Nutrition, Health and Wellness

This comprehensive certificate program provides an interdisciplinary foundation in nutrition science, health practices, and personal wellness across the human lifespan. Students will analyze the biochemical roles of macro- and micronutrients, evaluate their lifestyle impact on health and fitness, and understand how dietary factors influence the range from disease prevention to athletic performance. 

The curriculum emphasizes the practical application of nutritional knowledge, covering energy needs, food sourcing, and dietary planning for specific life stages, including infancy, childhood, and adolescence. It integrates essential public health concepts, focusing on health and safety regulations and effective risk prevention strategies in care settings. Furthermore, students will explore the components of personal wellness, assess their current health habits, and learn to apply national guidelines (like MyPlate and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans) to formulate strategies for optimal health and lifestyle management. 

Graduates will be prepared to critically evaluate health information and promote evidence-based nutrition and wellness practices in various personal and professional settings. 

Completions by end of year 2 - 50  

Completions by end of year 5 - 150 

The primary goal of the Nutrition, Health and Wellness Certificate is to equip students with the necessary knowledge and practical competencies to enter the Los Angeles job market as Dietetic Technicians, Fitness and Wellness Coordinators, or similar entry-level Nutrition and Wellness workers.  

Students will acquire a core set of occupational competencies vital for success in both the target and emerging roles. For aspiring Dietetic Technicians, students will gain the skills to assist in the provision of food service and nutritional programs under the supervision of a dietitian. Core competencies will include the ability to plan and produce meals based on established guidelines, teach principles of food and nutrition, and counsel individuals on nutrition. For students interested in the emerging field of Fitness and Wellness Coordination, competencies will focus on the ability to manage or coordinate fitness and wellness programs and services. This will involve mastering skills in areas such as food services, nutrition services, clinical nutrition, membership sales, and employee performance management. Students will also be trained to manage and train staff of wellness specialists, health educators, or fitness instructors, preparing them for top job titles like General Managers, Fitness Managers, Diet Clerks, and Nutrition Assistants.  

These are the basic occupational competencies students will understand at the end of this program.  

• Analyze the Interdisciplinary Nature of Nutrition Science: Evaluate the application of scientific theories, concepts, data, and limitations from various fields to understand the roles, chemical structures, and health impacts of macro- and micronutrients. 

• Evaluate Nutrient Function and Health Outcomes: Examine the principles underlying the relationship between macro- and micronutrients and optimal health and fitness, including how nutrient deficiency or excess contributes to disease throughout the human life cycle. 

• Apply Principles of Energy Balance and Food Sourcing: Identify and discuss terms related to energy needs, assess daily energy requirements across the life span, and identify good food sources of energy-supplying and regulatory nutrients (e.g., complete proteins, iron, calcium). 

• Differentiate Nutrient Types and Functions: Differentiate between essential and nonessential amino acids and analyze the role of proteins, minerals, and water in body growth and regulatory functions, including the analysis of nutrient-fortified foods. 

• Apply Nutrition Science to Specific Life Stages: Apply practical, science-derived nutrition information to dietary planning for specific life stages, with a focus on infant and child nutrition and the unique requirements, health ailments (e.g., anemia, hypertension), and physiological changes of adolescence. 

• Analyze Sport and Exercise Nutrition: Utilize a physiological basis to examine the science behind sport nutrition, developing an understanding of the influence of nutrition on exercise performance, training, and recovery. 

• Identify Concepts in Health, Safety, and Nutrition: Define and differentiate the broad concepts and practices of health, safety, and nutrition within care and educational settings. 

• Evaluate Health Regulations and Risk Prevention: Identify relevant laws and regulations related to health, safety, and nutrition, and evaluate health risks and prevention strategies in care and education environments. 

• Assess and Optimize Personal Wellness: Identify and differentiate the eight interrelated components of wellness (physical, emotional, intellectual, etc.), assess current health habits, and formulate strategies for improvements in each component. 

• Explain Human Development and Dietary Guidance: Explain how the body constantly develops and changes throughout the human life cycle, and utilize the Dietary Guidelines for Americans and MyPlate to promote health, wellness, and disease prevention at each stage. 

• Apply Strategies for Healthy Eating and Food Safety: Discuss and apply strategies for healthy eating, including reading food labels, evaluating vegetarian diets and dietary supplements, practicing mindful eating, and understanding food safety concerns to reduce the risk of foodborne illness. 

• Explain the Development of Wellness Awareness: Identify the development of health and wellness awareness and trends in the United States and explain how lifestyle plays a critical role in overall wellness and optimal health. 

Health and Wellness is a growing sector of industry with popular pseudo-science health approaches raking in billions of dollars each year. This new certificate, Health, Wellness and Nutrition, will provide foundational knowledge, rooted in research and science, to prepare students to support clients in a variety of fields with accurate knowledge to truly assist in their health needs. At this time, ELAC has a Nutrition program housed in the CFES Department, and a Kinesiology program that prepares students for careers in health, physical education, physical therapy, recreation, fitness, athletic training, sports medicine, and coaching.This Certificate will partner the two programs, bridging the focus of nutriton and wellness from pregnancy, childhood, youth, adulthood and giving focus to athletic performance in addition.  

This program will bridge two department’s programming, CFES and Kinesiology, allowing more students to gain access to knowledge about healthful living across majors. This is in alignment to the ELAC mission of Engage and Empower through knowledge of personal health and wellness. In the urban community of Los Angeles, access to healthy foods and understanding of a healthful lifestyle can be challenging. This Certificate is meant to demystefy principles of healthy living. 

This Certificate is a good compliment to the current Kinesiology and CFES programs currently offered. It provides more connection between the two programs, leading to more scientific understanding of Nutrition while also ensuring understanding of lifespan health and wellness are key. This partnership will fill in gaps that currently exist in the realm of health and wellness at the college.  

This certificate should draw interest from both department’s current students, and should lead to more options once student’s complete the courses. Students in CFES will take an additional 3 courses outside their major to complete this certificate, and those in Kinesiology will take 3 courses outside their major. Some courses will count toward GE’s and others can count toward CALGETC requirements.  

Mt. San Antonio has a Certificate in Nutrition with more of a Food Science focus. https://catalog.mtsac.edu/programs/programsaz/nutrition/nutrition-certificate/  This program has 16 units, but includes labratory courses, Food Safety and Cultural and Ethnic considerations. The Kinesiology programs at Mt. San Antionio do not have a Nutrition and Wellness focus. They are in preparation for athletic training or personal training certifications.  

Pasadena City College does have a Nutrition and Kinesiology integrated program, but the options are full degrees, and not certificates. https://pasadena.edu/academics/divisions/kinesiology-health-athletics/health-education.php The options are Nutrition and Dietetics and Public Health only.  

Cerritos similarly to Pasadena offers only degree programs in Nutrition. https://programmap.cerritos.edu/academics/interest-clusters/ebcdd0c3-0fe1-4ba9-91db-f9510e6c979c Lower unit certificates exist for Fitness Specialist and Athletic Trainer, but not as an interdisciplinary approach to health and wellness across the lifespan. 

FAM &CS 21 - 17 per year – 646 students served (38 average) 

FAM &CS 34 - 1 per year – 25 students served (25 average) 

CH DEV 10 - 9 per year – 315 students served (35 average) 

HEALTH 7 - 6 per year – 240 students served (40 average) 

HEALTH 11 - 42 per year – 1596 students served (38 average) 

KIN MAJOR 118 - 2 per year – 50 students served (25 average)