Health and Wellness

Food, Nutrition, and Exercise

Empowering healthy choices every day

A kinesiology PhD student simulates an experiment using a video game exercise program at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
A student helps organize cans in the food pantry at Ladies of Charity during a day of service.
A PhD student works with a farm bot in the Smart Agriculture Lab in the Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science building at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Nutrition plays a significant role in both physical and mental development and well-being, making food and nutrition security an important goal for improving health outcomes. Exercise, too, can improve quality of life and help prevent or treat some chronic conditions.

UT faculty are committed to listening to and learning from local partners to meet real needs. In labs, clinics, and community centers, they co-create interdisciplinary solutions to empower people to live healthy lifestyles—and build stronger, more resilient communities.

Students, staff, and faculty package meals in the Student Union at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

UT’s Approach

Recognizing nutrition’s key role in promoting health, UT has developed a community of scholars focused on Food and Nutrition Security. These researchers focus on the dietary and health challenges that occur with food insecurity, as well as how to increase food and nutrition security so that a healthy, active life is possible.

To do this, UT faculty and students not only use a wide range of behavioral and social science methods but also translate research generated across the university into community-tailored resources and community-based settings.

UT faculty are involved in initiatives like Tennessee RiverLine to help communities develop outdoor recreation opportunities that make active lifestyles easier to access. UT Extension empowers Tennesseans across the state to make healthy everyday choices around food and exercise, particularly when managing chronic conditions.

UT faculty and students contribute to UT’s unique research-practice partnership with River Valley Health (formerly Cherokee Health Systems) by providing nutrition counseling to patients at co-located offices. Practitioners from this federally qualified health center also collaborate with UT researchers to improve health outcomes for Type 2 diabetes in East Tennessee communities.

“We support researchers and practitioners who work well together, who co-create approaches, information, and interventions that produce positive impact in Tennessee communities. Our work is inspired by our community partners, who work with us to develop the right research strategies to address real-world problems.”

— Hollie Raynor, Executive Associate Dean of Research and Operations, College of Education, Health, and Human Sciences

Kinesiology PhD student John Oginni simulates an experiment using a virtual reality bicycle exercise program in the Physical Activity Epidemiology Lab at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Students, staff, and faculty are volunteering to package meals that will be donated to the Big Orange Pantry and other select community organizations in Knoxville during an event called Pack to Give Back happening in the Student Union at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
College of Nursing students work on their maternal/child skills inside the HITS lab at the University of Tennessee.
Assistant Professor Hao Gan and PhD student McKensie Nelms works with a farm bot in the Smart Agriculture Lab in the Biosystems Engineering and Soil Science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
Professor and Department Head Zan Gao observes visiting scholar Sha Qu as she simulates an experiment using a virtual reality bicycle exercise program in the Physical Activities Lab at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Highlights

Photo at the ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Center for Precision Health at the University if Tennessee.

UT and UTMC Pursue Community Impact in Center for Precision Health

The Center for Precision Health—a joint project of UT and UT Medical Center—enables collaboration between faculty, physicians, and community partners to improve the lives of Tennesseans. It also provides a convenient location for Tennesseans to participate in studies related to nutrition and physical activity interventions.

Read about the Center for Precision Health.

Photo of three people walking into a crosswalk on a city street.

UT Extension Receives Funding to Improve Nutrition and Physical Activity

UT Extension received $525,000 from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for the first year of the five-year High Obesity Program. Through the program, Extension addresses community health disparities related to nutrition, physical activity, and obesity in seven counties.

Learn how UT Extension is engaging communities.

Laurie Meschke, UT Knoxville professor of public health, conducts a class at Union County High School.

Community Partnerships Address Health Issues in Knoxville and Rural Counties

UT researchers and community partner River Valley Health (formerly Cherokee Health Systems) are applying research findings and informing evidence-based health care guidelines to tackle some of the Appalachian region’s top health issues, including Type 2 diabetes.

Read about the impacts of these partnerships.

Photo of pre-packaged meals.

Researchers Receive Grants to Increase Research and Education About Food Insecurity

Teams led by Junehee Kwon, professor and head of the Department of Retail, Hospitality, and Tourism Management, received federal and private funding to develop food security educational programming and research practical solutions to food insecurity on college campuses.

Learn more about these projects.

Kinesiology PhD student John Oginni simulates an experiment using a virtual reality bicycle exercise program in the Physical Activity Epidemiology Lab on January 09, 2025. at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Facilities & Initiatives

Community-engaged scholarship and research take many forms. UT faculty have created spaces that facilitate sustainable collaboration and academic-community feedback loops.

University of Tennessee College of Nursing helps provides service at the Vine School Health Center in Knoxville, TN.

Researchers

  • Qiang He

    Qiang He

    Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering

    Human exposome, environmental health, environmental microbiology, indoor environment, microbiome, microbial source tracking, metagenomics, water quality, microbial contamination, infection prevention, public health

  • Anahita Khojandi.

    Anahita Khojandi

    Heath Endowed Faculty Fellow in Business & Engineering and Associate Professor, Industrial and Systems Engineering

    Markov decision processes, dynamic programming, predictive analytics, reinforcement learning, time series analysis, anomaly detection, genomics, critical care, chronic care, emergency medicine

  • Rachel Patton McCord

    Rachel Patton McCord

    Associate Professor, Biochemistry & Cellular and Molecular Biology

    Chromosome structure, gene regulation, Progeria (premature aging disease), cell fate determination, nucleus structure, single cell genomics, epigenetics, DNA damage, cancer progression, migration, metastasis

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