VSB Partners with COPE to Present Healthy Decision Making in a Food-Rich Environment Conference

Villanova, PA., September 15, 2017– VSB and the College of Nursing’s MacDonald Center for Obesity Prevention and Education (COPE) joined together to host a one-day conference on “Healthy Decision Making in a Food-Rich Environment.”

This conference was focused on educating nurses, nurse practitioners, dietitians, health coaches, business professionals, policy experts, and others on how to combine different approaches to healthy decision making in order to better the food culture of our world. “Developing a holistic approach to eating that accounts for the impact of the environment necessitates an interdisciplinary approach to explorations of food-related behaviors,” said Beth Vallen, associate professor of Marketing specializing in consumer behavior and health-related decision making.

The day opened with welcoming remarks from Evie Lengetti, PhD, RN-BC, assistant dean and director of Continuing Education in Nursing and Healthcare followed by a presentation by Susan Stabler-Haas, PMHCNS-BS, an adjunct clinical faculty in the College of Nursing, on “The Mindful Professional: Using Mindfulness to Decrease Stress and Increase Focus” which showcased innovative ways to deal with stress in our daily lives.

Cheryl Harris, MPH, RD, a registered dietitian nutritionist from Harris Whole Health, discussed “Mindful Eating: From Research to Practice.” She focused on different ways to think about your hunger and the importance of gratitude and mindfulness when eating.

Dean Joyce E. A. Russell, PhD, the Helen and William O’Toole Dean of VSB, opened the afternoon session with remarks about the benefits of making healthy choices. “VSB is proud to co-host this event because of how important it is to be aware of the nutrition choices you make every day,” said Dean Russell. “We are committed to helping our community better themselves as a whole, and believe that learning healthy decision-making is the best way to stay informed.”

In the afternoon, Paul Rozin, PhD, professor of psychology at the University of Pennsylvania, spoke about “The Sometimes Misguided Pursuit of ‘Health’ & Thinness: Some Cultural Perspectives” which addressed how to fix cultural misconceptions of health.

The keynote speaker, Tatiana Andreyeva, PhD, the director of Economic Initiatives of the UCONN Rudd Center for Food Policy & Obesity, concluded the conference with a presentation on “United States Food Policy and Its Impact on Food Choice.” She spoke about how our government and society has shaped the way in which we look at and deal with nutrition through laws and policies.

The Villanova School of Business (VSB) undergraduate program is ranked #1 in the nation by Bloomberg Businessweek and has been at the forefront of business education since it was founded in 1922. Serving over 2,700 undergraduate and graduate students, VSB is home to five Centers of Excellence (the Daniel M. DiLella Center for Real Estate, the Center for Business Analytics, the Center for Global Leadership, the Center for Marketing & Consumer Insights and the Center for Church Management) with each designed to foster innovative, cross-disciplinary research and teaching opportunities for business faculty. VSB is known for academic rigor; creativity and innovation; hands-on and service learning opportunities; a firm grounding in ethics; and an applied education that prepares students to become outstanding leaders and global citizens within the ever-changing, complex, and fast-paced world of business. For more, visit business.villanova.edu.