Dietetics in Action
Congratulations to Dalin Abuzalata for being awarded Outstanding Student of the year - graduate program from the Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (TAND). She accepted the award at the annual TAND conference in Austin, Texas April 14th, 2023. Award well deserved!
Dietetics graduate students Karla Zurita and Jackie Reyes provided nutrition education at the Texas Onion Fest in Weslaco, March 25, 2023. Participants enjoyed the spin the wheel nutrition trivia game. Great job!
Congratulations to Rachel and Susana who received a proclamation from the city of Edinburg to honor National Nutrition Month
National Nutrition Month® is an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. During the month of March, everyone is invited to learn about making informed food choices and developing healthful eating and physical activity habits.
This year's theme, "Fuel for the Future," highlights the importance of fueling our bodies at every age and eating with the environment in mind. Practice gratitude for your body by giving it the fuel it needs with sustainable foods! A Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Nutrition and Dietetics Technician, Registered can teach you how nutrient needs may change with age, and give you personalized nutrition information to meet your health goals.
UTRGV hosts health day for more than 700 pre-K students
Dr. Salinas' research group sponsored a 700+ preschool student health fair at our UTRGV gym facilities over the course of 2 days. They taught 4-year-olds about proper nutrition as well as the importance of physical activity. They had 15 BS-Nutritional Sciences and MS in Dietetics students over the 2 days and they executed our 'nutrition stations.' The students really stood up to the challenge and did a great job!
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UTRGV hosted a two-day health fair, March 9-10, on the Edinburg Campus for more than 700 pre-K students, all from PSJA, to help make an early impact on their nutrition, fitness and hygiene habits. The South Texas Early Prevention Studies (STEPS) research group, from the UTRGV College of Health Affairs, hosted the health fair as part of a curriculum focused on obesity-reduction. |
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The students were split over two days. On both days, STEPS hosted half of the students in a health fair at the HPE II gymnasium, and the other half outside on the UTRGV track and field. After lunch, the groups swapped activities. |
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The outside group was led by students from the UTRGV departments of Health and Human Performance and Kinesiology, in field day activities like potato sack races, dances and fitness games. |
| (UTRGV Photos by David Pike) | |
Little Marco Alvarado is still in pre-K at PSJA, but he gets it. “My dad is strong and I’m strong!” he said. “And bad food will make your tummy hurt!”
He heard that valuable nutrition lesson reinforced during a special health fair hosted Thursday and Friday by UTRGV on the Edinburg Campus: Good food, like fruits and vegetables, will make him grow big and strong.
The two-day health fair was designed to make an early impact on the nutrition, fitness and hygiene habits of hundreds of pre-K children from the Pharr-San Juan-Alamo school district.
The South Texas Early Prevention Studies (STEPS) research group, from the UTRGV College of Health Professions, invited 750 PSJA pre-K students and their parents to participate in the health fair as part of a curriculum focused on obesity-reduction. Called the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program Education (SNAP-ED) project, it is a multi-pronged approach that helps children learn how to make healthy choices.
Read the full articles here:
THE NEWSROOM - UTRGV hosts health day for more than 700 pre-K students
ValleyCentral.com - UTRGV: 2 day health fair for PSJA ISD pre-K students
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December 20, 2022
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Name: Alexandra Martinez Why UTRGV? |
Dietetics students Julie Yerena and Alejandra Chapa teaching children at the DHR PATHS conference about healthy eating. Great job ladies!
The MS in Dietetics would like to welcome our incoming 2022-2024 cohort. We are excited to have our new group of students and look forward to all the opportunities and adventures they will have!
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The Foundation of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has awarded Jennifer Ashby, a graduate student in the MS in Dietetics program, the Colonel Katharine E. Manchester Scholarship. Jennifer is part of the first class of dietetic graduate students at UTRGV, and she is an excellent representation of the program and the future of dietetics. |
Graduate student, Laura Sepulveda showed off her culinary and nutrition skills with PSJA child nutrition department by staring in a healthy recipe demonstration as part of supervised experiential learning. Great job Laura!
The Student Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (SAND) participated with AHEC scholars to provide a health fair in the community of San Carlos on Saturday, March 5th, 2022. At the health fair students provided information on heart healthy eating, eating the rainbow, and reducing added sugar. In addition, students provided a healthy cooking demonstration involving a remake on the quesadilla. Great work and outreach, SAND!
UTRGV MS in Dietetics faculty, staff and students participated with local Registered Dietitian Nutritionist to secure a 2022 National Nutrition Month proclamation. The Hidalgo County Commissioners Court provided a proclamation declaring the importance of the Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and to promote this year's theme to "Celebrate a World of Flavors". National Nutrition Month® is an annual campaign created by the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. During the month of March, everyone is invited to learn about making informed food choices and developing healthful eating and physical activity habits.
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The Texas Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics has awarded Jacqueline Acosta, a graduate student in the MS in Dietetics program, the Outstanding student of the year award. Jacqueline will be accepting her award at the Nutrition and Dietetics 2022 Annual Conference & Exhibition in San Antionio, Texas on April 21st. Jacqueline is part of the first class of dietetic graduate students at UTRGV, and she is an excellent representation of the program and the future of dietetics. |
The MS in Dietetics students partnered with the undergraduate UTRGV student organization, Nutritional Sciences and Health Society (NSHS) to provide healthy cooking demonstrations to the Edinburg community at the Dustin Sekula Memorial Library. Participants received nutrition education along with a healthy recipe demonstration. Faculty members, and Registered Dietitians Nutritionist, Mrs. Villarreal and Dr. Salinas attended and provided support to the students. Great job Vaqueros!
The MS in Dietetics students hosted the UTRGV Men's basketball team for a healthy cooking demonstration on the Edinburg campus. We laughed, learned, and helped the athletes fuel their bodies for their upcoming week of games. V's up Vaqueros!
On November 2nd, the MS in Dietetics faculty, staff, and students partnered with Unidos Contra La Diabetes and AgriLife at the Hidalgo Country Commissioners Court. The commissioners proclaimed November as Diabetes Awareness Month! Great work to all!
MS in Dietetics program partners with the UTRGV Campus Food Security initiative to bring awareness to end hunger for all.
The Latinos and Hispanics in Dietetics and Nutrition (LAHIDAN) is a member interest group within the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND). Their purpose is to support member needs while fostering the development and improvement of food, nutrition and health care for Latinos and Hispanics and their families in the United States and related territories, with outreach to Hispanic and Latino international members. Cosme Rubalcaba, a graduate student in the MS in Dietetics program, received the student FNCE scholarship from LAHIDAN for 2021. Congratulations!
MS in Dietetics students visit local feedlot
As a part supervised experiential learning, students engage in food systems site visits to analyze how our food goes from farm to table. Recently, students visited Rio Beef Feedlot to better understand how cattle is fed, what goes into making the feed, and how meat is graded for sale in the United States. Mike Risica, owner and general manager, took students on a tour and discussed sustainability practices within the cattle industry to include using local commodities and how the food supply chain is kept safe. Students were able to see the cattle feed being made including commodity sources of carbohydrate, fat, protein, and the inclusion of micronutrients. A “BIG” UTRGV thanks to Rio Beef Feedlot!
