FNCE 2010 Days 3 & 4

Monday

Not sure why the pictures came out fuzzy but I had a phenomenal breakfast this morning. Pumpkin Oatmeal and Cinnamon Hazelnut Coffee. Oh Yes!

Like my new bowl? I bought it at the ADA store yesterday. It super cool because its both a mug and a bowl! If you look at the lid it the first picture you can see a sippy hole and also a detachable spoon. I didn’t use the spoon though because I had used a regular spoon to scoop the peanut butter and figured it was dirty anyway. “Eat with Color” is the theme for the upcoming National Nutrition Month which is in March! Better get ready :)

I took my time this morning because there wasn’t really a lecture in the first session that I was so excited to see that I felt like hauling my butt through the hurricane like weather. I almost blew off the bridge walking from the T! So I will review the other 3 lectures for you instead.

Lecture 2 – The Great Fat Debate: Is there validity in the age-old dietary guidance?

This was huge. Four speakers were up for debate on their thoughts on dietary fat.  The speakers were Dr. Walter Willett, Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, Dr. Alice Lichtenstein, and Dr. Lewis Kuller.  The main point that everyone agreed on was the total % dietary fat is not associated with disease risk, it actually has to do with the type of fat.  One interesting thing that was pointed out was the saturated fat and carbohydrates have similar effects on disease risk.  So those nonfat products from the 90’s that were all the rage probably weren’t the best idea – to compensate for the lack of fat, sugar is typically added in!  A second point that was agreed upon and is extremely important is that we should be increasing our polyunsaturated fats, particularly omega-3’s.  There was some debate on whether it was better to have the mindset of displacement (switch saturated fats with polys) or to just say to increase polys regardless of saturated fat intake.  I have two favorite quotes from this lecture 1) “Eating is our most important social experience” and 2) “Diet quality is just as important as energy balance”.  I enjoyed this debate, particular Dr. Lichtenstein’s presentation. She really emphasized that energy balance is key not matter what.

Lecture 3 – Growing Healthy Children: Nutrition for the Child Care Setting

I don’t know what it is about the lectures I go to after lunch. Again I wasn’t that thrilled with this one but there was some good information.  The presenters discussed a educational program that had been developed called RECIPE. Mainly it was for cooks at preschools.  RECIPE stands for Role Model what we want children to be, say, and do, Environment encourages healthy behaviors, Create delicious and nutritious meals and snacks, Involve children in food and fun, Partner with parents, and Enjoy eating together.  The biggest concept I got out of this lecture was that pre-schoolers can serve themselves when given the right environment.  It was also pointed out that a needs assessment is critical to the success of a project. That line made me think of class (which was canceled tonight so everyone could go to FNCE).

Lecture 4 – Overcoming Obstacles in Eating Disorder Treatment

This lecture was very interesting and the main speaker was excellent (she was actually a psychologist not an RD).  She works at Remuda Ranch which deals with both eating disorders and anxiety disorders, which often are intertwined.  Four obstacles were identified: 1) ED’s are complex 2) Resistance and Motivation 3) Treatment goals and philosophy and 4) Relapse, dropout, and treatment cost.  One of the great things she said was that “it’s not necessarily the person who is difficult, it’s the disorder.” She stated this because often those who are treating people with ED’s get frustrated when faced with resistance.  Recovery takes about 2-3 yrs for about 1/3 of those with an ED and 7-10 years for another 1/3. The last 1/3 unfortunately does not recover and has a chronic ED.  Also 10-17% of those with an ED die, and part of this percentage is due to a high suicide rate.  Young girls who diet are 8 times more likely to develop an ED. 60% of those who are teased about their weight are actually teased by family members. Remember teasing about weight can be a trigger!  Currently there is also research being conducted on the influence of hormones on the develop of an ED.  Another interesting fact is that 60% of those with an ED also have OCD.  She pointed out some books and movies of note - “Help” by Shel Silverstein in the book Falling Up (seems to reflect the mind of someone with an ED), “I’m Like So Fat” by Dianne Neumark-Sztainer, the film “America the Beautiful by Darryl Roberts, “I Hate You Don’t Leave Me” by Jerold J. Kreisman, and the poem “Welcome to Holland” by Emily Perl Kingsley.  The last thing discussed was that they are trying to rework the wording of diagnosis criteria because insurance companies are ridiculous about covering treatment. Like I said, very interesting and so informative.

Tuesday

Another delicious breakfast, even with lacking food in the house (it’s Peapod day).

