Undergraduate researchers share work, reward of studying childhood nutrition

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Emily Hill, an undergraduate researcher with the Center for Childhood Obesity Research (CCOR) at Penn State, faces numerous questions from children in her work. One question, however, remains constant — “Did you bring more snacks?”

Researchers expect the question while working with CCOR, a center that develops evidence-based interventions to improve the healthy development of children everywhere.

One CCOR program — Optimizing Nutrition Education for Parents and Teachers for Healthy Growth (ONE PATH) — includes nutrition education strategies for early childhood educators, preschool children and their parents in underserved areas of Pennsylvania.

The goal of ONE PATH is to identify strategies that improve caregivers’ feeding practices and children’s appetite regulation. To accomplish this, researchers observe behaviors like children’s impulsivity and dietary intake before and after various educational lessons that aim to teach children self-regulation and how to pay attention to hunger cues.

Undergraduate researchers like Hill contribute to the project by collecting children’s height, weight and waist circumference, observing eating behaviors and “playing games” — which are experiments designed to measure how effective an intervention has been.

Between five to 30 undergraduate students from colleges across Penn State help with research projects at CCOR each semester. In addition to data collection, the students perform data entry tasks and prepare research supplies and meals. 

Hill, a third-year student majoring in biobehavioral health, and Ken Siedlecki, a third-year student majoring in psychology and English, may have different majors and goals for participating in ONE PATH, but they agreed their work was one of the most fulfilling educational experiences at Penn State. 

Engaging in research and seeing results 

Hill collected observational data in classrooms for ONE PATH. She studied concepts like delayed gratification — the ability to resist immediate rewards in favor of greater rewards in the future — as it relates to children’s appetite regulation. 

During the 2024-25 school year, Hill entered data collected by other faculty, staff and students and assembled binders of intervention materials so the education was easy to implement.

Siedlecki participated in the implementation of lessons delivered to preschool children from low-income families. Because Siedlecki has worked with ONE PATH for numerous semesters and has qualifying experience, he now has a leadership role training other students on data entry and study protocols. 

Hill said she was interested in research as an undergraduate student even though it was not required on her path toward physician assistant school, after which she said she hopes to work in pediatrics.

“Seeing what I do actually make a difference — and will continue to make a difference — in children’s nutrition habits is amazing,” Hill said. “It is fulfilling to witness change and know you are helping lay the foundation of healthy habits, especially among economically disadvantaged children.” 

Learning beyond the classroom 

Hill took “NUTR 251: Introductory Principles to Nutrition” last spring and said she “fell in love” with its content. The course inspired her to pursue a minor in nutritional sciences and search for research opportunities in nutrition, leading her to find CCOR and the ONE PATH study through the College of Health and Human Development. 

Hill said seeing the parallels between her studies and active research projects has been one of her favorite parts of working with ONE PATH. 

“The overlap between what I am learning in class and seeing in real life through the program is incredible,” Hill said. “We are learning about nutritional guidelines, and what we are serving to the kids, and I realized I learned about this in my nutrition courses and understood more clearly this is a good meal for the kids.”

Siedlecki agreed and added that ONE PATH enriched his education in ways he never would have predicted.

“With a lot of course work, it can be hard to feel like you have an actual, real-life understanding while you are learning in the classroom,” Siedlecki said. “I have learned concepts about nutrition or behavior in class, and it’s helpful to see those concepts in action through my work with CCOR. It is very different than just learning about them.” 

What undergraduate researchers give and what they gain 

Siedlecki knew he wanted to participate in undergraduate research as soon as he arrived at Penn State, and he wanted to work with CCOR as soon as he read about the research the center conducts.

CCOR Research Manager Lindsey Hess said that undergraduate research enables student research assistants to broaden their educational and professional horizons. She emphasized that student researchers are invaluable in the work of CCOR, including helping children develop good eating habits and a strong foundation of nutritional knowledge. 

“Student involvement brings additional manpower and fresh perspectives while giving students the opportunity to gain professional, hands-on experience,” Hess said. “Employing student researchers at CCOR is essential to the work we do.”

Hess said the efforts of Hill and Siedlecki have significantly improved the quality and integrity of ONE PATH, supporting the program’s researchers in making more informed decisions about improving children’s health. Though Hill and Siedlecki value their contributions to the research, they said the most rewarding part is seeing the impact of ONE PATH on individual children.

One of Siedlecki’s most memorable lessons was teaching children to use their senses — touch, sight, hearing, smell and taste — to explore healthy food.

“Sometimes children change their eating behavior after an intervention, and that feels really good,” Siedlecki said. “I do not know what is going to happen later, but it is nice to see our work having an effect on their nutrition now.” 

As Hill and Siedlecki look toward their futures, they agreed their undergraduate research experiences helped define their paths. Hill is committed to becoming a physician assistant, and Siedlecki found a “foot in the door” into the field of pediatric nutrition. 

“Engaging in research is one of the most important things undergraduate students can do,” Siedlecki said. “It is a waste to go to college and not do anything other than your classes. You should do more than just your classes, and if you’re looking for that more, looking toward research is a good place to start.”