This year’s presentations:

Navigating The Use of GLP-1 Medications for Weight Loss: The Role of the RDN – Melissa Mitri, MS, RD

This presentation will equip RDNs with the knowledge and tools needed to effectively support clients who are prescribed weight loss medications. Obesity is being globally recognized as a disease, and as such, it’s increasingly important for RDNs to understand anti-obesity therapies’ mechanisms, efficacy, and potential side effects. Attendees will gain insights into when these medications may be appropriate and how to integrate them into comprehensive care plans.

The session will also cover strategies to adopt a non-judgmental approach, address stigma, and foster open communication with clients. Attendees will learn evidence-based nutrition and exercise strategies to enhance medication effectiveness, minimize side effects, and promote long-term weight management success. By the end of the presentation, participants will have actionable tools and a deeper understanding of their role in supporting clients through this emerging facet of weight management care.

Learning Objectives:

1. Identify FDA-approved medications for weight loss and their mechanisms of action.
2. Understand how to employ a non-judgemental approach toward clients expressing interest in weight loss medications.
3. Guide patients on the importance of muscle-bearing exercise in this population to reduce muscle loss.
4. Determine strategies to help clients maintain weight loss long-term via sustainable lifestyle habits and support.

Food IS Medicine: RDNs Needed! – Melissa Bernstein,  PhD, RDN, LD, FAND, DipACLM, FACLM, FNAP

Diet has been identified as the most important risk factor for morbidity and mortality in the United States.   Registered Dietitian Nutritionists (RDNs) regularly treat patients with one or more chronic diseases, many of which have a strong relationship to diet and nutritional health. Disease prevention, treatment and reversal is possible with Food is Medicine (FIM). To provide the best possible care to individuals and patients, RDNs are needed to lead the FIM initiatives and support the entire interprofessional team in ensuring nutritional needs are best addressed.   As food and nutrition experts, RDNs are in a unique position to educate, inspire and guide patients to use FIM to be an active and empowered participant in their own health care.

Learning Objectives:

1. Appraise the evidence supporting the benefits of a Food Is Medicine diet prescription, in promoting health and for the treatment and reversal of chronic diseases
2. Describe the role of RDNs as Food Is Medicine experts as part of the interprofessional healthcare time in educating and empowering patients to adopt healthy dietary patterns
3. Communicate the nutrition-specific competencies of the field of lifestyle medicine to other members of the healthcare team.
4. Confidently apply Food Is Medicine to enhance the overall wellness of patients, clients, and community.

Therapeutic Carbohydrate Reduction: What it is and What it is Used For – Laura Buchanan, MD, MHP, ABOM, MSCP

Carbohydrate intake below 130grams per day is defined as therapeutic carbohydrate reduction (TCR). There are numerous dietary patterns that fit within this threshold of carbohydrate intake. In this presentation, we discuss very low-carbohydrate diets which are defined as <50grams of carbohydrates per day. These include well formulated ketogenic diets for metabolic health as well as 4:1 ketogenic diets often used for epilepsy with emerging data for mental health disorders. Learners will compare these eating patterns, emerging research for their use, and safety.

Learning Objectives:

1. Be able to state the results of the trials comparing low-carb to DASH for HTN and to mediterranean for diabetes
2. Differentiate the classic 4:1 ketogenic diet to 3:1 to a well formulated low-carb ketogenic diet for metabolic disease
3. Recall the results of multiple studies using the ketogenic diet for mental health
4. Recognize the importance of having a provider on board with the ketogenic diet to titrate medications if necessary

Navigating AI: The New Frontier in Dietetics – Drew Hemler, MSc, RD, CDN, FAND

In this dynamic and forward-thinking session, explore the profound impact and transformative potential of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on the dietetics profession. From private practice to public health, clinical settings, and academia, AI is revolutionizing how dietitians operate, collaborate, and engage with clients, colleagues, and communities. This session offers both big-picture insights and practical applications of AI, focusing on streamlining tasks in communications, marketing, client services, and nutrition education planning. Additionally, ethical considerations and frameworks for responsible AI use will be highlighted, making this session eligible for a CDR-mandated Ethics CPEU.

