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
Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Organisational Unit
Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food
Chief examiner(s)
Coordinator(s)
Unit guides
Synopsis
This unit focuses on basic concepts in human nutrition. It will introduce the concepts of energy balance and body composition and outline the process of digestion. It will describe the role and function of macro and micronutrients essential for human health, their history of discovery, and relevance for the health of populations and individuals.
The dietary recommendations for optimal nutrition for the Australian population will be compared with recommendations in other countries. The unit will include the clinical signs and symptoms of specific nutrient deficiency and excess, as well as nutrient interactions and their significance.
Methods of nutrition assessment will be explored focussing on methods used to assess food intake, data analysis using qualitative and quantitative methods; and comparison of this data to recommended dietary intakes for optimal health.
Outcomes
Upon successful completion of this unit, students will be able to:
- Explain the process of digestion and absorption of macro and micronutrients and discriminate between their respective role(s) in the human body.
- Identify foodsources of particular nutrients, and recognise the clinical signs and symptoms of particular nutrient deficiencies and excesses, and explain the reason for their development.
- Describe basic dietary assessment techniques and discuss the strengths and weaknesses of different methods of assessing food intake when evaluating nutritional status.
- Explain how food composition data is obtained and discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this data in diet evaluation.
- State current nutritional recommendations for the general population and apply them to evaluate the adequacy of diets.
- Recognise the effects that nutrients may have on the absorption and utilisation of other nutrients.
Assessment
NOTE: From 1 July 2019, the duration of all exams is changing to combine reading and writing time. The new exam duration for this unit is 2 hours and 10 minutes.
- Online Quiz (10%)
- Assignments (40%) (hurdle)
- Exam (2 hours) (50%) (hurdle)