You might not have heard of her, but Nationwide Children’s Hospital’s Dr. Jennifer Dyer is one of Local Matters’ and Columbus Ohio’s most valued assets.

In a world where patient-doctor relationships have become less personal, Dr. Dyer’s passionate commitment to the health of future generations has become an integral resource to our community. 

With a specialty in pediatric endocrinology, Dr. Dyer’s research focuses heavily on the effects of nutrition on the development of certain diseases and conditions (like type 2 diabetes and insulin sensitivity) that children and babies cultivate from the time they are conceived. She knows all-too-well about the increasing obesity rates and overall poor health choices in children and is doing her part to combat the trend. 

Her motto: stay away from processed foods. How do you know if they’re processed foods? Her biggest indicator:
the ingredient list.

Part of Dr. Dyer’s research includes figuring out how the body metabolizes certain foods. Her favorite example, for instance, is the difference between the effect Kraft Macaroni and Cheese versus real macaroni and cheese. The difference, she says, is astounding. “Non-natural, processed cheeses cause insulin resistance and leptin resistance, disabling the hormone that tells you you’re full. This means you eat more of the kind of food that gets stored in your body as fat much faster.” 

These types of facts are the truths she would like to educate her patients and their parents about. Her research has led her to change her own healthy-eating habits as well.  Her motto: stay away from processed foods. How do you know if they’re processed foods? Her biggest indicator: the ingredient list.

She does whatever she can to stay away from foods that have long ingredient lists. Another tactic she employs is to only shop the perimeter of the grocery store; knowing full-well that the center aisles are where the processed, unnatural, and unhealthy foods are housed. Only a few months into her own diet transformation, Dr. Dyer saw significant results in weight loss and energy levels, and now claims to feel much healthier on a daily basis.

However, making these kinds of changes to one’s diet is not easy and Dr. Dyer knows this first hand. Grocery shopping for the right foods can be difficult and can take a while to get the hang of. The other downside: Time constraints. In the fast-paced, busy world we live in it can be unrelentingly tempting to dine out multiple times a week. Although the commitment was difficult at first, Dr. Dyer now spends her time shopping and preparing healthy meals instead of, for example, watching television. 

Getting off the couch and taking the time to make sure the foods that are going into your body are healthy is Dr. Dyer’s M.O., and certainly one she’d like to see catch on with the families of her patients. And it’s patients like Erin Hannigan, 8, who keep Dr. Dyer optimistic.

Erin and her family have an indefatigable commitment to healthy eating habits. The third grader helps her family prepare meals and even claims to enjoy her mother’s cooking more than she enjoys McDonald’s—a resounding accomplishment. It’s the example that Erin sets for other children (one of Erin’s favorite pieces of advice for her peers: “Get soda out of the fridge and fake foods out of the pantry!”) that Dr. Dyer finds most compelling. Erin’s dedication to staying knowledgeable about food is what’s going to set her generation apart, providing enough other children catch on to her example. 

Although the current state of our nation’s food system can seem a little bleak at times, Dr. Dyer remains wholly optimistic. While this generation of children is facing a major up hill climb, she finds hope and inspiration in the rising awareness about food and its impact on our health and well-being. In the mean time, she’ll continue to be an inspirational and dedicated leader in the education of our children on the Columbus, Ohio home-front!