The iGrow team with young babies.

Tipping the Scales

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.

Dr. Maryanne Perrin in the UNCG milk lab

Does a Baby Good

“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.  

Jeff Bacon.

UNCG alum fights hunger and joblessness

“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.

Student learning to cook in a nutrition lab.

Students become food scientists in nutrition lab

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.

Darius Bennett in UNCG Nutrition Lab

Class of 2017: Darius Bennett

“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.”

Woman nursing her baby.

The appetite for breast milk has produced a growing commodity market

Increasing numbers of women who produce more breast milk than they need are handing it over — or selling it — for others to use. It’s a boon to fragile infants and mothers who can’t produce enough milk, but it also poses challenging ethical and public health questions.