As the obesity epidemic hit America a couple decades ago, more research was being done in laboratories and studies across the nation. More and more money is being put into these studies in an attempt to determine the main causes that lead to obesity in our society.

Many people began taking an individual role and started seeking dietitians and nutritionists to help them adjust their diet regimen, which also coincided with a rise in the number of gym or fitness center memberships nationwide. The public appeared to be actively seeking ways to reduce their weight and move towards a healthy lifestyle. 

However, there were many people who were not able to seek these resources. Many people did not have health insurance that covered dietitian services or nutritional counseling of any kind, making treatment very expensive. Moreover, memberships to gyms or fitness centers can often prove too costly for a person to sustain payments. This was very unfortunate for people who were looking for help in their diet and exercise plan but just could not receive the same services as others for financial reasons, among others.

In the past few years, public health centers across the nation began making a shift towards a more community-centered approach for health and wellness. These centers started to offer free or reduced-cost aid in an effort to make these great services more available to the public. Moreover, the public health centers nationwide have put a greater emphasis on preventative care, in that they seek the causes for obesity and health issues and provide guidance to those who need it. This preventative focus has shown to stop the onset of many health issues for thousands of Americans. Groups like Hennepin County Public Health and the "Eat Right" campaign of the American Dietetic Association are excellent examples of providing people with important knowledge and advice while encouraging an active, healthy lifestyle.  

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Comments (1)

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written by Clarissa Eads, March 30, 2011

Have you ever read "The China Study," by Colin Campbell?
Do you think that compassionate action relating to diet for those with less financial resources could potentially be geared toward simply making knowledge and good produce available and reducing availability of nutritionally deficient foods and the advertising for them?
Why do you need a dietitian or nutritionist to tell you that fresh vegetables are healthy, fast food is not?

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