This is a guest blog post by Jenny Westerkamp, RD

The dietetics profession has changed in the last century, alongside our nation’s eating habits. Different demand, such as increased need for weight loss solutions — stemming from obesity epidemic — mean different kinds of supply such as dietitians that specialize in weight loss, write weight loss books, are spokespeople for weight loss companies, etc. The possibilities are endless — and that’s awesome.

When I started studying dietetics in college, I was unsure of what I would do with my chosen career path. Clinical nutrition is where a majority of dietitians find careers. As I went through my dietetic internship (which ended three months ago), my soon-to-be-defined passion slowly grew with each ill patient that walked through the dietitian’s door.

How do I PREVENT people from getting diseases so that they don’t have to see this dietitian? How do I stop the downward slope that people slide on when they follow the standard American diet full of processed foods?

I knew that dietitians play a critical role on the healthcare team once people get diagnosed with these diseases/conditions. But where were dietitians many years ago when these patients began eating poor quality diets? Isn’t diet more often than not a cause of these diseases?

Was I being too optimistic to think that providing prevention through good nutrition was a possible and respectable mission?

Every patient that I met during my internship year—suffering from obesity, Type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, or any other preventable chronic disease—was a source of inspiration for a career in prevention.

There is a sense of urgency among young dietitians right now, myself included. Something tells me if we don’t start preventing chronic diseases TODAY, there will not be enough dietitians to effectively manage all the sick people tomorrow! My hope is that young dietitians realize these opportunities outside of the hospital halls and join in on the prevention conversation that people have everyday about food and nutrition.

Unfortunately, young dietitians up against a culture (and clientele) that is hard to please. And it’s getting worse.

1. First, clients wanted easy. Now they want effortless.

2. Once, they wanted quick results. Now they want immediate results.

3. Any solution also had to be cheap. Now, even cheap is too much to invest in their health.

People are quickly losing grip on the lifestyle that can keep them and their families from spending money later on. It’s too bad prevention is not the trendy thing to do – that would certainly help this cause.

Dietitians possess powerful, life-changing, life-saving information that so many—TOO many—people don’t want to know about until it is too late. It is terribly sad to know that those who aren’t investing wisely in their health will be more likely to have a chronic disease. My mission is to find those people before chronic illness finds them.

So many people to save, so little time…And that’s this young dietitian’s dilemma.

Jenny Westerkamp, RD is a sports nutritionist for SportFuel and a nutrition consultant for an organic meal delivery service, Eat Like the Pros, based out of Chicago. She is the co-founder of All Access Internships, an online resource and community for dietetics students. For more on Jenny or if you want to ask her what you should be eating, visit her blog “Trendy Nutrition” at jennywesterkamp.com.

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