1/17/06

Personal Dietitian Backgrounder

Impressions made on a child can be lasting ones that sometimes shape an entire lifetime. Perhaps this was the case with Carolyn Classick-Kohn, co-founder of Personal Dietitian, the online diet company.

In her youth, Classick-Kohn, as a "military brat," was a world traveler. During the time she spent growing up in Panama and Ecuador, she witnessed undernourished, children living in poverty – visions that remained with her as she became an adult. Upon her return to the States, the disparity in food supply influenced, Classick-Kohn to chose a career path that centered on healthy, sensible eating.

Her education reflects her focus: a bachelor’s degree in general dietetics and a master’s in physical education. She subsequently became a registered dietitian and earned an Adult Weight Management certificate from the American Dietetic Association.

Classick-Kohn became a research dietitian at Oregon Health Sciences University, during which time she counseled patients, helped develop low-fat, low-cholesterol recipes and assisted in writing "The New American Diet." This was followed by a successful career in medical sales and marketing, during which she educated physicians and patients regarding diabetes and represented specialty nutrition products. But this commercial career was taking her further away from her interest in healthy dieting.

At the same time that Carolyn was seeking an outlet for her original healthy-diet focus, her husband Craig Kohn recognized that his background as an educator and counselor could be combined with his knowledge of website technology to develop online programs dealing with health and diet.

In 1999, the two established A-PersonalDietitian.com as a part-time venture to develop something as close to an online, custom diet as possible, not so much as a business but to fill a need. As a consulting dietitian, Carolyn had seen the benefit of one-on-one help and she did not want to just mass produce a "cyber" diet.

"Most commercial weight-loss plans online use technology to depersonalize their programs for efficiency and profitability," Carolyn explains. "This contradicts the scientific consensus that indicates that the individualization of a diet program is an important key in producing successful weight loss outcomes."

The key differentiator of Personal Dietitian is the individualization of diet programs. Every client starts by completing an online Diet Habit Survey, results of which are reviewed by a professional, registered dietitian to ensure development of diets that are custom-tailored to individuals’ specific needs.

"Assessing a person’s current diet habits is the first and most critical step in providing a successful diet plan, and it’s missing in all the other commercial programs I’ve seen on the web," observes Carolyn.

Going beyond corporate-based diet programs, Personal Dietitian supports its clients with access to ongoing help from registered dietitians and counselors plus fitness instructional programs designed by a certified personal trainer. Unlike typical on-line corporate diet sites that provide a single approach to users and are limited to computer-generated menu plans, Personal Dietitian takes a user-friendly personal approach by providing individual diet assessments, and designing diet programs based upon clients’ individual diet preferences, health needs and lifestyle considerations.

Part of Personal Dietitian’s success is based on varying degrees of individualization and professional support, as determined by a client’s preferences, lifestyle and health needs. The basic Plan-a-Meal™ service level begins with a diet survey from which individual Dietitian’s Recommended Diets and EZ Personalized Grocery Lists and Personal Eating Guidelines are prepared. The top tier, Diet with the Dietitian™, adds professional diet assessment and recommendations; interactive dietitian and online tracking support; and one-on-one private e-mail support. A mid-level option, Create Your Own Personal Diet, lets people choose program elements that best suit their needs in an á la carte style.

Another key factor in the success of Personal Dietitian is its freedom from lines of packaged foods, formulas or any products that must be sold to help make its bottom line. "We don’t align ourselves with any popular diets or various camps," says Craig Kohn. "We took the current research on weight loss and diet and developed a program positioned for the best possible outcome for our clients: a practical and flexible healthy diet that is personalized to guide our clients towards greater self-direction and the confidence they need to meet their goals."

Both Carolyn and Craig see a bright future for Personal Dietitian. Their service will continue to stand out for its use of technology to increase individualization in diet planning rather than depersonalizing it. Plus, they foresee tomorrow’s diets being based upon factors like genetics, and cultural influences.

"We’re personal," reiterates Carolyn. "We’ll always maintain our connections with people."

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