Strong Is the New Healthy: Exploring the Evidence for Strength as a Measure of Health

Tuesday, October 20
11:30 AM – 12:30 PM (Central Time)
Location:
CE: 1.0
Level 2 (intermediate knowledge/experience)
Activity Code: 157684

Muscle mass and strength are two traditional markers often used to quantify health status, but are dietitians missing other key biomarkers? While often defined by physical ability, “strength” extends beyond a state of being physically strong, encompassing both emotional and cognitive aspects that can have a profound impact on building a solid foundation for growth and development throughout the lifespan. Today, nutrition researchers and health professionals increasingly identify strength as a measurement to qualify and quantify one’s health, making it necessary to further define strength’s impact and incorporate clinically relevant health markers into professional practice. This session will examine the science behind novel markers of strength – such as hand grip strength – that dietitians can use to measure health status throughout the lifespan. It will also address the role of nutrition in optimizing personal health and wellness, providing evidence-based research and tools that can be incorporated into dietetic practice.

Learning Objectives:

  • Describe the evidence-based markers of strength and the scientific research on their utility.
  • Evaluate and select appropriate strength assessments to measure health status throughout the lifespan.
  • Develop nutrition recommendations to optimize markers of strength, including specific foods and nutrients to include or increase in one’s dietary pattern.

Performance Indicators:

  • 8.1.4 Demonstrates knowledge of nutrient
    requirements throughout the life span and their
    role in health promotion and disease management.
  • 10.2.3 Analyzes and synthesizes the assessment data to identify nutrition problems following the Standards of Practice in Nutrition Care for RDNs.
  • 10.1.1 Identifies and selects valid and reliable screening tool(s) to obtain and verify relevant data in support of nutrition assessment.

    Moderator(s)

  • Strong Is the New Healthy: Exploring the Evidence for Strength as a Measure of Health -

    Christine Rosenbloom, PhD, RDN, FAND

    Georgia State University

    • Speaker(s)

  • Strong Is the New Healthy: Exploring the Evidence for Strength as a Measure of Health -

    Nicholas Burd, Ph.D.

    Associate Professor

    University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

  • Strong Is the New Healthy: Exploring the Evidence for Strength as a Measure of Health -

    Heather Leidy, PhD

    Associate Professor

    University of Texas at Austin