Community Engagement
FALL 2022 semester
The NUTR 3357 course under Professor Norma Beardwood-Roper, has a new component in which each student is assigned a reservist in the local community to assess and guide/motivate over the course of 10 weeks a change in lifestyle to assist them with achieving a reduction in their weight or taping so they can meet the military criteria.
It has been identified the reservists that were at the highest risk for being signed out of the military, was due to lack of progress in reducing their weight/taping measurements. The students were prepared to work with an assigned reservist. They initially gathered data to complete the nutrition assessment, develop a nutrition diagnosis and then work with the reservists to motivate them to change their lifestyle. This may include motivational counseling, looking for recipes, discussing benefits of food prep, how to eat at restaurants (what to order) and encouraging physical activity. Each week the student contacts the reservist at his/her convenience and guide them to make better choices in their daily living. The students have learned a lot by doing this and it will help them when they have to go out in the community to work with people regarding lifestyle changes.