Human Development/Life Cycle Research

Researchers in the Department of Nutritional Sciences study three areas of human developement/life cycle research:

• Gerontology - Researchers look at strategies to communicate nutrition messages to groups and/or individuals and at the effectiveness of these strategies.
• Maternal and Child - Researchers look at dietary intake patterns in children and adults in America and beyond. From these patterns, assessments are made about relationships between diet and health.

Gerontology

Studies review the nutritional status and health outcomes of rural older adults.

In the longitudinal Geisinger Rural Aging Study, many participants are overweight or obese. At the same time, many also have dietary intakes that do not provide adequate vitamins and minerals. This low intake of vitamins and minerals leads to low levels of blood nutrients, which has also been shown to lead to more medical problems.

Listed below are faculty members who do research on nutritional issues related to geriatric health.

• Barbara Rolls

Maternal and Child

Vitamin A status is associated with survival when children have infections. For this reason, it is important to know the status of vitamin A in children and develop nutrition indicators of vitamin A status

Listed below are faculty members who do research on nutritional issue related to maternal and child health.

• Alison Gernand
• Kathleen Keller
• Barbara Rolls
• Jennifer Savage Willams