Nutrition Intervention Centre

The Nutrition Intervention Centre (NIC) is a space for human nutrition research within the Department of Nutritional Sciences, located on the second floor of the C. David Naylor Building on the University of Toronto’s St. George campus. The Centre opened in January 2020, with funding from the Dean’s office and the NSERC Program in Food Safety, Nutrition and Regulatory Affairs , and equipment purchases through a successful Canadian Foundation for Innovation-John R. Evans Leaders Fund submission. A fully functional space to conduct a range of human nutrition studies across the lifespan, the NIC will act as a hub to host a collaborative network of researchers and primary and tertiary care scholars who share the goals to prevent disease trajectories through early and continual nutrition intervention. The Centre provides tremendous opportunities for community involvement in programming and outreach, as well as incorporation of governmental nutrition initiatives.

The NIC is equipped to conduct a range of observational and experimental human nutrition research. It has a fully functional metabolic kitchen, biospecimen collection and processing rooms, a camera/audio equipped living space to investigate the impact of parenting practices on feeding behaviours, a metabolic cart, anthropometric tools including stadiometers, scales, air displacement plethysmography equipment to measure body composition, and other state-of-the-art equipment.

Click through the images below to see and learn about the rooms and major pieces of equipment currently housed in the NIC.

Our reception area is always ready to welcome study participants to the NIC.

The NIC includes a metabolic cart, which measures energy expenditure based on the amount of oxygen inhaled and the amount of carbon dioxide exhaled during rest, after meals and during exercise.

The NIC also features a BOD POD for measuring body composition (the ratio of fatty mass to lean mass). The BODPOD enables our researchers to differentiate adiposity (fat mass) from fat-free mass (e.g., blood, organs, skeletal muscle) and to characterize changes in body composition over time in both adults and children, using Air Displacement Plethysmograph. The subject sits inside a capsule, while computerized pressure sensors determine the amount of air displaced by their body. Our BOD POD room also includes an accessible scale and stadiometer.

Similar to the BOD POD, the PEA POD is an Air Displacement Plethysmography (ADP) system that uses whole body densitometry to measure body composition (fat and fat-free mass) in infants weighing between 1 and 8 kg (2 lb 3 oz and 17 lb 10 oz).

The metabolic kitchen in the NIC is an industrial-grade kitchen used for preparing study meals.

The feeding room provides a space for subjects to consume test foods or meals in order to examine various research questions around feeding and eating behaviours. Foods are passed through sliding windows that connect to the metabolic kitchen.

We use our simulated living space in the NIC to capture video and audio recorded information on eating behaviour, appetite regulation and parental feeding practices during a standardized buffet lunch. These interactions are recorded using a stationary lab space package which includes software to code, analyze and present observational data collected using high-quality mounted cameras and microphones.

Blood collection room

Biospecimen processing room

Contact Us

For inquiries regarding the NIC, please contact Dr. Laura Vergeer, Research Programs Officer.