Roles of Dietetics Professionals
Dietetics professionals have an important role in effectively communicating unbiased food and nutrition information to the public. They need to strengthen their status as being among the most valued source of nutrition information, as cited in the ADA Trends 2000 Survey (4).
There are two ways in which dietitians can promote nutrition, health and well-being. The first alternative is to tell the public what they should or should not eat. The second is to “help consumers understand the principles of a healthful diet and empower them to achieve it.” Although some members of the ADA have commented on the disadvantages of the second approach, it was chosen because it is more inclusive of cultural differences and personal preferences. In order to achieve this goal, the Board of the ADA approved the objective to focus nutrition messages on total diet, not individual foods (88).
How Dietetics Professionals can Communicate Effectively
In order to communicate effectively, dietetics professionals must continue to:
- provide proactive, positive, and practical messages whenever possible;
- promote a wellness perspective and an enjoyable eating pattern as part of an overall healthful lifestyle;
- use successful educational intervention strategies based on models that promote behavioral change;
- tailor messages to meet individual needs; and
- evaluate effectiveness of nutrition programs.
Dietetics professionals need to strengthen skills, continuously update professional competencies, and document the outcomes of their work in order to retain leadership in nutrition communications. Suggested techniques to achieve these goals are: building coalitions with industry, government, academia and organizations; using the full range of new communication technologies, particularly the Internet; taking advantage of opportunities to communicate with professional colleagues and the public, such as giving presentations and writing publications to influence social norms and public policy; acting as role models of active participation in local and professional associations; maintaining state-of-the-art knowledge through continuing education; fostering goodwill by enthusiastic and positive interactions; and having a professional and unbiased approach to promoting healthy eating patterns.
ADA Position adopted by the HOD Leadership Team on September 13, 2001. This position is in effect until December 31, 2006. ADA authorizes republication of the position statement/ support paper, in its entirety, provided full and proper credit is given. Requests to use portions of the position must be directed to ADA headquarters at 800/877-1600, ext 4835, or ppapers@eatright.org.
Recognition is given to the following for their contributions:
Authors:
Jeanne Freeland-Graves, PhD, RD (The University of Texa6 at Austin); Susan Nitzke, PhD, RD (University of Wisconsin-Madison)
