Health and Wellness 101: Everyday Small Changes

Good nutrition, physical activity, and healthy body weight are essential parts of a person's overall health and well-being. Together, these can help reduce a person's risk of developing serious chronic health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, stroke, and cancer. The purpose of this MOOC is to enhance knowledge about healthy lifestyle changes to improve eating practices, physical activity habits, and related wellness behaviors such as sleep habits, stress management, and substance abuse.

Topics include

• Week 1 Setting healthy goals
• Week 2 Learn about types of foods and the nutrients they offer
• Week 3 Physical activity and Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis
• Week 4 Macronutrients, micronutrients, and understanding food labels
• Week 5 Planning healthy meals
• Week 6 Dealing with emotions, stress, and loss of motivation

Instructor

Linda Yarrow is a Registered/Licensed Dietitian, Certified Diabetes Educator, and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Human Nutrition at Kansas State University. She teaches upper level nutrition courses for K-State, both on campus and online. In addition to her teaching responsibilities, she is the Clinical RD at a small rural hospital where she is committed to providing high quality education to patients. Whether she is teaching students or patients, Linda is passionate about effective and creative teaching techniques. Linda has presented numerous times at the national, state, and local level on way to enhance the learning experience using new technologies. She loves using games for education and has taught a variety of age groups, from preschool through older adults, using gaming techniques. Linda continues to explore ways these techniques, as well as other available web-based resources, can be valuable educational tools for her clients in her quest to improve the health of individuals. When not working, Linda spends time with her family, animals, and books. She is also an avid power walker who participates in half marathons, with no intention of ever competing in a full marathon. She also reminds herself to never say never.

Instructor

Diana is a registered dietitian with an M.S. in nutrition and dietetics from Northern Illinois University. In addition to her love of nutrition, Diana enjoys writing, online communication, and cooking. She combines these interests in her many pursuits, which include teaching online classes, writing food and nutrition articles, helping patients through weight loss, chronic disease management, and eating disorders, and managing blogs and social media for a medical clinic. Diana is also the director of communications for the Sports, Cardiovascular, and Wellness Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. In her free time, Diana enjoys exploring her current home in Raleigh, North Carolina by running, biking, visiting neighborhood kitties, picking mulberries, and pretty much anything that can be done while enjoying the sunshine.