Twitter Chat Hosted by @MontefioreNews on March 29, at 1 p.m. EST, #Monte_RDtips

Newswise — NEW YORK CITY, NY (March 28, 2012) - This year's National Nutrition Month theme, Get Your Plate in Shape, will be the focus of a Twitter chat March 29 hosted by Montefiore Medical Center wellness dietitian Jessica Shapiro, MS, RD, CDN. The chat will cover basic nutrition guidelines for balanced, healthy eating, as well as tools and trends such as "mindful eating" and web-based and mobile apps that can help individuals adhere to healthier eating habits.

Follow @MontefioreNews on Twitter and use the hashtag #Monte_RDtips to be part of the conversation, which begins at 1 p.m.

Ms. Shapiro (@JessShapiroRD) will be joined on the chat by Maggie Meehan, RD, MPH, senior manager of nutrition education from City Harvest (@CityHarvest), the world's first food rescue organization. The NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (@nycHealthy) will also collaborate on the chat.

In her role as wellness dietitian at Montefiore, Ms. Shapiro provides individual counseling and group presentations focused on general nutrition and weight management, covering topics including dietary fats, weight loss and sodium intake. She also collaborates with clinical departments at Montefiore to present community and associate education programs on stroke, diabetes, heart health and other subjects. Ms. Shapiro has shared her nutrition expertise in media interviews published in the NY Daily News, HealthDay News, Weightwatchers.com and other outlets.

National Nutrition Month is a nutrition education and information campaign sponsored each year in March by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The campaign is designed to focus attention on the importance of making informed food choices and developing sound eating and physical activity habits. This year's theme of "Get Your Plate in Shape" supports the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the U.S. Department of Agriculture's new food icon, My Plate.

Montefiore Medical Center's clinical dietitians play a key role on patient care teams, providing expert nutrition guidance based on each patient's individual health conditions and needs. The majority of Montefiore's dietitians specialize in specific areas of medical and surgical care including cardiac, oncology, diabetes, pediatrics and bariatric surgery. About Montefiore Medical Center

As the University Hospital for Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore is a premier academic medical center nationally renowned for its clinical excellence, scientific discovery and commitment to its community. Recognized among the top hospitals nationally and regionally by U.S. News & World Report, Montefiore provides compassionate, patient- and family-centered care and educates the healthcare professionals of tomorrow. The Children's Hospital at Montefiore is consistently named in U.S. News' "America's Best Children's Hospitals," and is second among those in the New York metro area. With four hospitals, 1,491 beds and 93,000 annual hospital discharges, Montefiore is an integrated health system seamlessly linked by advanced technology. State-of-the-art primary and specialty care is provided through a network of nearly 100 locations across the region, including the largest school health program in the nation and a home health program. Montefiore's partnership with Einstein advances clinical and translational research to accelerate the pace at which new discoveries become the treatments and therapies that benefit patients. The medical center derives its inspiration for excellence from its patients and community, and continues to be on the frontlines of developing innovative approaches to care. For more information please visit www.montefiore.org and www.montekids.org and follow us on Twitter @MontefioreNews.