Question 2
With obesity and weight related comorbidities on the rise in the United States, what is the best approach for dietitians to take in trying to slow the rise in obesity? What is the best way for dietitians to help solve the obesity problem?
posted by Kalee @ 7:01 PM
36 comments
36 Comments:
To slow the rise of obesity it needs to start with the younger portion of the population, and instead of just focusing on only children I think preventitive measures should be made from birth to 30 years. I feel this is important because this large population is our hope for the future and we need to do something now to prevent future problems. Awareness is the biggest thing, the Ad council does some wonderful eye opening commericals and billboards, maybe they can work with dietitians to create some effective messages. Education is also a huge component, in the schools as we have talked about before. I think encouraging people to participate in sports and physical activity even during/after college would be a good way to emphasize healthy lifestyle habits. Not quite sure how dietitans should help solve the obesity problem, there are so many factors to this weighty issue. One step could be to show people their options available for losing the weight, and the counseling services available from a dietitian. Many people who are obese just need a wake up call of what their grim future looks like if they don't change their habits. They also need to know that they are not alone, and to see they it isn't too late to make healthy changes... but as far as how dietitians can carry this out, can't put my finger on the answer yet.
Awareness and education are the keys to slowing the rise of obesity. Therefore, the best thing dietitians can do to help slow the rise of obesity is to share their knowledge with others. Specifically, dietitians can make a difference when counseling individuals in the clinical setting, by speaking at seminars, and by being involved in their community to raise awareness of healthy eating and healthy lifestyle habits.
One area that I feel passionate about is health education in the school setting. It would be great if dietitians could be more involved in the education of our youth by volunteering to speak at schools, or help to improve health education classes.
Also, as health professionals, dietitians should be concerned that Illinois is the only state in the US that requires K-12 physical education. Good nutrition and physical activity go hand in hand in slowing the rise of obesity, so dietitians could work to show the importance of teaching our youth that physical activity is an important factor in leading a healthy lifestyle.
I feel there is truly no one best way to approaching obesity. Dietitians need to keep an open mind to many different ways in helping an obese person. Some programs will work with some people while for others the program has little effect.
Dietitians need to not only focus on the obese population for education but also on the close family of those obese people. If their family is working on making their lives healthier than the obese person could in the long run be more motivated to work hard on becoming healthier.
Dietitians need to take a more drastic and active role in promoting health and wellness in this country on a more national level. I believe fast food companies have partially become so successful because of their amazing ability to market their products and devote much of their time creating life long customers with advertising directed at children. Dietitians need to approach health promotion in much the same way. We need to market our profession as not only worthwhile but necessary to the future health of our country. Dietitians need to become more active lobbyists in government so that physical education and nutrition education are valued in schools. Dietitians need to make our profession a household name. Many people when asking me my major give me a dumbfounded look when they hear dietetics. If the general public has never even heard of a dietitian then how are we supposed to be effective? We have a wealth of knowledge on how to treat this problem but it is useless if we do not make this information readily available to the public.
I think it’s very hard to say what the best way for dietitians to solve the obesity problem because if it were that easy we wouldn’t have an obesity problem like we do today and the jobs of dietitians would be that much easier. Although, I do feel that there are many different approaches to slowing the rise of obesity, education will probably be the number one way to slow this problem down. As a population as a whole, educating them in schools with classes, programs, speakers, having more wellness fairs around and available. I don’t think it should just be the younger people who should be educated, I think it should be all ages, genders and races of people who need health and nutrition education. Now I don’t personally remember too many nutrition lessons in school, but I don’t see why this can’t become more popular and helpful to young people. I also think educating the parents is necessary so they can be the role model for their children to learn and grow up healthy. As individuals, people need to be educated and helped based on their own needs. Every person is different and should be educated based on their body types, family history, and personal needs.
Jamie,
I like what you said about education and motivation tied together. It is crucial for dietitians to stay positive, helpful and motivate a client to their needs. I think it would be very easy for a client to want to give up and possibly go back to old, bad habits. It is important for dietitians to plan and motivate individuals to reach their goals and succeed. In the end, it’s both rewarding for the dietitian and the client!
