Nutrition and Dietetics students help raise awareness on healthy living

Nutrition and Dietetics students at Prifysgol Wrecsam / Wrexham University have held a festival focusing on health and wellbeing, in a bid to educate staff and fellow students.

A variety of stalls were set up by the second-year students covering topics from plant-based eating and healthy eating on a budget, to portion sizes and alcohol intake.

Academics from the Nutrition and Dietetics team visited each student to discuss their topic in detail. The exhibits included information on a wide range of topics, including:

• Plant-based eating
• Healthy eating on a budget
• Intuitive eating
• Sustainable nutrition
• Food and mood
• Portion sizes
• Alcohol intake
• Carbohydrates and fibre
• Fats and protein
• Hydration

This assessment will go towards the cohort’s ‘Population and Public Health Nutrition’ module.

Many of the stalls also involved interactive elements for students and staff to take part in, some of which delivered surprising results and aimed to debunk misconceptions about nutrition and food groups.

Samantha Jones, second-year student, in front of her exhibit on Protein and Fats

Samantha Jones, who is currently a paediatric weight management Dietetic Assistant alongside her degree studies, said: “We’ve never done an assessment in this way before, I would normally work myself up when faced with something like this, but it has massively helped my confidence.

“My topic was on carbohydrates and proteins which I am enjoying discussing with people, as there can be quite a bit of confusion about both.

“I really enjoy practical based activities where I can interact with people. It is an aspect of my current role that I love.”

Samantha’s current role as a Dietetic Assistant is based at Glan Clywd Hospital, Bodelwyddan and she is hoping to qualify as a Dietitian on completion of her studies.

Sian O’Dell, Lecturer in Nutrition and Dietetics, added: “The aim of the assessment today is so that the students can develop the skills needed to convey information about nutrition to the population.

“When they qualify, they will be interacting with a variety of people and need to be able to adapt and change the way they deliver information, depending on who they are speaking to.

“This will also set them up to deliver presentations, whether this be in the public or private sector.

“There can be a lot of misinformation about nutrition out there, hopefully what our students have achieved as part of this festival can be useful and benefit the health of others, while myth busting some preconceived notions about nutrition.”