COURSE: Food & Nutrition in Population Health

This unit introduces the principles of essential human nutrition with applications to public health.

The unit will provide students with a basic introduction to food and nutrition as well as applications to public health. Applied topics include nutrition for different life stages; popular diets; nutrition and chronic disease; Indigenous nutrition; global nutrition issues; regulation of the food supply; nutrition for athletic performance and public health nutrition interventions.

Students will be able to summarise the key nutrients essential for human health in terms of their roles and dietary sources; identify the different nutritional requirements at various life stages; describe and illustrate the role of nutrition in maintaining optimal health and preventing or delaying the development of chronic disease; identify factors that influence dietary choices in Australia; outline global nutrition issues including food security and food ecology; illustrate public health nutrition interventions; summarise key aspects of nutrition policy; demonstrate key examples of food regulation in Australia, and compare different methods for assessing nutritional status.

This is a five-day, six-point unit, consisting of a combination of lecture, practical case studies and discussions. For more information on enrolment, fees etc, please visit our website.