Ultimately, dieticians must use a combination of both cognitive and behavioral strategies to slow the rise in obesity. Morbidly obese individuals need help fast. If we can quickly adjust some of that individual’s behaviors to help him or her lessen their risk for health complications that intervention needs to be taken right away. Certainly though simply adjusting one or two unhealthful behaviors is not enough to help the individual; we must educate the individual about nutrition and work to understand how and why this individual is obese. After learning about the individual and gaining his or her trust, maybe that dietician could have a magnified, positive effect because of his or her closeness to the individual. Befriending and gaining one’s trust may be a key to helping an individual develop a more healthful lifestyle.
The best way in my opinion to slow the rise of obesity is education and awareness. I think education should start in the home. Parents play such a vital role in influences eating behaviors. Dietitans should take an active role in educating the public, especially parents, how to take an active role in developing healthy eating patterns in their children. If parents teach children what healthy eating is and the importance of physical activity, I think that children will grow up with such a strong identification of a healthy lifestyle.
In reference to slowing obesity in the adult population, I believe that dietitian should help them to try to focus on what foods they should eat versus not eat. The media obviously has a huge influence on the way adults eat. Fad diets and restricting are consistent problems that dietitians should work to remove these ideas from peoples lifestyles. Education and focusing on being healthy opposed to just losing weight is key. Obese individuals need guidance on how to make important lifestyle changes to be healthy and not just to try to lose weight at a rapid pace like the media promotes.
Awareness and Education. I believe that these two areas are key in slowing the rate of obesity. We live in such a fast-paced world, that people want results immediately. People want their food fast, to shop fast and to get information fast. People also want to lose weight fast. Dietitians need to stress exercise. Dietitians need to educate the public on how to make quick, healthy meals. Dietitians need to make themselves more known to the population and be in every grocery store to offer assistance. Dietitians need to be on staff at gym’s for assistance. We need to make our profession more accessible and known to the public. By making the population more aware of the harm that fast food and sedentary lifestyles can do, we can make strides in helping the population combat obesity.
The best approach that dietitians can take to slow the obesity epidemic is to TALK!! The information that we have is so useful, and I feel like a lot of times the general public is never actually hearing it. I think that by talking more, to whoever will listen, dietitians will be much better able to stop the obesity epidemic. If I had to choose one population to focus on first, I would probably choose young children; they are at an important stage where they could still change some of their health habits before weight-related issues arise. Adolescents and young adults would also benefit from nutrition information, because this is the time when they are moving away from home and establishing a lot of their own health and eating habits. However, I also think it is incredibly important to talk to those individuals who are already obese. Dietitians can intervene and educate these individuals to make changes in their habits and lifestyles before life-threatening conditions occur, so this group is especially time-sensitive and should not be ignored! I guess my main point is that we as dietitians need to educate people about nutrition, no matter what age, sex, or race.
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I wouldn't say there is a best way to slow the rise of obesity in the United States but a good way would be to have educational interventions on nutrition focusing on the consequences of being overweight and the benefits from eating healthy and having a healthy lifestyle. I also feel it should focus on portion control. Alot of people don't realize how much they are really eating at one sitting. This could improve also by educating people on food labels. I think there are so many people who don't realize the consequences of being overweight due to the lack of education and simply because they don't care. I feel more people would care if they were more aware. Getting people, who simply don't care, to attend interventions would be difficult. Therefore, education should begin with young children. Today we are not only seeing obesity in older adults, but in very young children as well. I feel beginning nutritional education at a young age would not only get the children more interested and involved, but the parents as well. Young children usually tend to get excited when learning new things and will most likely go home and tell their parents about it. Also, parents tend to help their children with their homework so that may get the parents more involved. Once the parents are involved with the topic, they may start looking more into it and have more motivation to attend an intervention. Information parents gather from the intervention can be passed on to their children. Parents are a huge role model for their children so getting them to change will have a huge affect on the children. It may be hard for some parents who are obese to talk to their children about healthy eating due to their personal biases or struggles with weight so having educational classes at a young age would be very important and helpful.
In my opinion, the best approach for dietitians to take in trying to slow the rise in obesity is to deal with the obesity problem at a community level. In a private consultation setting, dietitians are only able to reach out to one single person, whereas community programs may be able to help improve as well as prevent obesity and its related comorbidities.
