Dear Parents,
Have you ever visited with a dietitian? While most of us commonly see physicians, visits with a dietitian are much less common but may be very important for long term health. The information below is provided to let you know what to expect if you or your student sees a dietitian for nutrition concerns.
A dietitian is trained to translate the science of nutrition into information that anyone can use to make healthy food choices. People visit dietitians to gain knowledge and ideas to help them to make informed food and lifestyle choices to promote health or manage disease.
To see a dietitian at NAU, your student needs only to call the Fronske Health Center (928-523-6867) and schedule an appointment with Jo Cahill, M.S., R.D., the campus dietitian. Your student won’t have to bring anything, but if there are specific concerns that need to be addressed, it is often helpful to write out questions and also bring labels of any supplements that might be taken.
The first session is spent gathering information. The student lets Jo know her or his specific questions and concerns and Jo further interviews the student to get a clearer picture of individual dietary needs or health concerns. The information that may be needed includes a medical history, dieting history, and weight history. Any problems that may affect intake are addressed.
Next, Jo will ask about the typical day to day diet patterns, food preferences and exercise habits of the student. Other important information will include use of medications and/or supplements. Once the she has enough background information, Jo can better assess diet quality and nutritional concerns.
Finally, Jo and student will work together to plan an eating pattern that meets the student’s goals and nutritional needs. It’s important that the student provide as much input into the diet planning as possible so that a pattern that best suits individual needs can be developed. In some cases, highly structured plans may be desirable, and in other cases, much broader guidelines are used.
The time spent with Jo will depend on the complexity of the nutritional concerns. Sometimes, one meeting may be adequate to address all of the issues. Generally, at least 2-4 visits are needed for most diet interventions. Regular meetings are often very helpful in determining both self motivators for the individual and diet plans that fit best with a student’s changing lifestyle and preferences. Revising long term diet habits often takes a lot of fine tuning and individual introspection. It can be helpful to see a dietitian on a weekly or twice monthly basis to deal with issues as they arise and thus better sustain long term changes.
Web sites that contain credible nutrition information include the following: www.eatright.org, www.mypyramid.gov, and www.sne.org
Thank you,
