American Dietetic Association Awards 2004 Honorary Memberships to Obesity Research Scientist and ADA Vice President

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Media contacts:

Prior to October 1, 2004
Doris Acosta or Lori Ferme
800/877-1600, ext. 4822 or 4802
media@eatright.org

October 2-5, 2004
Anaheim Convention Center
Anaheim, Calif.
Press Room: Room 203AB
Phone: 714/765-2031
(Please do not publish these numbers)

CHICAGO - The American Dietetic Association, the nation’s largest organization of food and nutrition professionals, will present honorary ADA memberships October 2 to the Association’s Executive Vice President Patricia Babjak and to nutrition researcher and author Gary D. Foster.

Babjak and Foster will be honored during the Opening Session of ADA’s annual Food & Nutrition Conference & Expo, to be held October 2-5 at the Anaheim Convention Center, Anaheim, Calif.

Honorary ADA membership recognizes outstanding leadership and significant contributions to ADA and to the advancement of the dietetics profession. It is the highest honor ADA offers to individuals who are not Association members.

Patricia Babjak, MLS
Babjak is only the fourth ADA staff member to be awarded honorary Association membership, and the second to receive the honor while an active ADA employee. Founded in 1917, ADA began awarding honorary memberships in 1920.

At ADA, Babjak is responsible for all strategic management and governance operations as well as supervision of research and scientific affairs; book publishing; careers and student services; development of ADA position statements, among other areas.

Babjak joined ADA in 1975 as assistant coordinator of ADA’s Commission on Dietetic Registration, the credentialing agency for dietetics professionals in the United States. Babjak became director of CDR in 1978, serving until 1998 when she became the Association’s executive vice president for strategic management. Babjak also served as ADA’s interim chief executive officer in 1997.

Babjak was instrumental in the recent reorganization of ADA’s governance structure, including new roles for the Association’s Board and House of Delegates, and in transforming ADA’s Nominating Committee into a force for leadership development and diversity within the Association. Babjak is also responsible for overseeing development and implementation of ADA’s strategic plan and for developing mechanisms to measure the Association’s progress toward goals and objectives.

Babjak has served on the Advisory Committee of the Harvard University Leadership Institute as well as on the Pew Health Professions Commission on Educating Health Care Workforce Task Force. In addition, she has chaired the National Commission for Certifying Agencies and recently was appointed to the leadership council for the National Organization for Competency Assurance. She is a graduate of the University of Illinois - Chicago and earned a master’s degree in library science from Dominican University.

Gary D. Foster, PhD
Foster is associate professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and clinical director of the university’s Weight and Eating Disorders Program. Internationally known in the field of obesity research, much of Foster’s work focuses on evaluating weight-loss approaches, including their psychological and metabolic effects.

Foster has a longstanding relationship with ADA and dietetics professionals, including giving many lectures and presentations at ADA meetings. In addition to publishing more than 100 scientific papers, he is the co-author with registered dietitian and ADA member Cathy Nonas of a book for health professionals, Managing Obesity: A Clinical Guide (American Dietetic Association, 2004).

Foster’s current research looks at effects of weight loss on sleep apnea;  the safety and effectiveness of low carbohydrate dieting and the effects of a school-based program for obesity prevention.

In 2003, Foster published the first one-year controlled study of the safety and effectiveness of the Atkins diet, finding that a low-carbohydrate, high-fat, high-protein diet produces greater weight loss over six months than a traditional low-calorie, low-fat diet. Foster’s group also found that after one year, dieters on the Atkins plan had regained the weight, erasing the differences in weight loss between two groups. Foster is now directing a larger, more comprehensive five-year study of low-carb diets.

Foster is a graduate of Duquesne University. He holds a master’s degree in psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and a doctorate in clinical psychology from Temple University.

With nearly 70,000 members, the Chicago-based American Dietetic Association serves the public by promoting optimal nutrition, health and well-being. Visit ADA at http://www.eatright.org/.