Nutrition and Health

OSU Extension, Family and Consumer Sciences

The OSU Extension Family and Consumer Sciences programs are focused on helping people address health and nutrition issues including:

• Healthy People: Healthy Weight Management, Health Promotion, Health-Care Costs, Food Safety, and Food Security

 Ohio Expanded Food & Nutrition Education Program (EFNEP)

 The Expanded Food and Nutrition Education Program, EFNEP is a Key health and nutrition program in urban counties.

Through an experiential learning process, EFNEP adult program participants learn how to make good choices to improve the nutritional quality of the meals they serve their families. They participate in a series of 6-12 lessons based on the Food Guide Pyramid and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans. The hands-on, learn-by-doing approach allows the participants to gain the practical skills necessary to make positive behavior changes. They increase their ability to select and buy food that meets the nutritional needs of their families and gain new skills in food preparation, storage, safety, and sanitation. They also learn to better manage their food budgets, including the use of Food Stamps and WIC coupons.

The youth EFNEP program provides nutrition education to help children develop healthy eating patterns and skills in preparing nutritious meals and snacks. The youth EFNEP program emphasizes a variety of delivery modes for reaching youth, from traditional classroom settings and after-school programs during the school year to day camps and youth group activities during the summer. The youth curriculum emphasizes learning by experience and reflection, and is adaptable to a wide variety of educational settings.

Department of Human Nutrition

The Department of Human Nutrition at The Ohio State University has as its mission:

• to generate, disseminate, and apply knowledge in the areas of human nutrition and dietetics to improve the quality of life for individuals, families, and associated organizational systems.