Nutritional Sciences | Penn State College of Health and Human Development

Man wearing virtual reality headset while sitting to eat a meal.

Research finds mixed-reality technology supports eating-behavior studies

Nutritional Sciences assistant professor and graduate student find that virtual reality headsets can be used in eating behavior studies to simulate real-world environments.

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Research finds healthy alternative to saturated fats, sugar, and salt

A nutritional sciences associate professor's research finds that adding herbs and spices to a recipe can be a healthy alternative to excess saturated fats, sugar, and salt without compromising flavor.

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Older man buys carrots at a farmers market.

New research looks at relationship between food insecurity, SNAP and cognitive decline

A nutritional sciences professor led research that found food insecurity may increase cognitive decline in older adults.

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Nutritional Sciences at Penn State examines how humans gain energy from food and how nutrition choices affect our health over time.

Solidly rooted in chemistry, biology, physiology, psychology, neuroscience, behavior, and development, our body of work covers the effects of nutrition at all levels, from the molecule to the organism, to the population at large. Our programs aim to nurture a new generation of leaders in bench and behavioral sciences who will push the limits of our understanding of nutrition as it relates to human health.

Faculty and students in a test kitchen at Penn State

Start your undergraduate journey

Explore this undergraduate degree for students interested in how the human body transforms food into usable energy that fuels our daily lives.

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Student organizing plant starts at the Penn State student farm.

Learn about graduate training

Discover how research and graduate training provides students with the knowledge needed to contribute to the field of nutritional sciences.

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Explore research areas

Understand the variety of research areas and current projects that push the boundaries of knowledge in the field.

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The Diet Assessment Center

Explore how the department collects and analyzes dietary data to help researchers understand what, how, and when people are eating.

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Faculty Spotlight

Bruening named Big Ten Academic Alliance Department Executive Officer Fellow

Meg Bruening has been selected to participate for the 2023 Big Ten Academic Alliance Department Executive Officers program. Participants were selected based on their significant contributions and potential to achieve even more as University leaders.

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