Nutritional Sciences | Penn State College of Health and Human Development

Kiara Smith named NUTR Student Marshal

Kiara Smith will serve as the NUTR Student Marshal for spring 2022 commencement. They were a member of the Beekeepers Club and head chef for Penn State Hillel Chicken Soup Hotline.

Diet and its relationship to health

Nutritional Sciences at Penn State examines how humans gain energy from food and how nutrition choices affect our health over time.

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Student carrying a box of food at a food drive

The Cost of Worrying About Your Next Meal

Hunger is a devastating problem, but food insecurity—the inability to reliably get needed food—can also result in problems like diabetes, obesity, anxiety, and depression. Read about how Nutritional Sciences faculty are addressing the issue.

Read the article in HHD Discovery

Nutritional Sciences at Penn State examines how humans gain energy from food and how nutrition choices affect our health over time.

Solidly rooted in chemistry, biology, physiology, psychology, neuroscience, behavior, and development, our body of work covers the effects of nutrition at all levels, from the molecule to the organism, to the population at large. Our programs aim to nurture a new generation of leaders in bench and behavioral sciences who will push the limits of our understanding of nutrition as it relates to human health.

Faculty and students in a test kitchen at Penn State

Start your undergraduate journey

Explore this undergraduate degree for students interested in how the human body transforms food into usable energy that fuels our daily lives.

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Student organizing plant starts at the Penn State student farm.

Learn about graduate training

Discover how research and graduate training provides students with the knowledge needed to contribute to the field of nutritional sciences.

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Explore research areas

Understand the variety of research areas and current projects that push the boundaries of knowledge in the field.

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The Diet Assessment Center

Explore how the department collects and analyzes dietary data to help researchers understand what, how, and when people are eating.

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Student Spotlight

Keally Haushalter named HHD College Marshal

Keally Haushalter will serve as an HHD College Marshal for spring 2022 commencement. She is graduating from NUTR and was involved with the Student Nutrition Association and PEK at PSU health fraternity.