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Heather Leidy, associate professor of nutritional sciences, will be among 20 scientific experts who will draft dietary guidelines for the United States.

It's been said that variety is the spice of life, and now scientists say variety in your social circle may help you live longer. Researchers at The University of Texas at Austin have found that older adults who spend more time interacting with a wide range of people were more likely to be physically active and had greater emotional well-being.

Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning (LGBTQ) youths are more likely to end up in foster care or unstable housing and suffer negative outcomes, such as substance abuse or mental health issues, while living in the child welfare system, according to new research from The University of Texas at Austin.

In the latest evidence that it's worth sticking to your health-focused New Year's resolutions, researchers at the University of Texas at Austin have found that exercising regularly is linked to better eating habits.

In the five years that students from the Division of Textiles and Apparel at The University of Texas at Austin have participated in in the YMA Fashion Scholarship Fund program, students have won prestigious scholarships each year—and four UT Austin students have finished among the top finalists in the country, including two outstanding participants this year.

Racial and ethnic discrimination is problematic for all aspects of development — from mental and physical health to risky behaviors and academic success — particularly for Latinos, researchers at The University of Texas at Austin determined after analyzing findings from hundreds of previous studies on adolescents.

Sydney Jones (BSA, '10) has studied cardiovascular health and diabetes on the Texas border, researched improvements for stroke care in North Carolina, and promoted community health, working with a nonprofit organization. Now the University of Texas alumna is taking on a new role: disease detective for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

With spring gardening season in full swing, Natural Sciences researchers have suggestions for the perfect vegetable garden, flower bed, lawn or landscape. In fact, scientists with the University of Texas at Austin can help you do more than have a great looking and productive yard: they've got tips that would help the local environment and maybe even the gardeners themselves.

In one of the largest and most diverse studies of transgender youths to date, researchers led by a team at The University of Texas at Austin have found that when transgender youths are allowed to use their chosen name in places such as work, school and at home, their risk of depression and suicide drops.

Jaimie Davis, assistant professor in the Department of Nutritional Sciences at The University of Texas at Austin, studies the effectiveness of school gardening programs in low-income, primarily Hispanic areas.

Matthew Landry is a third-year doctoral candidate in the Department of Nutritional Sciences and the Delegate at Large for Students at the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the world's largest organization of food and nutrition professionals.

Textiles and apparel senior Katherine Kykta was selected as a Youth Mentoring Association Fashion Scholarship Fund award-winner.

Millions of children in the U.S. play a vital, but often overlooked, role in their families. These children of immigrants, known as "language brokers," help their parents translate job applications, medical documents and bills into their native language. They also help them navigate a completely alien culture. Researchers like Su Yeong Kim, in the Department of Human Development and Family Sciences at the University of Texas at Austin, are debating whether being a language broker is good for children, or not.

Victoria Luera, a nutrition major at The University of Texas at Austin, has jumped into so many internship opportunities as an undergraduate that her resumé is already overflowing. She has operated the kitchen at Burnet Middle School, worked in several hospitals and clinics assessing patient nutrition, created nutrient handouts and classes for seniors, counseled patients with diabetes in clinics and created interventions for foster youth.

Our picture of the classic bullies and their victims – the pale wallflower perched on a gym bench at a school dance or a gangly bookworm hovering at the edge of a basketball game – is due for an update. According to Stephen Russell, chair of The University of Texas at Austin's Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, "Leave It to Beaver-style bullying" isn't the main problem for today's kids. Instead, most social isolation is linked to characteristics like race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability.