Klazine Van der HorstView profile
Professor
Prof. Dr. Klazine Van der Horst serves as the Director of the School of Health Professions at Bern University of Applied Sciences (BFH), where she leads academic and research initiatives in nutrition and dietetics. With extensive experience in both academic and industry settings, she has held leadership roles including Head of Research at the School of Health Professions and Head of applied R&D Nutrition and Dietetics at BFH. Her work bridges academic research with practical applications in public health nutrition. Dr. Van der Horst's educational background includes: PhD in Environmental Determinants of Overweight in Rotterdam Schoolchildren (2009) from Erasmus University Rotterdam MSc in Public Health (2006) from Netherlands Institute for Health Sciences MSc in Health Sciences, Health Education & Health Promotion (2003) from Maastricht University BSc in Nutrition & Dietetics (2001) from University of Applied Sciences (HAN), Nijmegen Her research focuses on understanding and improving eating behaviors, particularly in children, with emphasis on dietary intake assessment methods, nutrition communication, and food labeling. Dr. Van der Horst has developed innovative approaches to studying food consumption patterns, including the "fake food buffet" method, and has contributed significantly to understanding how cooking skills influence dietary choices. Her work spans behavioral nutrition, public health interventions, and the development of tools to assess diet quality across different populations. Analysis of her recent publications reveals a strong focus on developing assessment tools for nutrition research, evaluating dietary interventions, and understanding factors influencing food choices across different age groups. Her work increasingly incorporates digital health approaches, as evidenced by research on nutrition apps and health bots, while maintaining a strong foundation in traditional nutrition assessment methods and behavioral science. Dr. Van der Horst actively mentors students at both bachelor's and master's levels, supervising theses on diverse topics including nutrition labeling, dietary behaviors, and digital health applications in nutrition. She collaborates extensively with practice partners through the Academic-Practice-Partnership with Insel Gruppe/BFH and leads several research projects including ePartners4All and MenuCH Kids.





