Dietitian wins award

Captain Nicola Martin was recently awarded the New Zealand Dietetic Association’s Nestlé Young Achiever Award.

Nicola, 28, was honoured with the award for her work in introducing nutrition and dietetics into the New Zealand Army.

Nicola, who previously worked for two years as a dietitian at Auckland Hospital where she specialised in renal care, said that this job had given her a great grounding for her role with the Defence force.

She joined the armed forces in 2005 and as there had never been a dietitian before, this was a huge challenge. Her role doesn’t stop at the daily nutritional needs in the dining halls of the army, where she has introduced food labelling. It also includes one-on-one food counselling and extends further to ration packs in the field.

A healthier army through nutrition will impact on the performance of our nation’s forces. Nicola says, “In five years' time I hope to be able to say that thanks to nutrition, New Zealand’s Army is fitter, faster and stronger.”

Source: NZDA