As a weight loss provider you’ve probably struggled with helping your clients better understand nutrition labels.  You are not alone. Confusion has increased over food labeling as the FDA has made stricter guidelines and topics like Genetically Modified Organisms (GMO) have made headlines everywhere!

Consumer questions continue to persist after genetically engineered seeds were introduced and adopted by the U.S. over 15 years ago. The best you can do as a weight loss provider is to educate yourself on the latest GMO information published so you are prepared to answer clients’ questions sufficiently.

Start by listening to your clients’ concerns and answering their questions as best you can but don’t be opinionated. With all the media hype, it’s easy to be pulled into the whole debate of whether Genetically Modified Organisms are safe or not.  Your position as a weight loss coach, should not be to take a side but to provide the best nutrition information available to your clients

According to Connie Diekman, a Registered Dietitian, in her article and video,“How to Navigate GMO Labels”, the labeling of foods derived from genetically engineered plants remains voluntary right now and currently the FDA, along with other organizations recognizes that foods derived from genetically engineered plants are nutritionally comparable to foods that do not contain these ingredients.

Despite official statements that have been made about the safety of GMO, the debate will undoubtedly continue.

Here are some tips for handling your clients’ questions about GMO:

• Learn all you can about the most up to date science behind genetically modified organisms (GMO), what’s involved in the process and how or if it really affects consumers’ health.
• Keep appraised of the latest labeling guidelines concerning GMO published by the FDA.
• Give clients guidance about GMO but in the end make sure they are making sound nutritional choices based on the taste, education and understanding of the product.
• Don’t get caught up in the whole public debate by taking a side and tempting to push your clients in one direction or the other.
• When counseling clients, try to steer concerns over food labels in the direction of the science behind weight loss and nutrition.
• Provide a wide variety of healthy food choices in your clients’ meal plans, make sure they understand the nutritional labels for each product and how the product will help them lose weight and stay healthy.

It comes down to this, according to the USDA a large majority of US farmers have adapted Genetically Engineered (GE) seeds for corn, soybeans and cotton since they were introduced over 15 years ago. Still with the higher prices of GE seed compared to conventional seed, farmers realize economic benefits from growing GE crops through higher crop yields, and/or lower pesticide costs as well as time savings.

Despite the fact that there’s an increasing public aversion to genetically engineering of food, this process looks like it is here to stay for a while.  As a weight loss provider you can help your clients understand GMO better by keeping appraised of the most recent updates on this type of processing and providing education and guidance without taking a side in the debate.