy diet and physical activity for those enrolled in a weight loss program.
Methods: This quality improvement project utilized MyPlate educational resources and tools on healthy diet and physical activity for a primary care clinic where patients received weekly Semaglutide injections. Patients received weekly education sessions on healthy diet and physical activity by staff.
Results: A total of fifteen patients participated, the majority of which were females 67 % (n=10). Most patients had prior knowledge regarding co-morbidities, nutrition and physical activity but lacked insight into fasting/ skipping meals and anti-obesity drugs. Healthy diet recommendations were followed closely by 60% (n=9) of the patients and 34% (n=5) followed the physical activity recommendations. Findings indicate a further need for education about diet, medications, and physical activity.
Conclusion: Providing weekly MyPlate resource education to patients augmented knowledge and supported adherence to dietary and physical activity recommendations. The findings support incorporating MyPlate into the clinics weight loss programs.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License
Recommended Citation
Sullivan, Christin, "MyPlate for Healthy Diet and Physical Activity: A Pilot Project" (2025). Doctor of Nursing Practice. 12.
https://repository.gonzaga.edu/nursing_dnp/12
Research Paper