Three BYU graduate students presented the latest global research on nutrition topics at the Intermountain Health Nutrition Update Conference on Sept. 26-27.
Clare Palmer, Olivia Gneiting and Lila Neerings are all Dietetics Masters students at BYU. They presented at the conference to an audience of licensed dietitians and health professionals.
The BYU students were the only graduate students presenting at the conference this year.
Palmer planned to present on tips for dietitians who work with semaglutide medications, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, that were made to combat diabetes but have increasingly been used for weight management.
Gneiting's presentation was on the relationship between nutrition and food allergies, focusing on the effects of ultra processed foods and deficiencies in nutrients like vitamin D and omega-3. She also planned to discuss how dietitians can help clients and patients prevent food allergies.
Neerings chose to discuss scientific evidence of the benefits of some of the most common fad diets, along with evidence for the use of nutrition supplements. According to Neerings, in most cases it is better to get nutrients from foods than supplements.
Neerings shared her feelings on presenting to a room full of credentialed dietitians as a graduate student.
“I’m a little bit intimidated knowing that they probably know a lot more than I do,” Neerings said.
Amid their nerves, the students prepared all summer for these presentations and felt that the conference organizers and their classes helped them be ready for this opportunity.
Neerings said that the conference organizers gave a good timeline for preparation with separate deadlines for a title, references and slides.
“I think this is a good kind of stepping stone, getting our toes wet and seeing what it feels like," Neerings said. "I think it would give me more confidence to present in the future.”
Palmer shared that the dietetics program is very presentation heavy in general and, according to Neerings, graduate students have classes centered around presenting to one another. This helped Palmer and the other students to feel less concerned about the presentation aspect of their preparations.
“I haven’t really thought about the presentation aspect until now, I’ve been a little bit numb to it," Gneiting said. "I think now it’s starting to hit.”
The three students shared that they were excited for the opportunity.