Whether you're a health or medical professional, a registered dietitian, a fitness professional, or just someone who's concerned about their own health, the Nutrition for Optimal Health, Wellness, and Sports program will teach you about developing individualized nutritional programs. You'll explore topics such as energy and nutrient needs for daily living, with emphasis on particular physical activities, common myths and fallacies concerning diet and athletic performance, and appropriate behavioral modifications and dietary approaches for different ages and populations.

Content and curriculum in each module is designed to prepare allied health care professionals and registered dietitians to apply their client's health history toward optimal nutritional health and wellbeing. Personal trainers and fitness professionals will learn fundamental nutrition education to use with clients in partnership with registered dietitians. Individuals interested in learning more about nutrition, daily meal planning, wellness strategies, and sport nutrition and performance will discover information to help them achieve their own goals or to support family members in reaching their goals.

This certificate program includes:

• An examination of what to eat and how to decrease the incidence of many common diseases
• The principles behind helping people in any stage of their lifecycle to set and achieve weight goals, while working in conjunction with a registered dietitian
• The specific nutrients that need to be increased in your diet as you age
• The facts about fad diets
• The principles of healthy meal planning for athletes
• Safe sport supplements, such as protein powders or bars, creatine, and sport drinks
• The truth behind vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants

Continuing Education Credits

The Commission on Dietetic Registration, the credentialing agency for the American Dietetic Association (ADA), has approved this program for 120 Continuing Professional Education Units (CPEUs), or 40 (CPEUs) per each individual program taken separately for both registered dietitians and dietetic technician-registered.

The following national organizations and associations have approved the Nutrition for Optimal Health, Wellness, and Sports Online Program for Continuing Education Credits/Units (CECs/CEUs):

• The American Senior Fitness Association: 2.0 CEUs per program
• The Health and Fitness Professionals Association: 30 CECs per program
• The National Council on Strength and Fitness: 10 CEUs per program
• The National Federation of Professional Trainers: 1 CEC per program, equivalent to an entire six-month CEC requirement
• The National Strength Professional Association: 2 CEUs per program

Upon registering, you're given an initial six months to complete this program.  Should you need more time beyond the six months, an extension of six months is available with a fee of $300. 

By completing the Nutrition for Optimal Health, Wellness, and Sports Program, you'll:

• Understand functional food implementation
• Explore meal plan analysis
• Learn appropriate behavioral modifications and dietary approaches for different ages and populations
• Understand vitamin supplementation and weight management
• Gain a foundation for wellness nutrition based on current scientific research
• Understand how to reinforce positive food habits and behaviors
• Learn how to personalize meal plans for yourself or your clients
• Identify common myths and fallacies concerning diet and athletic performance

1. Nutrition and You: Functional Foods
   1. Define Functional Foods, Choosing Functional Foods, and Functional Foods Protection
   2. Understand How to Incorporate Spices Into Your Diet
   3. Review the General Guidelines and Foods to Include in Your Meal Plan
   4. Gain Knowledge of Diet Diversity and Free-radical Theory
2. Weight Management and Nutrition in the Lifecyle
   1. Define Obesity, Incidence, and Contributing Factors
   2. Understand the Basic Principles of Obesity Treatment, Interventions, and Contributing Factors
   3. Review Fad Diets and Practical Strategies
   4. Learn About the Obesity Epidemic and Weight-Management Programs
3. Introduction to Sports Nutrition and Performance
   1. Gain an Understanding of Nutrition, Exercise, and Sports-related Fitness
   2. Understand Nutrition for Performance and Energy Utilization
   3. Learn about Protein, Ergogenic Aids, and Hydration in Sports Nutrition
   4. Learn about Meals for Competitions
4. Public Nutrition and Wellness Education
   1. Understand Genomics and Evidence-based Medicine
   2. Examine New, Yet Old, Healthful Diets
   3. The Role, Functions, and Recommendations for Vitamins
   4. What's New in Wellness and Cancer Prevention

There are no specific prerequisites to enter this program, other than an Internet connection, an e-mail address, and basic computer knowledge. This program is for you if you're an allied health, medical, or fitness professional or a registered dietitian seeking advanced nutrition education, re-certification, re-licensure, or career advancement. If you're simply a person who wants to know more about nutritional program design, health, and performance, this program is a great option for you, too!

This program can be taken from a PC.  It is not recommended for MAC users. It is compatible with the Windows XP and later operating systems and IE 7 and later browsers.  Technical requirements include, but are not limited to: having Internet access with a 56K modem (but it’s highly recommended that you have DSL or high-speed cable Internet access), 64 MB system RAM, 200 MB free hard-disk space memory or sufficient storage, reliable e-mail account access, CD-ROM/DVD capabilities, and a reliable Internet provider. Some individual programs may have additional software or hardware requirements.

The textbook for this program, Nutrition for Health, Fitness, & Sport, 8th Edition, will be provided by ed2go.

Jane Burrell Uzcategui, M.S., R.D. is a registered dietitian with a Master's degree in clinical nutrition. She has had extensive experience as a didactic program director at the collegiate level, where she was responsible for the placement of dietetic students in clinical and community nutrition rotations. In addition, as a Certified Nutrition Support Dietitian for 10 years, she taught medical nutrition therapy to medical and surgical residents in teaching-hospital settings. Jane's experience as a distance runner has prompted her specialization in sports nutrition to teach to students about the role of nutrition in maximizing performance and altering body composition.

Melissa Halas-Liang is a registered dietitian, with a Master's in nutrition education and a certification in nutrition support. In addition to working as a clinical dietitian, she assists in clinical trials, has taught group diabetes classes, and has counseled patients on weight loss. She has spoken on a wide range of topics in the community, from diet and fitness to high school sports nutrition. She has spoken at the Woman's Health Symposium on Fad Diets and on Weight Management and Disease Prevention. Melissa has published articles in periodicals on healthy eating and edited textbook nutrition sections. She developed curriculums for medical residents and lectured to healthcare professionals for continuing education credits on a variety of topics. Melissa's enthusiasm for healthy eating is contagious, and her outgoing and interactive approach to learning motivates her audience to commit to new lifestyles.

The User ID and Password are provided below:

User ID: demonut
Password: nut

IMPORTANT: When exploring this demo, we request that you do not adjust/modify the User ID and Password. Thank you.