Overview

There is now a large body of evidence demonstrating that our diets have a major impact on our health. In this course we examine all aspects of this subject. We start by looking at nutrition research. Without some understanding of how nutrition advances are made, you cannot properly appreciate the significance of conflicting claims. From there we move to a survey of the dietary causes of the Western diseases. These are the diseases which are very common in the Western world and which are related to the lifestyle of the rich Westernized countries such as Canada.

We will be entering many controversial areas. The student must understand that nutrition science is in constant flux and that a “consensus” statement often means simply that this is what the majority of experts believe at the present time but that there are plenty of other experts around who don't agree. In this course we look at various controversies. The course also discusses nutrition issues throughout the life cycle.

This course is a continuation of NUTR 330. Accordingly, it is assumed that the student has a reasonable understanding of general nutrition.

Outline

Evaluation

To receive credit for NUTR 405, you must achieve a course composite grade of at least “C-” (60 percent), a grade of at least 55 percent on the final examination and must obtain at least 60 percent on each assignment. The weighting of the composite grade is as follows:

To learn more about assignments and examinations, please refer to Athabasca University's online Calendar.

Course Materials

Textbook

Whitney, E. N., and S. R. Rolfes. Understanding Nutrition, 10th ed. Belmont, CA: West/Wadsworth, 2005.

Other Materials

The course materials also include a study guide, student manual, CD-ROM, and a reading file.