An online graduate course from Montana State University helps educators, administrators, and professionals in youth development and healthcare better understand adolescent nutrition-related issues.

The course, “Teaching Adolescent Nutrition” (NUTR 524) offers two MSU graduate credits and runs online from June 17 to Aug. 9.

It will focus on the increasing rate of childhood obesity, the role of food and nutrition in healthy kids, eating disorders, and School Wellness policies. Other topics include sports nutrition, dietary supplements, food safety, the USDA’s MyPlate recommendations and many others.

The instructor is Virginia Lee Mermel, who holds a doctorate in nutrition with a minor in exercise physiology and is a board-certified human nutrition specialist with an emphasis in weight management to control chronic disease risk.

Mermel is a college textbook author and experienced online teacher who currently serves as public policy coordinator for the Montana Dietetic Association and sponsorship chair for the School Nutrition Services Dietetic Practice Group of the American Dietetic Association.

The course is offered through Montana State Online and the National Teachers Enhancement Network (NTEN). The course can be taken for professional development, or credits may be applied toward MSU’s online graduate certificates in science teaching or toward an online master’s degree in science education.

For more information or to register, visit http://eu.montana.edu/nten/courses/, e-mail distance@montana.edu or call (406) 994-6812.