Katie Brown, Ed.D., RD, LD, National Nutrition Education Director

Katie Brown, Ed.D., RD, LD,
National Nutrition Education Director
RD Coach Project – American Dietetic Association Foundation

Katie Brown, a Registered Dietitian (RD) coach provides nutrition coaching for the Healthy Schools Partnership in Kansas City, MO. Katie was recently a panel member at the Third Annual American Diabetes Association Health Disparities Conference where the Healthy Schools Partnership received a Promising Practice Award of Excellence, one of six recognized programs in the United States as having great potential in preventing childhood obesity and type 2 diabetes. the Healthy Schools Partnership is a coalition of the American Council for Fitness and Nutrition Foundation, PE4life and the American Dietetic Association Foundation.

Tell us about your background? What drives you

I am really passionate about nutrition education. I have Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Dietetics and a Doctorate degree in Education. My first career position in dietetics was as a hospital dietitian. After a few years, I switched positions to become a nutrition faculty member at the University of Central Missouri. Seven years later I began a nutrition consulting company with a colleague. A large part of our consulting services are in the development of corporate wellness programs. Developing nutrition education programs and curriculum and teaching are one of my greatest strengths and what I really love to do. In 2007, I learned of the opportunity to work with a new, innovative school-based nutrition program being piloted right here in Kansas City with the ADAF, ACFN, and PE4life, and really wanted to be part of it. I was fortunate to be selected as one of the original RD Nutrition Coaches for the Healthy Schools Partnership project, and also the Head RD Coach. In this role, I led the development of the Energy Balance curriculum. Our original group of six RD Coaches has grown to 15 in Kansas City, and 10 in Des Moines.

On the ground, what did you see before and after the Healthy Schools Partnership was implemented?

HSP pilot schools were inner-city schools that served high minority populations of kids from families of very low income households. We knew that to be effective in promoting eating and activity behavior change, we needed to understand the kids, their home life, their school environment and their backgrounds. We went to their neighborhoods, looked at the places they did their grocery shopping, we developed relationships with programs and services in the communities that may be helpful to these kids and their families, we built strong relationships with the school administrators, cafeteria workers and the physical education community to build a ground base of support. We all worked hard to show the kids that we were invested in them not as outsiders, but as members of their community. This planning helped us and the program tremendously.

Do kids respond to the Healthy Schools Partnership curriculum?

We empower the kids to want to make healthy food and activity decisions. They really learn and understand the concept of Energy Balance, and why it’s important to them. The lessons are designed to be interactive, fun and applied. One of the main differences in the HSP program is that the primary place that it’s delivered is in the PE class. The RD Nutrition Coaches and PE teachers lead group games that incorporate the key messages in the curriculum, and then to help students apply the information to his/her own eating and activity environment, the RDs do one-on-one nutrition coaching with each student every week. This is also done in a fun way, while the students are being active. This is where the kids really begin to understand the concept of Energy Balance.

What does this program mean in context of the obesity crisis in the United States?

Energy Balance is a skill set that generations ago kids didn’t need to know. Today, it’s a must. Just like kids learn techniques such as ‘Stranger Danger’ to identify adults that may want to harm them, kids today really need to be able to balance ‘Energy In’ (calories consumed from a healthy diet) with ‘Energy Out’ (calories expended from living an active life).

We all know the dismal outcomes of children who are overweight and obese— its association with other chronic diseases, its dismal toll it takes on academic success, quality of life, health care dollars and the ability to develop productive citizens for this great country.

the Healthy Schools Partnership is the only school-based program of its kind that provides to students actual nutrition experts—Registered Dietitians to deliver the program and doesn’t ask the classroom teacher to learn one more content area. It is also the only program of its kind to provide an evidenced-based Energy Balance curriculum that is delivered primarily in PE class with the Physical Education teacher.

How important is it for kids to have role models?

It is very important for kids to have role models. Peer-to-peer empowerment is also helpful. This is one of the reasons the RD Nutrition Coaches spend time each week in the school cafeteria, helping, nudging and encouraging kids to make great food choices (we call these Power Picks). Kids influence each other, so the cafeteria is a wonderful place to facilitate eating behavior changes.

How do teachers and administrators help promote this program?

the Healthy Schools Partnership program provides surround-sound wellness messaging throughout the school. The RD Nutrition Coaches are in the classroom, the PE class and the cafeteria. But we also provide daily healthy announcements to the school through wellness articles that are incorporated into school newsletters that go home to families and attend school events to reach parents about the Energy Balance messages were talking to their students about. Without the support and buy-in for this type of wellness culture in the school environment by the school administrators, teachers and staff, the program would have very limited success.