MCC-Blue River instructor meets with first lady's policy advisors

Members and staff of the American Dietetic Association (ADA) recently met with the acting CEO of Partnership for a Healthier America and other policy makers in the White House office of first lady Michelle Obama.

Among those participating was MCC-Blue River’s human nutrition instructor Katie Brown, who is also the education director for the ADA Foundation's Registered Dieticians (RD) Coaches program.

By working with school districts in their physical education programs, RDs are able to teach concepts like energy balance to the students. According to a study conducted during the 2008-09 school year by researchers at the University of California-Berkeley, students received one-on-one nutrition coaching to help them identify eating and activity changes that they could incorporate into their home environments. As a result, those students were eating more fruits and vegetables.

The ADA representatives at the White House meeting also discussed other ADA and ADAF initiatives related to healthier eating and healthy weights for children, with an emphasis on how ADA can collaborate on Obama's Let’s Move! Campaign.

Brown found the meeting to be very beneficial in informing the first lady’s key strategy advisors and the leadership of the Partnership for a Healthier America about how the ADA’s over 70,000 members successfully translate the science of nutrition into practical application for the public.

“It is the hope of the Obama Administration that the efforts started with the Let’s Move! Campaign will continue to grow and reach the entire nation,” said Brown. “The program is designed to last beyond the current administration and have a positive impact on young people for years to come.”