Wayne Campbell, Prof. of Nutrition focuses on studying food and exercise effects on adult health. Photo by Mark Simons
It's been said that six-pack abs are made in the kitchen, not carved in the gym. From a health standpoint, what we put into our bodies is as important as — perhaps even more important than — the exercise paces we put our bodies through.
Wayne Campbell, professor of nutrition science at Purdue, has been studying the effects of food and exercise on adult health for much of his career. Over the course of 15 years, Campbell has relied on more than 1,000 community volunteers to participate in lab experiments designed to understand how protein nutrition and exercise affect health as people age. He also has collaborated with researchers from most of the other units in the College of Health and Human Sciences and elsewhere throughout campus.
In 2013, Campbell was one of 14 scientists from around the country selected to serve on a U.S. government committee that reviewed and advised the latest nutrition research that is helping to shape the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans. To be released this fall, these are the federal recommendations about what we should be eating.
Focusing on issues like obesity and physical activity (or lack thereof), the scientists looked at nutrition across the life span. "Our report was specifically focused on children age 2 and above all the way through elderly adults," says Campbell, who believes the health benefits derived from a moderate change in diet and increased physical activity can work wonders. "The biggest change from previous reports is that instead of focusing on specific nutrients or foods, the emphasis should be on choosing a variety of foods within certain categories that are known to be health promoting."
Along with that promotion for a diversity of healthy foods, Campbell says the guidelines emphasize the development of smart nutrition and physical activity early in childhood. The transition period from childhood to adulthood is critical in determining lifelong health profiles. And just as there are many different ways to achieve a healthy diet, there are also many more ways to eat a really terrible diet.
"Ideally, you want to make sure that each eating occasion is packed full of nutrients," Campbell says. "Though the cup of coffee and a doughnut at breakfast loads you up with calories, it is really a wasted eating occasion when compared to eating higher-quality, nutrient dense foods. Whether you prefer to eat two or five times daily, my encouragement is that with every meal you take advantage of consuming healthy foods and beverages."
