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Nutrition Core

Consists of the Nutrition Assessment Unit and the Dietary Assessment Unit and is overseen by Babette Zemel, PhD, Scientific Director, and Charlene Compher, RD, PhD, Technical Director.

Nutrition Core: Nutrition Assessment Unit

The Nutrition Assessment Unit of the Nutrition Core is a state-of-the-art facility for the assessment of growth and body dimensions, body composition (the amount of muscle, fat and bone in the body), energy expenditure, bone density, and muscle strength. The Unit has two locations and four experienced technicians for performing research assessments. Services provided by the Nutrition Assessment Unit include:

Anthropometric Measurements Basic Measurements (Height/length/weight/head circumference) Knee Height Assessment for Short Term Growth Circumferences (Arm/waist/hip/chest/calf) Skin Fold Thicknesses (Biceps/triceps/subscapular/supra iliac) Alternate Height Assessments (Lower leg length/upper arm length) Breadth Measures (Elbow, Shoulder, Abdominal depth) Energy Expenditure Indirect Calorimetry  - Resting Energy Expenditure (REE, fasting with inpatient admission to CTRC)  - Sleep Energy Expenditure (SEE) (Fasting non-AM study)  - Respiratory Quotient (RQ) (Fasting)  - Post-Prandial Resting Energy Expenditure Physical Activity  - Acti-trac Accelerometers Body Composition Infant Total Body Electrical Conductivity (TOBEC) Bod Pod (Child/Adult Body Composition by Air-Displacement Plethysmography) Pea Pod (Infant Body Composition by Air-Displacement Plethysmography) Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) Anthropometry Whole Body Dual Energy X-ray Abosrptiometry (DXA) Cross-sectional muscle area and fat area by peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (pQCT)

Bone Health Assessment Dual Energy X-Ray Absorptiometry (DXA) - For Infants, Children and Adults  - Whole Body Bone Density and Body Composition  - AP Lumbar Spine  - Lateral Lumbar Spine  - Hip  - Forearm  - Distal Femur  - Intervertebal Assessment Peripheral Quantitative Computed Tomography (pQCT)  - Cortical and trabecular bone density, cortical thickness and strain-strength index by measurement of  - Distal tibia  - Distal radius Ultrasound (CUBA)  - Calcaneus (children of 7 years of age and adults) Muscle Strength Testing Hand Grip Dynamometer Biodex (isometric strength) Force Plate (jump strength) Other Growth and Nutrition Assessment Measures Urine Pregnancy Testing prior to DXA Scan(s) Stable Isotope Dosing and Urine Collection Instruction Parent Education (Food records/stool and/or urine collections) Pubertal Assessment Form

Staffing:

Staffing:
Core Director:	Scientific Director Babette Zemel, PHD	215-590-1669	zemel@email.chop.edu
Senior Technician:	Gail Jackson	215-590-4159	jacksonga@email.chop.edu
Technician:	Katie Murray	215-590-4089	murrayk@email.chop.edu
Technician:	Tia Van	215-590-5915	van@email.chop.edu

Nutrition Core: Dietary Assessment Unit

The Dietary Assessment Unit of the Nutrition Core provides a broad range of nutrition-related research services to investigators at the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP) and Penn Presbyterian Medical Center (PMC). Services Provided by the CTRC Bionutritionists:

1. Initial Protocol Consultation Services:
   • Assist with study design, development and nutritional methodology
   • Discuss appropriate nutrition software for records and recalls
   • Educate patients on study-related diet and nutrition concepts
   • Develop metabolic/controlled nutrient diet plans
   • Monitor participants on a controlled diet
   • Provide study meals
   • Administer food frequency questionnaires
   • Obtain and analyze dietary records/recalls
   • Develop data collection forms
2. Nutrient Intake Data
   • Food record
   • – (three days generally recommended - 2 weekdays and 1 weekend day)
   • 24 - hour recalls (on site and/or by phone)
   • – (three days generally recommended - 2 weekdays and 1 weekend day)
   • Food frequency questionnaires
   • Special meals designed by protocol parameters
   • Duplicate, weighed meals for nutrient balance studies
3. Protocol-Specific Nutrition Education
   • General nutrition
   • Protocol related nutritional counseling is available for both inpatients and outpatients (examples: calorie controlled, low protein, low fat)
4. Data Collection Training
   • Study Coordinator training for nutrition data collection
   • Family and study subject training on proper methods for weighing and measuring food items for food recalls/records.
5. Anthropometics
   • The Nutrition Assessment Unit of the Nutrition Core provides many services [see link for details]
   • In addition, at PMC and HUP, the Bionutritionists provide:
   • – Body Circumference measurements
   • – Anthropometrics measurements
6. Body Composition
   • The Nutrition Assessment Unit of the Nutrition Core provides many services [see link for details]
   • In addition, at HUP and PMC the Bionutritionists provide Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis
7. Resting Energy Expenditure by Indirect Calorimetry
8. Calculated Research Meals for Controlled Studies
9. The metabolic kitchen at HUP can provide:
   • Recipe development and modification
   • Food product design and production for study interventions
   • Calculation and serving of special research diets
   • Assessment of daily dietary intake for specific nutrients based on CTRC provided meals
   • Constant Diets
   • Regulation of fluid intake
   • Dietary supplement intake assessment
   • Monitoring of therapeutic diets selected by the subjects
   • Duplicate weighed diets for nutrient balance studies
10. Nutrition Software Used for Meal and Diet Analysis
    • Minnesota Nutrition Data System for Research (MNDS) offers the most accurate and comprehensive nutrient calculation software available for research. The database includes more than 18,000 foods and provides values for 136 nutrients and nutrient ratios. There are virtually no missing nutrient values in the database. It is designed for use by researchers and features a multiple-pass approach that prompts for complete food descriptions, detailed food preparation methods and diverse amount descriptors. It is recognized as the state-of-the-art nutrient analysis system and is used in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES) of the National Center for Health Statistics.
    • Food Processor (ESHA Research): Food Processor is used for in-patient study meals and basic dietary analysis that does not require the detailed nutrient analysis of the MNDS.

Technical Director: Dietary Assessment Unit:

Charlene Compher, RD, PhD
215-898-3619
compherc@nursing.upenn.edu

CHOP
Vivian Brake, MS, RD, LDN	215-590-4805	brake@email.chop.edu
Debra Cahn, RD, LDN	215-590-1650	cahn@email.chop.edu
Erin Donaldson, B.S.	215-590-0146	donaldson@email.chop.edu
Penn
Lisa Basel Brown, MS, RD, LDN	215-662-7824	lisa@mail.med.upenn.edu
Cheryl Milhoan, MS, RD	215-662-3180	cherylm2@mail.med.upenn.edu
Metabolic Kitchen	215-662-2682
June Dunkley
Martin Daniels
Nipsey Mitchell

 

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