New dietician teaches nutrition to groups, individuals

  • Published
  • By Argen Duncan
  • Nucleus writer
KIRTLAND AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. --  The new Kirtland Air Force Base dietician can help base community members tailor their diets to prevent catastrophic problems in the field and poor health later in life.

Kirsten David started working from the 377th Medical Group building about a month ago. She can provide one-on-one medical nutrition therapy to active-duty Airmen, their dependents and veterans, and group presentations to any population on base.

Medical nutrition therapy involves advice on adjusting an individual's diet to meet goals such as dealing with lab results like as cholesterol and blood-sugar numbers, gaining healthy weight, losing weight or working around food allergies or intolerances.

"Everybody's different with what they do during the day, so I can help them modify their diet to fit their lifestyle," David said.

Squadrons and other organizations can ask for presentations about diet-related topics or cooking demonstrations.

She can work with children and adults, including pregnant women.

David was born and raised in Houston, Texas, where she swam competitively while growing up. A nutritionist once came to speak to her high school swim team about how food affects what the body can do.

When she changed her diet, David said, she noticed her performance in the pool improved.

That success motivated her to learn more and teach others the same lessons.

David earned a bachelor's in dietetics from the University of Missouri, where she continued to compete in swimming, and a master's in sports dietetics from the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs. She's also a certified specialist sports dietician.

David said she's passionate about teaching young Airmen good eating habits.

"I want them to understand how important it is to do this now, so it doesn't affect their future, when they're in their 50s and 60s," she said.

In a previous job, David worked with people over 60 to control their weight and diabetes.

There, she saw the problems years of poor eating habits cause, she said.

David has worked with the military before, as the dietician at Goodfellow Air Force Base, Texas.

"I want to work with a population that is active, and in the military, we do consider them athletes. They're tactical athletes," David said. "What they do is so important."

Nutrition affects things such as concentration and energy, she said, and if something were to go wrong with an Airman's body in a dangerous situation, the results could be catastrophic.

David expects to start seeing patients one-on-one in the next couple of weeks. Other upcoming projects include a health cooking demonstration March 10 at the Base Chapel, a nutrition  component to a tobacco cessation class and the Better Body Better Life weight-loss program.

She can also offer sessions with the Bod Pod, a device that indicates what a person's body fat is and what it should be.

Anyone who wants dietetics counseling or presentations can  contact David at kirsten.david.ctr@us.af.mil or 846-1483. She said email is the best way to reach her because her phone number may change due to construction at the medical group facility.