Making strides for healthier livesEtta (Angel '77) Saltos
CSREES national program leader for human nutrition
Majors: Food and nutrition
Our tax dollars = a healthier nation. As national program leader for human nutrition at USDA’s Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, Etta runs two competitive grant programs. One supports research to improve our understanding of foods and their biologically active components in promoting health, and the other deals with the issue of obesity prevention and nutrition. Etta describes the latter as "why people choose the foods they choose and what kinds of interventions might be helpful for people to lose weight."
Vacuuming as exercise? "Win the Rockies," a wellness program funded by USDA in (you guessed it) the Rocky Mountain area, is a cooperative program looking at communities in three states. The program provided some groups with information on walking programs, proper eating habits and size acceptance (getting people to worry about health rather than focusing solely on weight or size). Those conducting the study assembled a book of quotes from participants. Etta says one particular quote stood out: "I don’t think vacuuming counts as exercise if you only do it once a month."
Combining science and food. Etta says that she was good in science in high school; in fact, her father was a chemist. She became interested in food and cooking, joined 4-H, got involved in nutrition and realized that nutrition combined science and food, two things she enjoyed. From that point on, nutrition was her career.
"The logical place for two Ph.D.s." Etta currently lives in Washington D.C. with her husband of 23 years, Nicholas. He’s a nuclear engineer whom she met when she was a hospital dietitian, just before she went back to pursue her Ph.D. at The Ohio State University. He was a doctoral student as well. They lived in Washington state for some time, and then Tennessee, where Etta taught at East Tennessee State University. She eventually took a couple of years off to concentrate on raising their sons (now ages 21, 18 and 15). At one point, Etta says, she and her husband were ready to find someplace to live where they could both work. "D.C. was the logical place for two Ph.D.s to find jobs."
Favorite way to spend a free half-hour? "I love to read," Etta says. "I take the metro to work and have a half-hour without having to transfer." Her favorite author is Diane Davidson, who writes mysteries in which the main character is a caterer-cumsleuth. Seems like a natural fit for a nutritionist, right down to the recipes included in each book. However, Etta does note that the recipes are heavy on fat, sugar and cream, and are not the healthiest of fare.
It’s a small world after all. For a smaller institution, Bluffton’s impact is far-reaching. Etta recounted the following episode: "I once gave an award [grant] to Dr. Craig Altier at North Carolina State University. When I called him to let him know he was getting an award, he mentioned that he had read my bio on the Web and saw that I went to Bluffton University. It turns out that his parents are alumni!"
— Gina (Faccenda ’98) Mantero
