The annual Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics' (AND) Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo (FNCE) is a huge conference with an estimated 10,000+ in attendance, and there were many people people tweeting about it under the hashtag #FNCE. So I thought collecting the tweets & running some basic analyses might reveal some interesting things. If others want to poke around, I uploaded the dataset I collected here. Methods Unfortunately, I didn't have the foresight to write a script to grab Read more [...]

I've written several posts critical of the companies allowed to become partners with/sponsors of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND or formerly the American Dietetics Association or ADA). Companies like Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, Hershey, etc seem like odd choices to give positive press messages or lead moderation campaigns using RD credentials to sell product, as just a couple examples. Especially when the scientific evidence supporting the link between some of their products and negative health Read more [...]

Several weeks ago I came across a troubling article in Forbes titled "Is the American Dietetic Association Attempting to Limit Market Competition in Nutrition Counseling?" by Michael Ellsberg. It intends to put forth a case against legislation that restricts nutrition assessment and counseling (medical nutrition provisions) to practitioners licensed by the American Dietetic Association/Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (ADA/AND) (e.g. RDs) and legislation trying to restrict the term "nutritionist," Read more [...]

Earlier this week I expressed some concern for a new health campaign by Hershey and the American Dietetic Association.  The campaign website is now launched as of Wednesday. Among my initial concerns that the number of people that will be reached by Hershey's donation for initial consultations is simply too low to make a significance in the long run.  The initial consultation is free, but will they pay for follow-up sessions?  Does one consultation make a measurable difference in health choices? Read more [...]

Recently i've put up a couple posts on the American Dietetic Association's recent corporate sponsor, Hershey, and other concerns about sponsorships. Hershey is not wasting any time with this new partnership.  In an e-newsletter pointed out by Marion Nestle, Hershey announces a multi-year campaign called "Moderation Nation™."  The initiative between the company and the ADA: ... will reach millions of consumers across the country with unique resources, public programs and educational efforts in Read more [...]

Last week I ranted about the ADA and its corporate sponsors after hearing about the latest sponsorship by Hershey. Fooducate also commented about this, took the initiative to contact the ADA, and posted some of the statements along with some great comments. They found that in 2009, less than 9% of ADA's revenue comes from corporate sponsorships.  Of ~$33 million, sponsors provided ~$2.9 million.  From the Annual Report, I found that there are approximately 70,000 members.  Membership fees Read more [...]

Last week, the American Dietetic Association announced a new corporate sponsor: The Hershey Center for Health & Nutrition.  The press release is vague but states that they: "...will collaborate with ADA on consumer and health professional initiatives including an innovative, national consumer-focused nutrition education campaign." Whatever that means.  But the goals of these partnerships are always primarily to improve brand image so more people will include their products in a "healthy" diet, Read more [...]