This unit entry is for students who completed this unit in 2016 only. For students planning to study the unit, please refer to the unit indexes in the the current edition of the Handbook. If you have any queries contact the managing faculty for your course or area of study.

PHY3102 - Nutrition, metabolism and body weight

6 points, SCA Band 2, 0.125 EFTSL

Undergraduate - Unit

Refer to the specific census and withdrawal dates for the semester(s) in which this unit is offered.

Faculty

Science

Coordinator(s)

Dr. Belinda Henry

Offered

Clayton

Second semester 2016 (Day)

Synopsis

The unit will build on knowledge of body systems acquired in year 2 and will commence with an exposition of the major nutrient groups, their digestion, absorption, intracellular processing, metabolism and storage. This will lead on to a consideration of the ways in which stored nutrients are retrieved and of nutrient and energy fluxes within the body. The sensing of food intake and nutrient stores will be described for each class of nutrients at the peripheral and central levels and the physiological regulation of appetite will be addressed. Common and important disorders including obesity, metabolic diseases and diabetes will be studied. Aspects which include measurement of body mass and body composition, determination of food preferences, mechanisms of dysregulation of body mass, and interactions of disordered metabolism with the endocrine, cardiovascular and reproductive systems will be studied. The role of public information and therapeutic interventions including a consideration of alternative therapies from the perspective of evidence-based practice will also be covered.

Outcomes

On completion of this unit students will be able to:

Describe the chemical, energetic and physiological attributes of the major nutrient groups and use this knowledge to explain whole body energy balance and nutrient stores;

Explain how peripheral and central mechanisms sense food intake and match this to body mass and energy stores;

Evaluate theories for eating and body mass disorders (and their treatment);

Critically evaluate the scientific literature and write scientific reports and essays;

Demonstrate scientific laboratory skills, including dissection, data analysis and graphing.

Assessment

In-semester quizzes: 20%
Laboratory Reports: 20%
Assignments: 20%
Final examination: 40%

Workload requirements

Two hours of lectures and four hours of laboratory classes per week

Chief examiner(s)

Dr. Belinda Henry

This unit applies to the following area(s) of study

Physiology

Prerequisites

PHY2011 and PHY2032; or both BMS1052 and BMS2031; or at the discretion of the unit coordinator.