Andrea Buchholz, PhD, RD
Professor
College of Social and Applied Human Sciences, Department of Family Relations and Applied Nutrition
About my Research
As a registered dietitian and Director of the University of Guelph Body Composition Lab, I am interested in the associations between lifestyle habits (particularly diet), body composition and cardiometabolic risk in families with young children. I am a co-investigator of the Guelph Family Health Study.
Recruiting student researchers: Accepting one MSc-Applied Human Nutrition student for 2026-2027.
When not professing, I am a comedic improvisor.
Teaching
Fall 2026: On research leave
Winter 2027: NUTR*1020 (Professional Practice in Applied Nutrition), and NUTR*4900 (Selected Topics in Applied Nutrition, with a clinical focus)
Education
- Post-doctoral fellow - University of Wisconsin-Madison, 2004
- Post-doctoral fellow - Vanderbilt University Medical Center, 2003
- PhD (Nutritional Sciences) - University of Toronto, 2002
- Dietetic internship: Hamilton Health Sciences, 1995
- MSc (Applied Human Nutrition) - University of Guelph, 1994
- B.A.A. (Foods and Nutrition), Toronto Metropolitan University, 1992
Recent Publications
(* student collaboration):
*Lo HWH, Prashad M, Duncan AM, Ann Vallis L, Haines J, Ma DWL, Buchholz AC, on behalf of the Guelph Family Health Study. Associations between saturated fat from single dairy foods and body composition in young Canadian children. Can J Diet Pract Res, 2025 Apr 16:1-7. doi: 10.3148/cjdpr-2025-009
*Leung H, *Acosta PFC, *Landon OA, *Ribau ZJ, Ann Vallis L, Darlington G, Duncan AM, Haines J, Ma DWL, Buchholz AC, on behalf of the Guelph Family Health Study. Plant-based dietary index scores are not associated with body composition in young children. Can J Diet Pract Res, 2025 Apr 15:1-7. doi: 10.3148/cjdpr-2025-006.
*Ribey SCS, *Coyle-Asbil HJ, *Coyle-Asbil B, *Osojnicki K, Vallis LA, Darlington G, Duncan AM, Ma DWL, Buchholz AC, on behalf of the Guelph Family Health Study. Associations between objectively measured nighttime sleep duration, sleep timing, and sleep quality and body composition in toddlers in the Guelph Family Health Study. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab, 2025 Jan 1;50:1-7. https://doi.org/10.1139/apnm-2024-0244
*Mahajan A, Duncan AM, Darlington G, Haines J, Ma DWL, Buchholz AC, on behalf of the Guelph Family Health Study. Dietary sugar and anthropometrics among young children in the Guelph Family Health Study: Longitudinal associations. Can J Diet Pract Res, 2024 Sep 1;85(3):132-139. doi: 10.3148/cjdpr-2024-001.
Research Collaborations
I am a co-investigator of the Guelph Family Health Study.
Current Trainees
Yasmeen Karaman (MSc-AHN): Associations between ultraprocessed foods and cardiometabolic risk in children
Kyra Ash (MSc-AHN): Eating behaviours and body composition in adults
Noa Mechaly (AHN honours thesis): Dairy-derived saturated fat and cardiometabolic risk in children
Future Projects
Do any of the following topics catch your eye? If so, please email me!
- Plant-based diet index scores and body composition in adults
- Physical activity and body composition in young children
- Diet quality and body composition in young children
- Use of bioelectrical impedance analysis to measure body composition in infants (collaboration with Dr. Kathryn Walton in Applied Human Nutrition)
- Child eating behaviours and body composition outcomes
- Child eating behaviours and consumption of ultra-processed foods