Rachel Lee Mohler*, Florida State University, Tallahassee, United States Jennifer Lynn Lemacks*, Florida State University, Havana, United States Track: Business Presentation Topic: Business models in a Web 2.0 environment Presentation Type: Startup Pitch Submission Type: Single Presentation Building: Joseph B. Martin Conference Center at Harvard Medical School Room: C-Rotunda Room Date: 2012-09-15 01:45 PM – 03:45 PM Last modified: 2012-09-16

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Nutrition is a growing market, reported by the Nutrition Business Journal (in its 2010 Global Nutrition Report) to exceed 400 billion dollars by 2014. The United States, especially the southeastern region, is heavily burdened by obesity and related complications. The southeastern US has the highest obesity prevalence with 29.4% being obese (not including those who are merely overweight). The severity of the issue has received much recent political attention in children, which has highlighted the concern that the future generation may become more disease-burdened than the current generation. Thus, health care expenditure and tax-payer burden will only be expected to worsen. A Registered Dietitian (RD) is a nutrition expert (dubbed by the American Dietetic Association and other well-renowned societies) trained to deal with all dietary aspects of obesity and other complications. The RD is a valuable resource and available to the entire community to address dietary needs. A more structured organization, similar to a physician associates organization, is missing in the current market and could be key to downturn the obesity epidemic and reduce chronic disease prevalence. Nutrition Experts is a company that proposes to increase access to Registered Dietitians and medical nutrition therapy services. The company will initially launch in the Big Bend area of Florida with long-term plans to expand throughout the southeastern US. The company offers a flexible and up-to-date manner of service, including internet and mobile technology. A mobile application (Well-Me-health) will provide a more personalized experience for clients to engage in and monitor their health goals. The company utilizes evidence-based theories including individual health models, Health Belief Model and/or Transtheoretical Model. The company plans to align with health care providers and target its services for the insured, families, and children.