May 2, 2005

Experts to discuss nutrition research, policy at Purdue conference

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. – Mypyramid, the new food guidance symbol recently released by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the science behind it will be featured on Friday (May 6) during a Purdue University nutrition conference.

Mypyramid represents a revised version of the USDA's traditional food pyramid, which advised the public about how good dietary habits promote health and reduce the risk of major chronic diseases.

The conference, entitled The Nutrition Continuum: Lab Bench to Policy to Plate, will take place from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in Stewart Center, Room 214. The event will feature researchers who have participated on review committees that shaped public policy.

Purdue speakers include Connie Weaver, distinguished professor and head of the Department of Foods and Nutrition; Sarah Johnson, director of dining services for Purdue University Residences; and Barbara Mayfield, continuing lecturer of foods and nutrition.

Additional speakers are Diane Birt, distinguished professor and chair of food science and human nutrition at Iowa State University; Linda Van Horn, professor of preventive medicine at Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine; and Karyl Rickard, professor of nutrition and dietetics at Indiana University School of Health and Rehabilitation Services.

Weaver served on the committee that compiled science-based advice for the most recent edition of the USDA's "Nutrition and Your Health: Dietary Guidelines for Americans," which was released in January. The Mypyramid diagram was designed to translate the report into a format that could be easily understood.

The conference registration fee is $65, which does not include lunch. Online registration is available. For more information, contact Marleen Troyer in the Department of Foods and Nutrition, at (765) 494-1340, troyerm@cfs.purdue.edu.

Writer: Maggie Morris, (765) 494-2432, maggiemorris@purdue.edu

Source: Marleen Troyer, (765) 494-1340, troyerm@purdue.edu

Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; purduenews@purdue.edu

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