Dietetic practitioners are often called upon to contact state or federal legislators to assist in "getting the word out" on important legislation. This is an easy and important way to get involved in promoting the profession.

Some tips you may find helpful when writing to legislators include:

		Clearly identify the subject, title or bill number to which your letter refers.
		Make clear what side of the issue you are on, and ask the legislator to support your view.
		Always be polite.   Never threaten.  Being unprofessional will serve more to alienate the legislator.  Even if you cannot persuade him or her, you may be able to neutralize potential opposition and keep them from working against you.
		Put your professional and personal credibility behind your request.
		Include personal stories documented with facts and figures.  Legislative staff report that these types of letters stick in their minds.
		Emphasize you are a constituent of your elected official and include your home address.

State Legislators:	www.legis.state.wi.us/
US Senators:	www.senate.gov
US Representatives:	www.house.gov

Wisconsin State Health Plan:Healthiest Wisconsin 2020  Healthiest Wisconsin will become the policy road map to protect health and safety, eliminate inequities in health, and transform our public health system to achieve our shared vision of Healthy People in Healthy and Safe Wisconsin communities. This plan recognizes the partnerships between public and private organizations with common interests. This project is in the initial planning stages.

Let's Move- A nationwide initiative to promote making healthy choices, improving food quality in ... and increasing physical activity for a healthier generation of kids.

State Links on Nutrition and Health

 Other Federal Links on Nutrition and Health

The following links may also help to keep you up to date on current legislative issues.

Administration on Aging	www.aoa.gov
Administration for Children and Families	www.acf.hhs.gov
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)	www.cdc.gov
Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion	www.usda.gov/cnpp/
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)	www.fda.gov/
Food Safety and Inspection Service	www.fsis.usda.gov
Center for Medicare and Medicaid Services	www.cms.hhs.gov
National Institutes of Health (NIH)	www.nih.gov/
US Department of Agriculture (USDA)	www.usda.gov

About the Wisconsin Dietetic Association

The Wisconsin Dietetic Association is the link to nutrition and health in Wisconsin. This professional organization promotes registered dietitians and dietetic technicians as the nutrition experts through membership, continuing education, and legislative activities. Members specialize in a variety of nutrition services including:  Weight Loss Recommendations for losing weight safely Diet pills and ins and outs of popular diets like weight watchers, atkins diet, zone diet, cabbage soup diet, low carbohydrate diet and others Healthy Lifestyle Promotion Optimum health, wellness, chronic disease management, soy nutrition, food guide pyramid, vegetarian diets Women's Health Osteoporosis treatment and prevention, healthy menopause Diabetes Development of diabetic diet meal plans, diabetes diets and diabetes recipes Carbohydrate (carb) counting Sports Nutrition Training diets and menus Heart Disease Development of low cholesterol diet menus, low fat recipes and low cholesterol diets Cancer Nutrition Cancer diet, cancer prevention, eating tips for cancer treatment Community Nutrition Nutrition interventions for at risk populations Pediatric Nutrition Nutritional assessments Recommendations for children and adolescents Complementary Medicine Complementary therapies that include vitamin and mineral supplementation, botanicals and functional foods as well as mind/body approaches Critical Care Specialized nutrition support and critical care nutrition