My name is Loriann North and I am enrolled at Boston University Masters in Health Communication and Nutrition program in the hopes of continuing my progress towards my ultimate goal as a preventive care educator for diabetes. I hope to gain the skills necessary to educate and promote preventative health awareness to individuals in the hopes of staving off many of the chronic conditions associated with diabetes and other diseases that can be impacted by proactive nutrition.
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, obesity in America is an epidemic. One in 3 adults in America is overweight or obese and obesity-related conditions include heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes and certain types of cancer, are some of the leading causes of preventable death. These numbers will continue to rise exponentially unless something is done to curb this cultural phenomena. The majority of the chronic conditions associated with diabetes and many other illnesses can be managed or even avoided entirely by preventative health care and nutrition education. I have almost 10 years of experience in the EMS and acute health care field. On the ambulance everyday my partner and are called in emergent situations to the homes of people who are not managing their chronic health conditions. We routinely attend to the same individual in acute exacerbation brought on by complete disregard for their health and safety. Or perhaps it is not complete disregard, but rather lack of education and skills necessary to make decisions that would alleviate or ease these episodes?
Clearly there is a gap in the healthcare system. These individuals require adequate information on nutrition and how it could help or hinder their disease process, and I feel like there is a overall naivety of the power that proper nutrition can have on overall health of an individual. Our nation needs to be promoting nutrition education, continuing to support a cultural shift towards garden based nutrition programs, and fund small farmers to increase farm to table programs. Help stop the obesity epidemic in American and help nourish our society through nutrition education, activity promotion, and support of people passionate enough to make this cultural shift happen.
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