High saturated fat diets physically alter the way we think about food. They wreck the brain’s pleasure center, requiring ever more saturated fat to elicit the same level of enjoyment. Assistant professor Steven Fordahl is determining how and why that wreckage occurs.
The United States has an obesity epidemic, and the impact is expanding.
According to the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, approximately 40 percent of American adults are obese. That struggle comes with increased risks for a host of illnesses, and even with a $3 billion diet industry, the price tag of obesity-related medical care weighs in at $147 billion to $210 billion annually.
Nutrition students participated in the virtual Undergraduate and Graduate Research Expos
“To show you how far we’ve come, today if a woman gives birth 16 weeks early, there’s a chance the NICU can take care of that baby,” says Maryanne Perrin, assistant professor in UNCG’s School of Health and Human Sciences.
“Feed your appetite. Nourish your community.” It’s the motto and driving philosophy of Providence in Winston-Salem, a family of programs of Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina created and led by UNC Greensboro alumnus, Chef Jeff Bacon.
The UNCG Food Network Recovery Club earned the 2017-2018 Excellence in Community Service Award.
Twice a week, the kitchen turns into a food chemistry lab, where students experiment with varied ingredients and their effects on taste and texture: marshmallows and gelling agents, eggless pumpkin pie, high-protein pasta and red velvet beet cake.
Video from Novant Health on Oncology, Nutrition and You by Dietetic Interns Sara Willis and Suzanne Clayton.
Article from Science Daily regarding Dr. Steve Fordahl’s research on high fat diets.
“I want to be a pediatric registered dietician – to work with children and promote nutrition education and healthy eating,” said the nutrition major. “If we are going to diminish the obesity rates in our country, we need to educate kids on what they are eating.”
