A comprehensive curriculum that starts and ends with food.
Over the last decade, Texas has been battling an obesity epidemic with staggering rates of chronic health issues such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and stroke—some of the leading causes of preventable death. More than one third of all adults in Texas are obese, ranking Texas eighth highest among states in the U.S.
Behaviorally-based nutrition education classes with cooking lessons has shown to be an effective way to improve health for individuals and families. The Nourish Program's state-of-the-art training and educational facilities utilizes ‘seed to plate prevention' curricula that enhances the learning of strategies associated with successful behavior change as it relates to chronic disease.
The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) School of Public Health's Nourish Program has established a nutrition hub in the heart of the Texas Medical Center providing a unique training ground for students, health care professionals, and community members from across Texas and nationwide. This first of its kind initiative educates and equips participants with the tools, knowledge, and hands-on experience necessary to prevent and address nutrition-related health conditions. The initiative also facilitates collaborative inter-institutional research.
In addition, the Nourish Program has brought training of health professionals in line with several national initiatives and guidelines. This innovative program has closed the gap in nutrition training and education research among students, health care professionals, and community members to ultimately lower rates of obesity and nutrition-related chronic diseases.
The Nourish Program features three state-of-the-art integrated facilities – a Research and Development Kitchen, Holistic Garden, and Simulation Lab.