Overview

Topics may include: 1. Overview of basic nutrition – nutrients, vitamins and minerals, sugar, salt, food, sources of nutrients. 2. Requirements and recommendations through the life-cycle. 3. Diet-related disease and role of diet: metabolic disease,overweight and obesity, under-nutrition, coronary heart disease, diabetes and cancer. 4. Psychology of eating and understanding of factors influencing behaviour at an individual and group level. 5. Dietary intake and assessment. 6. Intervention strategies to improve dietary change at a health promotion and public health level. 7. Nutrition policies – local, national and international.

Assessment Strategy

Excellent / A Grade: To achieve an ‘excellent pass’ on the module, students will be required to demonstrate a thorough and comprehensive understanding of public health nutrition, and the ability to critically analyse key topics in considerable depth. This will need to be supported by a comprehensive range of appropriate literature.

Good / B Grade: To achieve a ‘good pass’ on the module, students will be required to demonstrate a broad understanding of public health nutrition, and the ability to explore and analyse key topics in depth. This will need to be supported by a good range of appropriate literature.

Threshold / C Grade: To achieve a 'pass’ on the module, students will be required to demonstrate reasonable knowledge and understanding of key topics related to public health nutrition, and to demonstrate some evidence of critical analysis. This will need to be supported by appropriate literature.

Learning Outcomes

• Critically interpret and synthesise different types of data used to analyse and assess nutritional problems such as under-nutrition, overweight and obesity, diabetes, eating disorders, coronary heart disease and cancer.

• Demonstrate knowledge of public health nutrition (in terms of food, diet and health), at biological, social and policy levels and be able to critically discuss.

• Identify and critically assess existing public health nutrition intervention strategies at population and population sub-group levels (e.g., across the lifecycle, differences within or between developed and developing countries).

• Identify and evaluate appropriate responses and intervention strategies to address nutritional issues, taking into account the public health and relevant policy contexts (including those linking to sustainable development).