On Friday, February 3, 50 nutrition students from UNC-Chapel Hill came to the UNC Nutrition Research Institute with their professor, Amanda Holliday, to practice nutrition assessment techniques in a new setting and learn more about nutrition from a research point-of-view.
Holliday is an associate professor in the department of Nutrition and the Director of Practice Advancement and Continuing Education Division. Her students are enrolled in Medical Nutrition Therapy, a class required for those earning MPH-Nutrition and Dietetics degrees. This class prepares students seeking to become registered dietitians.
While at the NRI, the students toured bench laboratories and the Clinical Research Core, meeting staff and faculty members.
“Our institute has important resources for nutrition students and researchers. It was good to see so many enthusiastic students and we are happy that we could help them,” said Saroja Voruganti, PhD, Director of the Clinical Research Core and an associate professor of Nutrition.
After exploring the Institute, students used our facilities to practice body measurements including:
- waist to hip
- knee height
- arm span
- wrist circumference
- weight
- elbow breath
- ulna length (measuring between the point of the elbow and the midpoint of the prominent bone of the wrist)
“The students practiced Nutrition Assessment techniques that they will later use in practice to provide optimal nutrition care to their patients,” Holliday explained.
Not only did they perform physical measurement assessments, they also learned how to operate our BodPod and Dynamometer*, giving the students a glimpse into advanced technologies for nutrition-focused exams and research.
*The BodPod uses air displacement technology to determine body volume and density. A hand dynamometer measures the maximum isometric strength of the hand and forearm muscles.
