Beginning in the mid-1980s, anecdotal and empirical evidence has suggested that there may be a higher prevalence of behaviors and symptoms associated with eating disorders among dietetics and nutrition students. That phenomenon may also exist at Cornell.

While Cookie Monster and other kid-friendly characters have long been close allies of junk food makers, Cornell researchers have found that these childhood heroes may help kids choose healthy snacks over those of the chocolate chip variety.

When signing up for meal plans freshman year, many students wonder why they enter dining halls and leave with the dreaded freshman 15. Prof. David Levitsky, psychology and nutritional sciences, says that the availability of a greater variety of foods is linked to eating more and thus, weight gain.

Fall may be long gone, but the supply of healthy, harvested goods is still aplenty.  Apples are still being picked, big leafy greens are piling up, and butternut squash is being blended into soups, all to nourish our hard-working bodies.   One of my absolute favorite autumn crops is pumpkin.  Apart from their aesthetic qualities, pumpkins are packed with healthy nutrients.  Here is a quick nutritional run down of these colorful orbs:

Children may not be as picky of eaters as previously thought. Cornell researchers have discovered that children actually desire more types of food on their plates than adults do.

A study by Cornell Prof. David Levitsky, nutritional sciences, studied the phenomenon of the fabled freshman fifteen and found that freshman tend to gain around four to six pounds in the first 12 weeks of college. In a new study on North Campus, Victoria Garland ’12, biology and society, and Louise Mendes ’12, psychology and nutritional sciences, are looking at the correlation between nutrition education and weight gain in freshmen during the fall semester.

Elisabeth Rosen '12 has major beef with genetically modified foods, and their adverse effects on human health.

Prof. Edward Buckler, plant breeding and genetics, uses statistics to identify more nutritious corn breeds. A Sub-Saharan corn variant with a 16-fold increase in vitamin A is scheduled to be deployed in 2014.

Rare but deadly Listeria bacteria is transmitted through faulty food packaging and poses threat to consumers.

Today, America is in the midst of a health crisis: the leading cause of death is heart disease, two-thirds of the nation’s adults are obese and increasing proportions of children are being diagnosed with Type II diabetes. These health problems threaten a new generation of Americans, and as a consumer-mentality pushes Americans toward prescription drugs, retired Prof. T. Colin Campbell, nutritional science, advocates that the healing process must begin with a fork and knife at dinner tables.