Starting this month, we introduce a new column, named "What I Have Learned this Month," in which the challenges women who are obese in poor communities face in losing weight and leading a healthy lifestyle is discussed. Valerie welcomes your comments and suggestions at vlawson@uic.edu.

"As I continue working with women who are obese who have mobility limitations, new issues and barriers become evident each month. We discuss weight loss, along with food purchase education and making healthy choices based on reading food labels, which can be challenging. For example, we practice how to read food labels, and calculate the amounts of fat, sodium, and fiber, depending on their individual needs. I realize that if I did not have 4 years of nutrition classes as an undergraduate, as well as another 2 years of dietetics, I, too, would be lost."

Read the entire column at http://www.ncpad.org/310/1916/Do~You~Need~a~Degree~to~Read~a~Food~Label~.