There are probably many ways to solve the obesity epidemic…education, exercise, and lifestyle changes are some to name a few. Many of these have been use in the past, but for some individuals, these interventions are not working very well. Either we need to engage more strict programs, or come up with a completely different approach that could incorporate all the ideas into one. One new approach that I could think of would probably seems unrealistic today, but could be possibly be implemented in future years, especially if the obesity rates continue to rise. People go to the doctors throughout life for check-up…right?!?! Yes doctors are good for making there patients aware that the scales may be tipping a little too far to the right, but they are not helping them figure out why this is happening. In order to keep your health in check, it would also be a good idea to go to your registered dietitian for yearly check-ups as well. I know it sounds off the wall, but in reality it is a great idea. These check-ups would be a wonderful way to implement education throughout life, helping with weight management and obesity rates. If an R.D. sees an individual with a weight change over the past year, going to the check-up could possibly put a client back on the right track. This could be a way to control weight management and the way we were looking for to continue educating through life. This is also a way to make those people who don’t go to the education meetings aware of a healthy lifestyle.
Karlie,
I think you made an excellent point about educating our youth and adolescents. By educating them at an early age, we can help to form their nutrition habits and instill in their minds how important nutrition actually is. Obese individuals need special attention as well and I agree that they are more vulnerable to disease but should not be ignored. You also made a great point about educating anyone that is willing to listen. We should be teaching nutrition to anyone and everyone, no matter the age, race or sex. Good points.
Pam,
I totally agree with you. The United States population has a terribly distorted idea of what a portion size should really look like. Portion sizes are a huge problem. Though many people also make poor decisions about what they are consuming, if portion sizes were decreased, the prevalence of obesity and weight problems may not be so high. James Painter, from Eastern Illinois University, has a great video called “Portion Size Me” in which he illustrates that even fast food is ok to eat, as long as one gets the correct portion size.
In order to slow and solve the obesity epidemic I believe that education and awareness are necessary. It needs to start with young children while their eating and lifestyle habits are still forming. Nutrition education in all schools throughout the grades would be ideal in reinforcing healthy habits. Besides the younger population, much needs to be done about the general public. It is important for RD’s to get the word out about nutrition and dispel all the myths out there. We need to raise awareness of the consequences of poor nutrition and obesity as well as explain how to incorporate healthier habits into people’s lifestyles. In order to solve obesity it would take an effort from the entire country, including food manufacturers, restaurants, grocery stores, physicians, and everyone in between.
Education and consistency would be the best approach to decreasing the rise in obesity. The elementary schools need to have nutrition classes at an early age and continue the classes through high school graduation. Offering community classess and information for those that are no longer in school. Obviously, this may not be effective if people are not ready to change or listen. For the most part Americans have bad habits, sedetary life, and are at a comfort level they are not ready for change.
As dietitans we need to motivate and help clients to become ready for change. We need to emphasize small changes, positive reinforcements, and encouragement. Discuss the negative impact that ‘diets’ have on the body. Encourage that “diets” do not work and to realize that it is a lifestyle they are improving, and they should not rely on quick easy fixes. This will ensure quality of life and decrease the rise in obesity.
The best way for dietitians to help solve the obesity problem in the United States, I believe is education. Education about lifestyle changes, proper foods to consume, daily nutrient needs, portion sizes, exercise and so. It is a combination of all of these things that leads to a successful decrease in obesity problems. By educating parents they are able to take their knowledge and share it with their family, which helps teach children about healthy choices at a young age. It would also be beneficial to educate children in schools. These children will be more willing to adapt to a healthy life style if they are learning how to make the right decisions at an early age. By educating children we could potentially be lowering the obesity rise because they will carry their knowledge with them as they grow and eventually pass it on to their own children.
Dieticians have a tough job because they have to somehow get the children to listen. There are a lot of parents out there who are unaware that what they are letting their kids eat is harmful. The first step is not coming off as threatening to the parents and trying to incorporate their methods with ours. But besides children, there are many adults who refuse to change their ways on the basis that they would rather "die happy eating hamburgers, than die skinny eating broccoli" (a saying my father is rather fond of). I can understand where they are coming from but the difficult part is helping them to understand how they are affecting future generations with that attitude. If we can get people to change their attitude about healthier foods and get rid of some of the stereotypes associated with eating healthy, i think that would be some major progress.
