Department of Nutritional Sciences

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Catharine Ross

Department of Nutritional Sciences announces new head

3/23/17

Catharine Ross has been named head of the Department of Nutritional Sciences. Ross, professor of nutritional sciences and physiology and holder of the Dorothy Foehr Huck Chair in the Department of Nutritional Sciences, has served in the department for 21 years.

Facebook Live event graphic

Facebook Live session to discuss, demonstrate research on canola oil and weight

1/16/17

If the resolve for your New Year's healthy weight loss resolution is already starting to crack, you may want to watch this week’s Penn State Facebook Live session. Penn State researcher Penny Kris-Etherton will talk about research on how canola oil and a healthy diet may lead to weight loss at noon on Jan. 18 via the Penn State Facebook page.

Cute girl eating ice cream

Helping children make healthy eating choices

1/3/17

Childhood obesity rates have more than doubled in the last 30 years, with pre-adolescence emerging as a critical window for preventing excess weight gain. In a new Penn State project, researchers are investigating why some children are more prone to weight gain than others, by studying how children’s brains respond to food portion size.

Connie Rogers photo

Season's first 'Huddle with the Faculty' event to focus on cancer prevention

8/31/16

The Penn State Alumni Association's Huddle with the Faculty series kicks off its 24th season Sept. 3 as Connie Rogers, an associate professor in Penn State's Department of Nutritional Sciences, will lead a talk titled, "Lifestyle Practices for Cancer Prevention: Diet and Exercise Do Matter!" Huddle with the Faculty takes place at The Nittany Lion Inn on the Saturday morning of each home football game during the 2016 season.

single portion

Keep an eye on children's calories, researchers say

3/17/16

Most children overeat significantly when served large portions of calorie-dense popular foods, according to a Penn State study. The results suggest that manipulating calorie content and portion size can substantially reduce children's overall caloric consumption.

macha latte

Green tea and iron, bad combination

3/8/16

Green tea is touted for its many health benefits as a powerful antioxidant, but experiments in a laboratory mouse model of inflammatory bowel disease suggest that consuming green tea along with dietary iron may actually lessen green tea's benefits.

two researchers checking on a lab rat

Key factor in neonatal zinc deficiency may impact lactation and breast cancer

4/29/14

Zinc is one of the most important micronutrients in breast milk: Infants need large quantities of it during the first months of their lives to support growth, immune function, and cognitive development. Yet despite zinc's importance, pediatricians aren't trained to detect the symptoms of its deficiency. Now Shannon Kelleher and her colleagues may have found a way to recognize women who are at risk of having low milk zinc levels. The team has identified a mutation in a particular zinc transporter -- called ZnT2 -- that cause defects in the milk-secreting mammary epithelial cells.

crushed cereal in beakers

Cereal flake size influences calorie intake

3/26/14

People eat more breakfast cereal, by weight, when flake size is reduced, according to Penn State researchers, who showed that when flakes are reduced by crushing, people pour a smaller volume of cereal into their bowls, but still take a greater amount by weight and calories.

fruit tarts

Reduced-fee 'Home Chef' course available for students

1/23/14

A special, reduced-fee edition of "Home Chef: The Basics" will be offered to Penn State students from 5:30-9:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 31, in the Foods Lab (7 Henderson Building). The cost of the course is $40 per student and includes instruction, a recipe manual and a meal.

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