Adelphi University Focus on Enhancing Nutrition Health Skills

A severe disproportionate distribution of food and hunger exists, according to an infograph titled “Abundance and Scarcity,” as part of the thought-provoking exhibition Our Global Kitchen: Food, Nature, Culture at the American Museum of Natural History which ran Nov. 17, 2012 to Aug. 11, 2013.

Some of the more impressive (and disturbing) facts that lined the wall: 870 million people go hungry and 100 million children are underweight. Meanwhile, there are 40 million children also overweight, with a shocking 35 percent of adults in the same category.

On Aug. 10, a small group of undergraduate and graduate students from Adelphi University took a tour that gave them a brief glimpse at how vastly diverse the field and study of food and nutrition has become.

The graduate students are part of the new, part-time, online Master of Science in Nutrition program that Adelphi launched this fall in their newly named College of Nursing and Public Health (formerly the School of Nursing). The first class starts on Oct. 23 and there is still time to submit an application.

The Adelphi students, led by the director of the Nutrition program, Clinical Associate Professor Diane Dembicki, Ph.D., took a guided tour by docent Andrew Epstein. Andrew, who has been with the American Museum of Natural History for 14 years, touched on everything from food and nutrition to the commercial manufacturing and shipment of our vast “global kitchen.”

Beyond the statistics wall (“Abundance and Scarcity”), students saw sections of the museum devoted to gene manipulation history and trends, farming techniques, shipping and packaging numbers, cultural farming and cooking, utensil practicality and design and even historical meals throughout the ages. Near the end of the tour, participants enjoyed an informative stop in the taste tasting kitchen. While nutrition seemed to be what was on everyone’s mind upon entering the exhibit, all came out with a better understanding of food, nature and culture.

Devon Fitol, one of the new graduate students in the Nutrition program, said, “The exhibit was definitely eye opening, I never imagined how little I knew about where our food actually comes from and how it ends up on our dinner plates each night.”

The goals of the 34-credit Adelphi University’s Master of Science in Nutrition program are multi-pronged. The new fully online program will provide society with knowledgeable and professionally educated people to enhance the nutrition health infrastructure and the health of individuals as well as populations. Adelphi’s College of Nursing and Public Health will help to fulfill a critical need.

A recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Occupational Handbook reports that the job outlook for nutrition experts is expected to increase 20 percent from 2010 to 2020—faster than the average for all occupations.

To learn more about the online master’s program in nutrition, visit http://nursing.adelphi.edu/.

Submitted by Adelphi University