Nutrition and women's health: challenge for the 21st century

The recent release of Healthy People 2010 and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans were significant events, especially for the nutritional health of women. Given the number of women diagnosed with nutrition-related diseases and the increasing cultural diversity of the US population, implementing the dietary recommendations poses challenges for women clinicians. Clinicians must recognize and respect the cultural beliefs, behaviors, and traditions of their female patients if the goals of a healthy diet are to be achieved. And culturally sensitive interventions are needed to reduce women's risk of developing nutrition-related diseases over the next decade.