BRIEF HISTORY OF THE DEPARTMENT

The department of Nutrition and Dietetics was established in October 2004 as one of the programmes in the College of Agricultural Management Consumer Studies and Rural Development. The department developed from Nutrition and Dietetics option of Home Science and Management programme. Today, the Nutrition and Dietetics Department is one of the department in the newly created college, College of Food Sciences and Human Ecology (COLFHEC). The department offers programmes leading to the Award of Bachelors, Masters and Doctoral Degrees as well as Postgraduate Diploma in Nutrition and Dietetics.

PHILOSOPHY

The philosophy of the department is geared towards training of students in the field of Nutrition and Dietetics which engenders leads to a variety of roles in all areas of nutritional sciences as well as dietetic practices. In essence the programme Human Nutrition and Dietetics have their application both technologically and in scientific principles. Consequently, the department of Nutrition and Dietetics trains the students in the above broad areas ensuring the production of highly skilled man power through adoption of effective techniques of instructions, laboratory practical, field demonstration and workshop practice such that our graduates can choose to specialize within any of the relevant discipline.

MANDATE AND ACTIVITIES

The mandate of the department is to teach and conduct research in all aspects of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, hence extending knowledge to our immediate and remote environment. To achieve this mandates, the department is committed to achieving the following goals:

• To make the department a unique centre for Nutrition and Dietetics which encourage the study for practice of Human Nutrition and Dietetics.
• To focus research efforts on areas of Human Nutrition relevance for national development and global needs.
• To encourage inter disciplinary cooperation in research among staff and other external affiliation.
• To train competent future leaders for health, industrial sectors, government establishments and society leaders who will be sensitive to the health, socioeconomic welfare and provision of solutions to pressing needs such as management and prevention of nutritional diseases and set appropriate diet for people in normal nutritional conditions or those with illnesses in different settings e.g hospitals, food service industry institutions in the community and the nation at large.
• To equip graduates with the basic skills of nutrition and dietetic practices that is considered essential for further studies in the higher levels of education such as Masters and Doctorate.
• To introduce students to the food nutrients, and the general concept of good and bad nutrition in addition to the historical background on the development of nutrition as a science.
• To teach practical approaches to the solution of nutrition problem within the community.