January 2014 Issue

Today’s Dietitian Turns 15
By Judith Riddle
Today’s Dietitian
Vol. 16 No. 1 P. 5

Today’s Dietitian (TD) has reached a milestone. This month, the magazine celebrates its 15th anniversary as the independent voice for nutrition professionals.

Since its inception, TD has served the dietetics community by publishing articles that speak directly to RDs and other nutrition professionals in clinical, foodservice, academic, research, and entrepreneurial settings. Over the years, the magazine has experienced much change in its appearance and coverage of the hottest topics and trends pertinent to dietetics practice.

Within the 2 1/2 years that I’ve served as editor of TD, I’ve seen some exciting transformations occur in the nutrition field and have learned a great deal about what’s important to you as dietitians and about the tools you need to improve patient care.

Over the past 15 years, you’ve seen the obesity epidemic among adults and children worsen. Yet because of First Lady Michelle Obama’s Let’s Move! campaign and the introduction of new federal standards for school meals, there were marked decreases in childhood obesity rates for the first time at a national level, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Adult obesity hasn’t decreased, but since the American Medical Association declared obesity a disease, RDs will have greater opportunities than ever before to provide medical nutrition therapy to clients and patients.

The prevalence of type 2 diabetes also has climbed exponentially over the years, but the nutrition profession has seen new medications introduced to improve disease management. There also have been advances in mobile health, continuous glucose monitoring, and insulin pump technologies to help patients better monitor blood sugar and other aspects of their illness.

Some of the hottest trends that have emerged are sustainability and genetically modified foods. Back in 2002 and 2003, consumers were just beginning to show interest in local, fresh, whole foods. Now the trend has gone mainstream and has become an important environmental issue. Many are against genetically modified foods, made from GMOs, because experts believe they require controversial pesticide use and that research hasn’t proven whether they’re safe to eat long-term.

Read more about these and other trends that have impacted dietetics over the past decade and a half in “Celebrating 15 Years” on page 24.

On behalf of TD, I thank you for your support and encouraging feedback via e-mail, Facebook, and Twitter. We look forward to publishing TD for many more decades to keep nutrition professionals abreast of the latest nutrition news and trends.

Please enjoy the issue!

TDeditor@gvpub.com