Nutrition Viewpoint: January 2009 Archives

January 28, 2009 6:57 PM

Research Guidelines on the Horizon

This spring, The American Dietetic Association and a number of other nutrition societies will publish a paper titled "Funding Food Science and Nutrition Research: Financial Concerns and Scientific Integrity" in their respective professional journals.

This paper, which was written by a task force of leading nutrition professionals, academics, and government and industry representatives, lays out guiding principles for conducting research in food, nutrition and health. These guidelines, which were subsequently reviewed and adopted by the boards of directors of key nutrition organizations, call for research safeguards such as appropriately phrased hypotheses, objective design, control of study execution by investigators, disclosure of all financial interests, agreement to attempt to publish in a certain timeframe, guaranteed accessibility to all data and tight control of statistical analysis.

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By Susan Finn on January 28, 2009 6:57 PM | No Comments

January 18, 2009 6:55 PM

Health Care Food Service ... and More

On January 12, my colleague in Finn/Parks & Associates, Sara Parks, PhD, MBA, RD, and I participated in a webinar hosted by the National Society for Hospital Foodservice Management. The webinar was titled
"Global Trends in Health Care Foodservice." More than 300 people from 94 sites across North America called in and clicked on to participate.

Sara and I followed Cindy Brylinsky, MS, RD, LDN, vice president of special projects at Geisinger Health Systems, who kicked off the webinar with a comprehensive look at issues shaping the future of health care, including rising costs and the soft economy, the policies of a new administration in Washington, DC, and the implications of a changing payer mix. She defined a "high-performance" health system as one that focuses on its core business, sustains value achieved from cost cutting, streamlines processes and removes barriers to decision-making.

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By Susan Finn on January 18, 2009 6:55 PM | No Comments

January 14, 2009 6:53 PM

Diet vs. Exercise: An Impractical Distinction

No matter how many times we hear or read the numbers, the facts are shocking. This time is no different. Earlier this week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported that the number of obese American adults has surpassed the number of those who are merely overweight. Despite the many programs in place across the country, the obesity problem is just not going away.

Scientists have long debated which is more effective in obesity prevention - diet or exercise. For example, an international study published in the September issue of the journal Obesity recently garnered a lot of press for stating that diet is more important than exercise when trying to lose weight.

The point I think we are overlooking is that diet and exercise are not separate roads to a achieving and maintaining a healthy weight; rather, they are aspects of what should be a unified approach toward achieving a healthy weight. As health professionals, we need to present diet and exercise not as independent tactics but as an integrated lifestyle strategy aimed at achieving energy balance.

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By Susan Finn on January 14, 2009 6:53 PM | No Comments

January 11, 2009 6:51 PM

Happy New Year!

As 2009 kicks off, I am pleased to share some good news with all of you. I have been appointed to the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. This is a very exciting opportunity, and I am looking forward to being the "voice of nutrition" on the council over the next two years.
How much people eat and how much they move are two major factors in the wellness equation. And no matter how you tally those numbers - calories in and calories expended - the goal is balance. I believe we can approach achieving this balance from two coordinated fronts - by developing practical tools to help health professionals dovetail nutrition and activity recommendations and by delivering compelling messages that reach deeply into our culture and inspire all Americans to seek a healthy balance of food and exercise.

Do you have some thoughts you would like to share on this subject? Let's talk about it.

Continue reading Happy New Year!.

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By Susan Finn on January 11, 2009 6:51 PM | No Comments