National Nutrition Month
In celebration of National Nutrition Month, Renee Dease met with Special Olympics Michigan staff member, Health Messenger, and athlete, Kayla Cornell, to talk about how she empowers Special Olympics athletes to build healthier habits through practical cooking skills and nutrition education. Check out their conversation below.
This month I spoke with Kayla Cornell about how she’s helping her fellow athletes understand nutrition and make healthy food choices. Kayla has been an athlete with Special Olympics Michigan for 23 years and enjoys participating in downhill skiing, softball, poly hockey, and powerlifting.
Kayla’s passion for nutrition was inspired by her own struggles with making healthy choices. Since becoming a Health Messenger in 2018, she has used that experience to guide her fellow athletes on how to make healthy choices.
In 2019, Kayla created her cooking class “Let’s Get Healthy Together,” a hands-on cooking program designed specifically for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). During our conversation, Kayla shared that her class teaches athletes how to be healthier in their day-to-day lives by helping them understand nutrition labels and portion sizes and learning how to prepare balanced meals. “I've noticed that people who participate in this class gain confidence in the kitchen, develop independence, and feel proud of what they can create,” Kayla added.
In her class, Kayla also shares some of her favorite healthy meals while teaching participants how to build a healthy plate. From baked salmon with asparagus to Italian turkey and veggie meatloaf, Kayla often uses visuals from Special Olympics Fit 5 Guide to help athletes understand portion sizes and different food groups. She also highlights the importance of hydration and demonstrates how to make fruit-infused water.
“I want to open my own private practice to work with people with intellectual disabilities…"
In addition to her cooking class, Kayla is currently studying to become a registered dietitian to further her nutrition expertise. She also holds a Food, Nutrition, and Wellness Certificate and has completed the National Nutrition Certification Program through Utah State University Extension, grounding her creativity in strong nutritional knowledge. When asked what made her choose to study nutrition, Kayla shared, “I want to open my own private practice to work with people with intellectual disabilities…I had to find somebody else because [my registered dietitian] didn't know how to work with me…They just gave me a bunch of foods that I wouldn't even touch because…it's a sensory issue and they weren't willing to work around that. So, I want to be that voice. I want to be that person that can go in and teach these athletes. I understand firsthand because I am one.”
This experience continues to influence how she approaches nutrition today. Kayla shared a message to registered dietitians and nutrition educators, sharing, “For too long, individuals with ID have faced barriers with access. We need to change that. Improving nutrition for people with ID requires a person-centered approach. We must listen [to and] empower individuals with disabilities [to] actively participate in their own health.”
“Whether you are a registered dietician, nutrition educator, or policymaker, you have the power to be the catalyst for this change by creating inclusive resources, advocating for access to nutrition education, and centering the voices of those [you] serve... This is a call to action: let's build a nutrition system where every individual, regardless of their ability, can make informed choices, thrive, and be as capable [as possible]—and now's the time to make the changes.”
For Kayla, food isn’t just a job, it’s a passion that touches every part of her life. At the end of our conversation, Kayla shared some words of advice to other athletes, “The advice I would give is that it's important to be healthy and start doing some research. Look at some of those athletes that inspire you to help you out and see what they're doing once you start seeing those different things and realize. Saying, ‘Hey, this is what I want to do. This is what I see. That's what I did.’ It took me to see somebody else, another one of my staff members that inspired me, and that's how I became a Health Messenger. So start looking at, what you're doing in your life and seeing the different ways that you can inspire somebody else. Be that motivation for somebody else.”
Want more tips and sample plans? Check out Special Olympics Fit 5 Guide for everything you need to reach your exercise, nutrition, and hydration goals!
