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NEW NUTRITION TOOLS HELP HEALTH AND FITNESS PROFESSIONALS OVERCOME SCOPE OF PRACTICE DILEMMA

Posted: Jul 12, 2013 in

Specialty Certification, Meal-Planning Application Elevate Expertise of Personal Trainers, Health Coaches, Provide More Tools to Combat Obesity Epidemic

SAN DIEGO, Calif. (July 11, 2013) – Although millions of health and fitness professionals have long been bound by scope of practice when it comes to delivering specific nutrition advice to clients, the American Council on Exercise (ACE) has introduced a number of tools to help them elevate their expertise in the field and increase their value as personal trainers and health coaches.

According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, about 90% of Americans say diet and nutrition are important, but nearly half of them don’t know or understand how to achieve a balanced diet.

That staggering statistic has led to millions of U.S. adults – and now a burgeoning number of children – to develop type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease and a myriad of other preventable, weight-related conditions.

The new ACE Fitness Nutrition Specialty Certification provides scientifically supported and relevant nutrition education and training that health and fitness professionals can use to offer credible nutrition advice to their clients without overstepping the bounds of scope of practice. Specifically, becoming an ACE Fitness Nutrition Specialist helps professionals develop the expertise they need to more effectively communicate the principles of good nutrition and food preparation, actions of nutrients in the body, how to read nutrition labels and choose meals that facilitate weight loss or improved athletic performance.

ACE also developed a new mobile, Web-based application with Evolution Nutrition^® that provides health and fitness professionals with the ability to choose from meal plans developed by registered dietitians that are tailored to the needs of their clients.

“A fitness professional who focuses only on physical activity and avoids discussing nutrition is providing their clients with less than optimal service,” said ACE President and CEO Scott Goudeseune. “Our goal with these new tools is to position personal trainers and health coaches to deliver broader nutritional expertise while staying within their scope of practice.”

Using the Evolution Nutrition application, health and fitness professionals can create unique profiles for their clients utilizing body composition measurements, abilities and goals. The tool will then provide detailed nutrition plan options to choose from, along with recommended shopping lists and portion guides.

“Developing individualized meal plans can fall outside the scope of practice for many fitness professionals, but there is still a high demand for it from the public – especially with the vast amount of incorrect nutrition information on the Web,” said Ed Cleary of Evolution Nutrition. “Our program – and our partnership with ACE – is designed to help fitness professionals use meal plans and nutrition management developed by registered dietitians to fit the specific needs of their clients. It also provides an easy way for clients to take ownership of their diet and exercise habits by allowing them to log their food and training.”

 “In order to truly combat the obesity epidemic, we need to arm our professionals with the tools they need to address all three parameters of a healthy lifestyle – physical activity, behavior change and nutrition,” Goudeseune said. “We know the demand for more nutrition expertise is there. Now we’re providing the tools for fitness professionals to respond to it.”

To learn more about the ACE Fitness Edition of Evolution Nutrition’s Web-based application, visit ACEfitness.org/EvolutionNutrition.

 

About ACE
Since 1985, American Council on Exercise (ACE) has evolved from a small nonprofit dedicated to educating people about proper fitness to a 50,000-strong network of certified Personal Trainers, Group Fitness Instructors, Health Coaches, and Advanced Health and Fitness Specialists. As the largest NCCA-accredited nonprofit fitness certification organization in the world, ACE provides quality continuing education to professionals and conducts independent science-based research to protect all Americans from unsafe and ineffective products. Our goal is to inspire people to live their most fit lives through free fitness resources including workouts, nutrition information and expert advice. For more information, call (800) 825-3636 or visit ACEfitness.org.  AMERICAN COUNCIL ON EXERCISE, ACE and ACE logos are Registered Trademarks of American Council on Exercise.

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