Dietitians must take many different approaches in this attempt attempting to slow the obesity rate--I do not feel there is one magical solution. On the societal level, it is important to increase awareness that this IS a problem and that they are the key to their own success. Today’s society likes a quick fix to a problem that has taken years to develop. Education on small, healthy lifestyle changes while taking into account the feasibility of their recommendations will hopefully bring about progress in our society. It is very important to target children and young adults who are still impressionable and not yet set in defined eating habits. I do not feel that dietitians alone can “solve” the obesity problem because it is a joint effort with other healthcare professionals. Many overweight or obese people would not initiate dietary counseling unless they are referred by a physician because of adverse health effects. Some people still have negative connotations associated with the term “diet” and “dietitian” thus will not seek weight-loss consultation from a dietitian due to whatever reason, be it a fear of judgment or lack of insurance coverage. Thus, it is extremely important for dietitians to market themselves more as a health professional working in conjunction with physicians to help the public succeed in losing weight to reduce risk of morbidity and mortality.
In order to stop the rise of obesity, I believe dietitians have to educate everyone, especially parents and children. They should fight for healthier options in schools and should use the same marketing techniques that work so well for things like McDonald’s and sugary cereals. It sounds so simple, but they need to make healthy eating appeal to a younger population and get them started off on the right foot. Putting cartoon characters on packages and advertising during kids TV shows has been proven to work. Why not use this to promote fruits and vegetables? As for the older population, education seems to be the best way. We need to inform people on how much a portion of spaghetti is and we need to teach them how to tweak their favorite recipes so that they can become healthy meals.
First I think dietitians need to be aware of how big of an issue obesity is and that if they do not take action to try and decrease it from occurring it is one day going to be like a pandemic in which everyone is going to be obese. I do not feel that there is one best approach for dietitians to take in trying to slow the rise in obesity. I think that any healthy and safe approach is a good approach. They need to stress the importance of healthy eating, portion control, exercise, and an overall healthy lifestyle. Dietitians need to let their patients know that it is okay to mess up on their diet some days. For example, while it is not good to eat a candy bar everyday, it is okay to eat them once in a while. They need to understand that one approach does not fit every patient and that they need to address everyone differently if they really want to be effective. I do not think that is there is one best way to solve the obesity problem. There are so many different things that cause obesity to occur and one particular way is not going to solve all of the problems.
I think there is a lot to be done about the obesity problem and it will be hard to focus on just one solution. There are different problems contributing to obesity and each needs to be handled in a different way. As I’m sure most people would agree, I think there needs to be a focus of reducing the incidence of childhood obesity. The older people get, the harder it for them to lose weight, so we really need to stop obesity before it starts. I think that dietitians need to work together with parents and teachers to try to teach children better eating habits. Kids need to be drinking more water, limit fruit juices, and eliminate soda. Soda should be seen as a treat not a beverage to go with a meal. We really need to push more fruits and vegetables on the whole nation (Not that we are not already). I think it will be our responsibility as dietitians to help this problems but we really need the help of the parents. They are the ones with the most access to the kids. They need to limit the number of hour spent watching TV and playing video games. Then hopefully the kids will get bored and go outside and play. Of course, childhood obesity is not the only important thing. People are living longer than ever so we need help people of all ages lose weight. Besides educating the public on healthy eating habits, I also think it would be helpful to show them examples of healthier versions of things they love. I think the love of eating is what stops a lot of people from sticking to a healthy diet.
Lindsey Mettler,
I completely agree with you. I believe that one of the best ways that this could possibly be completed (like you said) would be to implement nutritional education earlier in life, and also continuing that education throughout. I think when people (especially children) think of healthy foods, they think of bland foods with little to no taste. This is completely false, because with the right ingredients, any meal could be a family favorite. When implementing education based off of this information, I believe that it is important for us to teach the younger individuals what is good, better, and best for lifetime health. As the age gets older, it is important to frequently follow-up on our knowledge and expand it, moving onto topics such as caloric equilibrium and other important facts. Cooking tips could also be part of the learning process later down the road. Each age group should know there is a different nutrient recommendations for there age(even if it’s slightly varied), and I believe that it is important for each individual to understand what is important for them to consume. Since I work in a grocery store, I find it interesting to hear comments as shoppers walk past. Our attempts at education in the past have showed little improvement and it is horrible seeing how little knowledge people actually know about foods…some to the extent that they would not be able to tell you what types of foods contain saturated fats and/or other not knowing that carbs are healthy when loaded with fiber.