Coffee, OJ, Whole wheat bagel w/ Teddie’s unsalted p.b., cinnamon, and raisins

It was the last day at FNCE so I made sure to snap some photos at the expo this time. Unfortunately the Laughing Cow guy wasn’t there today so I didn’t get a picture with him. I did however see someone else….

Tony the Tiger :)

The Ensure booth was also one of the cutest.

They had a pear and asparagus on the other side too but I didn’t snap any pictures with them.

  That’s just half of the exhibit hall. I would estimate there were about 300 booths in there. Lots of companies, lots of samples, lots of information.

Oh hey look who I ran into -

Annette and Rachel! Remember when I talked about interning at NuVal? They were my bosses! NuVal had a booth this weekend and they were there telling dietitians, students, food service managers, etc. from all across the US about NuVal.

I also attended 3 lectures today.

Lecture 1 – Preventing Childhood Obesity: Translating Science to Community Implementation

In this lecture 2 childhood obesity programs were discussed, one that began in the UK and is piloting in the US and one that was developed in the US. The first one is MEND – Mind, Exercise, Nutrition, Do It!. This program was developed in the UK and is a family focused program.  Some of the components include behavior change, land and water based activities, nutrition education and peer modeling, and experiential learning. Within this program, young children decrease their BMI, increase their physical activity, and increase their self esteem significantly.  The next program is CATCH which stands for Coordinated Approach To Child Health.  This originated from the Child and Adolescent Trial for Cardiovascular Health.  It has 4 main components: Classroom, Physical Education, Child Nutrition Services, and Family Home Environment. The implementation discussed was primarily from Texas. Results showed that this community based program also helped decrease childhood obesity.

Lecture 2 – The Foods Kids Aren’t Eating: Overcoming Childhood Obesity with Total Nutrition through Kids Eat Right

This lecture was so much fun. If you have never heard of Food Play – check it out. These people were awesome. Some very disheartening information was also presented. Over 90% of kids are deficient in vitamin E and Magnesium, plus there is concern about the intake of vitamins A and C, Phosphorus, Folate, and Zinc.  Calcium intake dramatically drops among 9-18 year olds.  Less than 50% of kids meet the adequate intake for vitamin K, Potassium, and Fiber.  Saturated fat intake hovers around 11-12% while current recommendations are <7%.  Now for the big whammy: ~80-85%  of kids eat less than the minimum recommended servings of fruit, over 90% eat less than the min. recommended servings of vegetables, ~80-90% of girls don’t drink enough milk, and ~99% of kids eat less than the minimum recommended servings of whole grains. Seriously parents? While I think kids need nutrition education, I also think it’s important that parents get it too! I’m pretty sure a 7 year old isn’t making their own dinner every night, know what I mean? For more info on the new launch of Kids Eat Right, click here.

Lecture 3 – Advanced Techniques for Improving Outcomes in Clients with Eating Disorders

This lecture reviewed some of the therapy techniques used in treatment of eating disorders. The most common is CBT or Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. This involves cognitive restructuring and psycho-education.  Often the activities associated with CBT include weight checks, a food plan, self-monitoring, acknowledgement of fear foods, and some sort of “homework” is given after a session. Cognitive restructuring starts with challenging a belief and moves on to reformulation of certain thoughts and action.  The psycho-education component typically involves distraction to prevent an unwanted behavior as well as education and affirmations. DBT or Dialectical Behavioral Therapy is a newer approach. In this therapy, issues are acknowledged and accepted and then the behavior is changed.  Research on this therapy predominantly surrounds bulimia nervosa and binge eating disorder but not anorexia nervosa. Some of the activities associated with DBT include Behavioral Chain Analysis, pros/cons lists or a decision to change matrix, and problem solving.  The third therapy discussed was Family Based Treatment, otherwise referred to as Maudsley Approach.  This is often used in anorexic patients and, as described in the title, involves the whole family (that includes siblings).  The patient must never be left home alone during the beginning of treatment and the whole family should be present at every session.  One of the steadfast approaches in this treatment is that eating comes before anything else.  “If she doesn’t eat breakfast, she doesn’t go to school.”  One of the activities used in this treatment is a coached family meal in which the family sits down to a meal and a therapist/dietitian “coaches” the parents on how to successfully get their child to eat.  The last technique discussed was Motivational Interviewing.  I had previously heard a discussion on this last year so I knew a bit about it. It revolves around a guiding conversation with the client to facilitate a behavior change.  The guiding principles include showing empathy, developing discrepancy, rolling with resistance, and supporting self-efficacy.

 

I hope you all learned some interesting things from all my session reviews. If you have any questions, please ask! I’ll try to answer as best I can from my notes and memory :)

I’m ready for FNCE 2011 – San Diego here I come! haha