Dietitians Make a Difference
Dietitians Day is on September 30 this year, but here at EIN, we celebrate dietitians and nutrition researchers all year round by showcasing APDs who are outstanding in their field. Read our interviews with dietitians who make a difference.
Dr Sharon Carey, APD chief dietitian at Sydney’s Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. No marathon runner would fast for 12 hours before a race, yet it’s often expected of patients facing the endurance test of major surgery, says Dr Carey who’s researching ways to reduce fasting time for patients before gastrointestinal surgery.
Caroline Clark, APD a dietitian with Diabetes NSW & ACT. Read her tips on preventing diabetes burnout: when the constant vigilance of managing blood glucose levels becomes so overwhelming that clients take less care of themselves.
Carmel Curlewis, APD who’s worked in disability for 20 years and says the area needs more dietitians. “A dietitian can help prevent further disability from common risk factors like dysphagia, aspiration and cardiovascular disease and improve a person’s weight, gut health and quality of life.”
Kath Fouhy, general manager of Dietitians NZ for every dollar spent on dietetic support in primary care, the country receives a health and social cost saving benefit of up to NZ$99 over five years.
Dr Michelle Harvey, Registered Dietitian UK who, with Professor Tony Howell, first developed the diet often known as the 5:2 diet. Her current focus is on lifestyle and prevention of breast cancer and its recurrence. She’s now principal investigator for a series of trials looking at diet and exercise programs for women with breast cancer.
Ngaire Hobbins, APD specialises in nutrition, ageing and brain health. She’s a passionate advocate for better nutrition in older people and submitted evidence to the Royal Commission into Aged Care Quality and Safety https://agedcare.royalcommission.gov.au/ on why residential age care urgently needs more input from dietitians.
Dr Nicole Kiss, AdvAPD Co-lead of the Exercise and Nutrition for Cancer research group at Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition, and lead author of the Clinical Oncology Society of Australia’s new position paper calling for screening for sarcopenia and malnutrition to be standard practice when cancer is diagnosed.
Dr Kelly Lambert, AdvAPD wants complex language often used in patient information that people find hard to grasp weeded out of nutrition resources.
Priscilla Machado, research fellow at Deakin University’s Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition (IPAN) is on the team led by Professor Carlos Monteiro of the University of Sao Paulo that coined the term ‘ultra-processed food’. It also developed NOVA, the new classification system ranking foods according to their level of processing rather than nutrient content.
Dr Vicki McWilliams, AdvAPD of the Department of Allergy and Immunology at Melbourne’s Royal Children’s Hospital on why food allergy keeps challenging parents and clinicians - and the waiting lists at major allergy centres grow longer.
Jo Money, APD, Jo Baker, APD and Vinci Chan-Duffell, APD. Dietitians working in three different areas - eating disorders, IBS and in community nutrition - share their experiences on how COVID-19 has changed the way they connect with their clients.
Professor Kerin O’Dea, Professor Emeritus at the School of Health Sciences at the University of South Australia. Her ground-breaking research in 1982 took her into the wilderness - literally - to study the health effects of a hunter gatherer diet on indigenous Australians with type 2 diabetes.
Ingrid Roche, APD specialising in paediatric food allergy at Perth Children’s Hospital and in private practice, is co-lead on the food service project of the National Allergy Strategy. Making the labelling of food allergens simpler and safer.
Catherine Saxelby, APD author of Nutrition for Life reflects on three decades of nutrition trends. We’ve dieted with Atkins, the Zone, the Liver Cleansing Diet and Dukan and gone up and down with carbs and fat. But one thing stays the same: the magical thinking that eating - or avoiding - single foods or nutrients will deliver better health.
Tom Scully, APD How could you best support a young gay man with disordered eating? Or an older trans client whose risk of heart disease may be higher as a result of hormone therapy? Tom Scully has formed a discussion group to help dietitians dealing with LGBTIQ+ clients.
Seraphina Seow, APD on why dietitians need to improve cultural competence to work with culturally diverse clients. ‘The inclusion of cultural food practices in nutrition messaging still has some way to go in dietetic practice.’
Dr Carmel Smart, PhD, APD For adults with Type 2 diabetes, there’s evidence that a low carb diet can help reduce blood glucose levels, at least in the short term - but what about children with Type 1 diabetes? Dr Smart, a paediatric dietitian and clinical researcher with the Hunter Medical Research Institute in NSW, looks at the evidence.
Dr Scott Teasdale, APD a mental health dietitian with Keeping the Body in Mind, a community based multidisciplinary program to improve the health of young people experiencing psychosis for the first time.
Evelyn Volders, AdvAPD senior lecturer at Monash University’s Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food and advocate for infant and childhood nutrition. She argues that toddler milks distance children from real food - while acting as de facto ads for infant formula.