Melissa,
I completely agree with you in that it is hard to focus on just one solution. Starting with children would be the most effective in the long run, as they would hopefully carry their healthy habits into adulthood. I also loved how you said "I think the love of eating is what stops a lot of people from sticking to a healthy diet." That is very true in that people just love to eat and in their minds a healthy diet does not include "good" foods, as RD's we certainly need to make people aware that everything can be eaten in moderation with variety!
Many have said that education targeting school age children is the answer, but even if the children are educated they are going home to parents that more than likely have little to no education in this area. Considering the parents are the sole decision makers in the household, I believe, targeting parents will help to make future generations, as well as the present, healthier. It is still necessary for children to recieve more education in healthy eating, but we need to focus on other age groups as well. I also think that we need to focus more education on the consequences that come with obesity. If people understood what their choices may do to them in the long run they may decide to alter their habits and try to become healthier.
Heather Dudley,
I completely agree with you in that the nutrition education component needs to be taught early and consistently, all throughout the lifespan. I think that this is the only approach that is going to control the huge problem the citizens of this country and people all over the world are currently facing. I also agree with you that it is necessary for the individuals to be ready for change, otherwise it will never occur. However, I think any information that we can give them is going to help. They may not always be ready when they are receiving the information, but the hope is that they will retain some of the knowledge and then be able to apply it when they are ready for change.
Steph,
I agree that as an RD it is best to tackle this problem with young children before bad habits have really formed. But I also agree that this problem's solution is really dependent on cooperation from manufacturers, restaurants, grocery stores, etc. As a dietitian our best efforts are to provide the education but a major problem still exists if there isn't a general desire to promote health in all aspects of society.
I agree with Mary Ellen that it is important to focus on preventitive measures with obesity, but to also make people realize that it's never too late to change their lifestyle and quality of life. I also thought she made a good point that increasing awareness through advertisements is key when impacting the public, especially ones that make them realize the consequences of their current actions/habits.
lynn2552,
I agree that awareness and education are great approaches to slowing the rise of obesity. Many people lack the education and having dietitians share their nutritional knowledge with these people would be wonderful. I strongly agree that having dietitians make an appearance at school settings to speak to the youth and educate them on health and nutrition would be very beneficial for those children.
Lauren,
I agree that education should not just target school age children but also to parents. When the school day is over with children go home and even if these children know what are the healthy choices to eat they have no choice but to eat what their parents have at home. Once parents are making better choices on what comes into the house food wise then the children will have a better chance of eating healthier.
Lori-
I think you bring up a great point. I think it would be a huge success if healthy items were advertised during kids tv shows in a fun way. I also agree with parents fighting for healthier options to be served at lunch. Although many schools are apart of the NSLP they also have the snack bar option that in many cases only serves junk food. Parents need to fight for healthier items to be served in these snack bars.
Jessie Janik,
I agree with your emphasis on education. Most people do not know that they can still eat their favorite foods and still be healty. It is not about elimination, it is about moderation, variety, and balance. They can substitute ingredients and have their favorite desserts in smaller portions. A diet will never work if the person is not enjoying the food that they are eating. It is not suppose to be a punishment to eat healthy.
Pam
I agree about the problem with Americans portions sizes today. This will be a hard task to tackle because there tends to be an emotional connection to food and having the impulse to keep eating until all the food is gone. Our minds become accustomed to seeing a certain amount of food on our plates and psychologically we do not feel full unless we have eaten the enormous plate of food. Also, as it has been stated before that Americans want more for their money, the fast food eaters are willing to pay an extra $.50 to double their order and double their waist size. Some restaurant chains are trying to accommodate those that are not interested in expanding their waist size and are now offering ½ size portions or box half of their meal before it comes out of the kitchen. This is helping the customer eat less and save their waist line. Yeah!
Jessie Janik,
I think your points about trading in unhealthy food for healthier but good tasting food are very true. I made a few points about that in my first posting. There are so many delicious healthy foods out there that people don’t know about. People could save themselves so much fat and calories just by doing simple things. For example, people trade in things like butter and heavy sauces for herbs and spices. Maybe, we should have some dietetic cooking classes. Healthy food that tastes great.
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