March is National Nutrition Month and March 14 is Registered Dietitian Day. The message for 2012 is "Get Your Plate in Shape".

In 1973 President Richard Nixon proclaimed the first National Nutrition Week. This event served as a nutrition education campaign featuring public service announcements, media releases, bumper stickers and more. The event was immediately embraced by members of the American Dietetic Association (ADA).

Over the past 39 years, this campaign has evolved as dramatically as the nutrition messages promoted and the entire profession of Dietetics. To start with, we have gone from National Nutrition Week to National Nutrition Month and for the fifth year one day in March has been designated as Registered Dietitian Day. The American Dietetic Association is now the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, there are no longer only “four food groups”, and the profession as a whole has gained considerable credibility with laws governing the use of the title “Registered Dietitian”. There have been numerous themes used over the years to catch the attention of the public. Posters and table tents served as backdrops in cafeteria scenes of the popular 80’s television shows Head of the Class and Growing Pains, while McDonald’s partnered with ADA in the early 1990's to promote the Food Guide Pyramid.

The President of the American Dietetic Association, along with other members of the Association, have been on hand to ring the closing bell at NASDAQ, and National Nutrition Month signs have held prominent space in Times Square.

As the saying goes “We’ve come a long way!” and the best part is we aren’t done yet. We will continue to grow and improve within the profession of dietetics, and to steadfastly move forward with the messages of good nutrition and healthy lifestyles for all.