CHICAGO — To highlight the role everyone plays in ensuring a healthy future for our nation’s children, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and its Foundation announce the first Kids Eat Right Month, to be celebrated each August.
Kids Eat Right Month will focus on the importance of healthful eating and active lifestyles for children and families, featuring expert advice from registered dietitian nutritionists.
“At a time when the nutritional health of our nation’s children is of peak concern, Kids Eat Right Month will emphasize positive steps families, communities, health care professionals and policy makers can take every day to make sure we are doing all we can to improve children’s health,” said registered dietitian nutritionist and Aademy President Sonja Connor.
Kids Eat Right, created in 2010 by the Academy and its charitable Foundation, offers resources and information for Academy members and the public to encourage nutritious, healthful eating among children and families. Kids Eat Right supports efforts of the White House to end the childhood obesity epidemic within a generation. In celebration of Kids Eat Right Month, registered dietitian nutritionists will mobilize in a grassroots movement, sharing healthful eating messages with schools, communities and faith groups.
“As children head back to school in August, Kids Eat Right Month will reinforce our program’s core messages of shopping smart, cooking healthy and eating right,” said registered dietitian nutritionist and Academy Foundation Chair Terri Raymond. “By following these principles, we can help ensure children are healthy, succeed in school and grow into healthy adults.”
In addition to educating families on living healthier lifestyles, Kids Eat Right Month will reach out to policy makers whose programs and legislation affect children and their nutritional health.
“Kids Eat Right Month provides RDNs the opportunity to showcase our expertise through the education of children and families as well as urging communities and policy makers to provide children with access to healthy foods at home, in school and at the grocery store,” said registered dietitian nutritionist and the Academy’s National Education Director Katie Brown.
To help celebrate Kids Eat Right Month, the Academy has developed educational materials appropriate for every audience. These free materials will be available in July at www.KidsEatRight.org.
“Raising the next generation of healthy kids starts now,” Connor said. “In August and year-round, the Academy and our Foundation are committed to helping all kids eat right.”
All registered dietitians are nutritionists – but not all nutritionists are registered dietitians. The Academy’s Board of Directors and Commission on Dietetic Registration have determined that those who hold the credential registered dietitian (RD) may optionally use “registered dietitian nutritionist” (RDN) instead. The two credentials have identical meanings.
The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics is the world’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals. The Academy is committed to improving the nation’s health and advancing the profession of dietetics through research, education and advocacy. Visit the Academy at www.eatright.org. The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics Foundation is a 501(c)3 charity devoted exclusively to nutrition and dietetics. It funds scholarships and awards, public awareness and research projects and Academy strategic initiatives, and is the largest provider of scholarships and awards in the field of dietetics. Visit the Academy Foundation at www.eatright.org/foundation.