CBU nutrition course challenges students’ eating habits
Riverside, Calif. (Oct. 27, 2016)—College students are not necessarily known for their good eating habits. Dr. Jan Edmisten, professor of kinesiology, would like that reputation to change.
Edmisten teaches KIN 300: Nutrition Science at California Baptist University. The course offers students the opportunity to learn what a healthy eating lifestyle entails through the study of nutrition.
“We try to talk about the most general macronutrients, like carbohydrates, nutrients, fats and how those are broken down and used by the body,” Edmisten said.
Although this class was originally designed for exercise science and kinesiology majors, Edmisten said many College of Health Science students enroll in the course to fulfill their upper division requirements.
“We tried to design the course with enough science to help the student understand what happens when you take in food and what it does in your body, but with enough application that it applies across a lot of majors,” Edmisten said.
Edmisten said she hopes the course will transform the typical college student’s diet, influencing them to seek positive change in their eating habits.
Matt Garcia, an exercise science senior, said the class has had an impact on his food choices.
“This class definitely helped me learn more about healthy habits and about what ingredients are in the food we eat on a regular basis,” Garcia said. “I enjoyed learning about what we need to eat to stay healthy and what we can do to prevent diseases, such as diabetes.”
Preventative action taken against disease during college years through healthy eating is a habit students will carry with them for the rest of their lives, Edmisten said.
“I think (this course) is important because the more you learn about your body, the better steward you can be of what God gave us,” Edmisten said. “He wants us to live a full and happy life, and it’s hard to do that when you’re sick all the time; so I try to teach it from that approach.”