ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. -- Denise Wickley married into the Air Force nearly a year ago.
The military spouse found her niche at Robins Air Force Base, becoming the newest registered dietitian nutritionist in Health Promotions here in recent months.
Wickley was drawn to the versatility her new role offered and the focus on educating such a large population on healthy eating and lifestyle changes.
“I think the majority of people honestly want to be healthier,” she said. “However, the perception that you have to change everything about your diet and lifestyle to achieve that becomes overwhelming and unattainable, so it becomes easier to just stay the same.”
Wickley hopes to educate people with easy to understand health and nutrition principles, then inspire and encourage them to start by making small, sustainable changes.
“Making one small change every week would create a huge difference after a year,” she said.
Additionally, Wickley aims to get Health Promotions more focused on Robins’ active duty population, to make them healthier and more fit to support the mission.
“To better accomplish that, I’ve recently taken a survey to get input from active-duty members to find the best days and times to provide classes, as well as identify barriers they face to attending classes,” she said.
Health Promotions is now creating programs to better meet Airmen’s needs, Wickley said.
“One of the main differences people will see is that I want to get out to the units and squadrons and explain the programs and classes we offer,” she said. “That may include attending commander’s calls, briefings, or flight meetings, or presenting a full nutrition class to a unit or organization.”
What to know: Commanders and base leaders who would like to have Health Promotions present a briefing or would like to schedule their own performance Nutrition class for their units or anyone interested in attending a nutrition class may call 478-327-8480.
Health Promotions is a small but knowledgeable team of two that brings extensive experience and training in a variety of topics within nutrition and fitness to the table.
“I feel confident in saying that we can absolutely help any person who walks through the doors of the Health Promotions office looking to make changes to improve their health and wellness,” Wickley said. “Just come see us.”
The new Health Promotions duo is working to get new, as well as the center’s well-known programs up and running, Wickley said.
“We still have a while to go before some of the big programs are back, such as Better Body, Better Life, but we are currently offering the Performance Nutrition class every two weeks with In body assessment, and a Diabetes self-management class starting this month,” Wickley said.
Scott Peavy, Health Promotions manager at Robins, said Wickley will be a great asset to the base’s active-duty military and Defense Department civilian community.
“Her expertise and desire to improve quality of life for others will have a tremendous impact on the mission and change the lives of those who seek out her support,” he said.