Learning Objectives:

1. Recognize key AI technologies, including their perceptions and historical & current use in public, private, and professional settings.
2. Utilize generative AI through structured prompts to help strategize and support dietetic practitioner related tasks and workflow.
3. Discuss the E.A.S.T. of ethical implications in order to plan for responsible AI integration & use in any area of dietetic practice.

Global Leadership Initiative in Malnutrition (GLIM): History, Current Guidelines and Practice Applications – Ainsley Malone, MS, RDN, LD, CNSC, FAND, FASPEN

Malnutrition significantly impacts health outcomes, yet diagnosing it consistently remains a challenge for healthcare professionals. The Global Leadership Initiative on Malnutrition (GLIM) has developed a standardized set of criteria aimed at improving the identification and management of malnutrition in adults. This session is tailored to dietitians and other healthcare professionals, where we will review a brief history of the GLIM criteria development, describe the current GLIM criteria, and provide evidence of their key role in malnutrition diagnosis. This presentation will provide an in-depth overview of the five core criteria—phenotypic and etiologic—and their practical application in clinical settings. This session will equip you with valuable insights and strategies to enhance your clinical practice. 

Learning Objectives:

1. Describe key evidence-based assessment tools.
2. Operationalize diagnostic workflows to identify malnutrition in the clinical setting.
3. Characterize key factors that standardize malnutrition identification.

Sleep, Diet, and Obesity – Arman Arab, PhD

Sleep and nutrition are intricately linked, influencing metabolic health, weight regulation, and overall well-being. This session explores the bidirectional relationship between diet and sleep, highlighting how dietary patterns impact sleep quality and how sleep disorders affect dietary behaviors. Special attention will be given to insomnia, chronotype, social jetlag, and the effects of late eating on metabolic health. Attendees will gain insights into how dietary patterns, particularly the Mediterranean diet, may improve sleep outcomes.

Learning Objectives:

1. Explain the role of sleep duration, quality, and chronotype in metabolic health and obesity risk.
2. Describe the associations between dietary patterns and sleep health.
3. Evaluate the impact of social jetlag and late eating on dietary habits and obesity.
4. Apply evidence-based nutrition strategies, such as the Mediterranean diet, to improve sleep quality and metabolic outcomes.
5. Identify the mechanisms underlying the bidirectional relationship between sleep

Adolescent Nutrition: Balancing Diet and Development – Lauren Manaker, MS, RDN, LD

Adolescent nutrition is a critical yet often overlooked area of research and clinical practice. Despite teenagers comprising a substantial portion of the population, less than 1.5% of research focuses on their unique nutritional needs. Data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) highlight significant nutritional gaps among adolescents, which can have profound effects on both their short-term and long-term health. As such, it is essential for clinicians to be well-prepared to support this vulnerable and rapidly evolving group. This presentation will explore these nutritional deficiencies and provide actionable insights for practitioners. Additionally, it will briefly touch upon the influence of social media on adolescent eating habits and offer practical tips for making positive dietary changes.

Learning Objectives:

1. Recognize the 2020-2025 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and learn how they pertain to adolescents
2. Identify key nutrients adolescents need and how to incorporate food sources of them into a daily eating pattern.
3. Gain practical tips and resources to share with parents/caregivers to optimize nutrition intake during these stages of rapid growth and development.

What Every RD Needs to Know About Kidney Stones. Melanie Betz, MS, RD, CSR, LDN, FNKF, FAND

Kidney stones are no joke! One in 10 people in the US will have a kidney stone and up to 75% of those people will have at least one recurrence. Nutrition plays a critical role in the prevention of recurrent kidney stones, yet few RDNs feel comfortable with kidney stone nutrition. This session will help RDNs better understand the scope of the problem of kidney stones, the undervalued complications of kidney stones and how to individualize medical nutrition therapy for people with kidney stones for effective prevention.

Learning Objectives:

1. List the undervalued complications of kidney stones.
2.  Describe specific urine risk factors that contribute to kidney stones.
3.  Understand how to individualize MNT based on 24-hour urine test results and kidney stone type