By Jill Pease
Mediterranean diet. Intermittent fasting. Juice cleanse. Keto diet. In a sea of eating plans that tout all sorts of benefits, from weight loss to improved heart health, which is the right one to choose?
Richard Tovar, M.S., an instructional assistant professor in the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions, set out to give students the tools to answer that question for themselves with his new course “Should I be eating this?”
The class was offered this spring as part of UF Quest, an undergraduate core education program that engages students in interdisciplinary inquiry, civic responsibility, critical thinking and real-world engagement. Tovar’s class posed a central question: How are dietary trends such as low carbohydrate plans, detox programs and intermittent fasting influenced by cultural norms, media messaging, economic factors and psychological motivations?
UF Quest’s emphasis on applying knowledge to real-world problems aligns closely with public health education and reflects Tovar’s focus on experiential learning, he said.
“The idea of Quest is for students to get practical application of knowledge, not just for themselves, but to affect their community,” Tovar said. “The College of Public Health and Health Professions is a perfect place where you can teach courses that engage the community. And ideally, the goal is that whatever students learn in class, they apply right away. I believe that’s how student want to learn.”
Quest courses are open to all majors and students who enrolled in “Should I be eating this?” were attracted to the content for reasons both professional and personal. Aspiring health care providers Mariana Echeverry, a nursing major, and Leticia Kunihiro, a health science major on a pre-med track, wanted to gain nutrition knowledge they can share with future patients. Computer science major Michael Ostrowski was drawn to the class out of his interest in healthy eating and optimizing his own health.
Throughout the semester, students learned food, nutrition and physiology basics and explored the effects of technology on body image. Topics also included weight loss, the mechanisms of GLP1 medications and the metabolic changes associated with several diets, including Atkins, paleo, ketogenic, raw food, Mediterranean and detoxes. Working in groups, students selected and researched a particular diet and developed educational materials, including a postcard, video, social media posts and oral pitches.
Tovar was impressed by the creativity and quality of the materials students produced.
“I really believe when you get students interested enough, they will go the extra mile,” he said. “It was an excellent group of students, and their engagement truly made a difference and contributed to the overall success of the class.”
Student work culminated in a community outreach tabling event, held April 15 in the HPNP Courtyard. Members of the five student groups answered questions about each diet and shared the pros and cons. Students who studied the carnivore diet, for example, acknowledged several drawbacks, including potential vitamin deficiencies and the risk for liver and kidney issues. Students who researched the Mediterranean diet praised its anti-aging benefits and sustainability as a diet that is easy for most people to follow.
Reflecting on the course, students said they appreciated Tovar’s engaging approach to the content and would recommend fellow students take the class when it is offered again this fall.
“It’s a little unorthodox for a finance major to be taking a class like this, but I recommend going outside of your comfort zone to be able to learn something you actually want to learn,” said Eddie Bonavilla, a student in the Warrington College of Business. “If you’re interested in the food space or tracking your macros or figuring out the best thing for your body, I 100% recommend taking this class.”