K-State nutritionist honored for work with student group focusing on nutrition and body image

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Source: Dianna Schalles, 785-532-6595, diannas@k-state.edu
News release prepared by: Michelle Hall, 785-532-6415, mhall@k-state.edu

Friday, April 20, 2007

K-STATE NUTRITIONIST HONORED FOR WORK WITH STUDENT GROUP FOCUSING ON NUTRITION AND BODY IMAGE

MANHATTAN -- Dianna Schalles, health educator and registered dietitian at Kansas State University's Lafene Health Center, has been honored for advising K-State's student peer education group, Sensible Nutrition and Body Image Choices.

Schalles received the Area 5 Award for Excellence: Outstanding Adviser 2006-2007 from the BACCHUS Network, a university- and community-based network promoting student- and young adult-based campus and community-wide leadership on health and safety issues. Area 5 includes Nebraska, Iowa, Missouri and Kansas. The award was presented at the seventh annual "Meeting of the Minds": Partners in Prevention and the BACCHUS Network Area 5 Spring Conference.

Sensible Nutrition and Body Image Choices, or SNAC, was founded in spring 2001 at K-State, said Schalles, who has advised the group since its inception. The group works to educate the university community about healthy eating strategies and body image. Schalles said the group's mission is to reduce the prevalence of harmful eating attitudes and negative body image, provide information on healthy eating and body image choices, raise understanding of eating disorders as a complex medical and social problem, and offer resources and support to those at risk within the university setting.

"After seeing firsthand how disabling and disheartening eating disorders can be -- in the lives of bright, young, talented people whom I've counseled over the years -- I always tell my peers: If you can impact even one person to adopt a healthier attitude toward eating and body image, you have accomplished more than you might ever know," Schalles said. "The road to recovery for some individuals is long and hard. But if we can plant the seeds to put someone on that path, we have accomplished our mission."

Schalles said that in addition to aiding people with nutrition or body image problems, she has enjoyed working with students through her position as adviser to Sensible Nutrition and Body Image Choices.

"I have learned so much from the talented students I have had the privilege to advise," she said.

"Many of our recruits are students seeking degrees in dietetics and/or human nutrition, and they are so eager to apply what they are learning. It's wonderful to see their excitement when they feel they are truly making an impact. Many have told me it is a confirmation that they have chosen the right career. Others have blossomed in their leadership capabilities as a result of being a SNAC officer," Schalles said.

"It is extremely rewarding to mentor students who share a passion for promoting more balanced perspectives on eating and body image, particularly if this translates to a better quality of life for those we encounter. This is especially vital in the current cultural climate, which places such high value upon external beauty and appearance."

Schalles is also the co-chair and founder of the Realistic Eating and Body Images Choices, or REACH, Coalition in Manhattan. She has taught dietetics courses at K-State and nutrition courses at Stormont-Vail Nursing School and Washburn University School of Nursing. In addition, Schalles and the Sensible Nutrition and Body Image Choices peers have coordinated nutrition and wellness projects for area schools. She is a member of the American Dietetic Association and Kansas Dietetic Association, and received her certification in adult weight management from the American Dietetic Association in 2003. She was recognized as Young Dietician of the Year by the Kansas Dietetic Association in 1992.

Free presentations by members of K-State's Sensible Nutrition and Body Image Choices are available to any campus group by contacting 785-532-6595 or snac@k-state.edu. More information about the group is available at: http://www.k-state.edu/lafene/SNAC/index.htm