Nutritional concerns in women's primary care

The midwife needs to be aware of current guidelines for nutritional monitoring, including those in Healthy People 2000, to provide primary care screening for nutritional factors that affect the health status of women. This article reviews the relationship between dietary habits and specific health concerns, including cardiovascular disease, obesity, osteoporosis, cancer, and diabetes; special attention is paid to high-risk groups. It also examines the relationship between improved nutritional status and the reduction of the major causes of morbidity in women.