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Eating right and exercising is
not just a habit, it's your life philosophy. If you'd like
to pass on your personal experiences with healthy living
and help others make positive lifestyle changes, consider
the nutrition, fitness, and health program.
Traditionally,
professionals have been trained in only one discipline,
but key components of fitness are both physical activity
and nutrition. The nutrition, fitness, and health option
is one of the few programs in the country that combines
coursework in exercise physiology and health promotion with
a science-based nutrition curriculum. Upon successful completion
of the program, you will earn a Bachelor of Science degree.
Career
Options
As a nutrition
and fitness specialist, you could work in a variety of settings,
including:
- Cardiac rehabilitation program
- Corporate wellness
- Community fitness centers
- Fitness equipment industry
- Health clubs
- Health promotion and education
- Weight management programs
If
RD requirements are met, many other additional career opportunities
are available.
Coursework
Required core
classes include humanities, communications, social and behavioral
sciences, life and physical sciences, chemistry, physiology,
and computer science. Other coursework includes:
Nutrition
and Food Science
- Fundamentals of nutrition
- Food chemistry
- Metabolism
- Clinical chemistry
- Food communications
- Nutrition assessment
- Public health nutrition
- Community nutrition
Health and
Exercise
(Through the
Department of Health, Kinesiology and Leisure Studies)
- Exercise physiology
- Fitness evaluation and prescription
- Health screening
- Worksite health and fitness
- Health promotion and education
- Principles of community health
Complete
list of F&N courses and descriptions
Experiential
Learning
- Perform an internship for credit in a large fitness
center, where you will practice doing nutrition and fitness
assessments and counseling.
- Learn to use computers to evaluate and plan diets.
- Analyze current controversies about nutrition and food
safety.
- Prepare health education materials.
RD
Option
The nutrition,
fitness, and health program can be combined with the dietetics
option so that you can become a Registered Dietitian
(RD). By including 18 additional credits, you can meet the
academic requirements set by the American Dietetic Association
for the RD designation. To become an RD, you must complete
an academic program and a supervised work experience and
pass a national examination. Purdue has two plans available
to become an RD. The Didactic Program in Dietetics (DPD)
fulfills the classroom requirements and is followed after
graduation by a separate experience program. The Coordinated
Program in Dietetics (CPD) combines the experience and the
coursework.
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