NS 1220 - Nutrition and the Life Cycle

Spring. 3 credits. Letter grades only.

Prerequisite: one semester of college biology or NS 1150. Limited enrollment.

P. Weisberg-Shapiro.

Biology of the life cycle including development, growth, maturation, and aging and its impact on nutritional requirements of humans from the zygote to the elderly is considered. How to meet these nutritional requirements is discussed relative to the feeding issues and context of each major life stage. Course emphasizes the critical analyses of beneficial and adverse outcomes of various nutrient intakes and dietary patterns on the nutritional status and well-being through integration of nutrition and other health sciences in understanding nutritional needs during the life cycle.

Outcome 1: Students will integrate knowledge from the biological and social sciences to address nutrition and health problems across the life span.

Students will relate and identify across the life span:
• influences of age, growth and normal development on nutritional requirements
• methods of assessing dietary and nutritional health risks
• influences of socioeconomic, cultural, and psychological factors on food and nutrition behavior
• health behaviors and educational needs of diverse populations.

Students will be able to:
• screen individuals for nutritional risk for health promotion and disease prevention
• calculate and interpret body composition data
• determine nutrient requirements
• translate nutritional needs into food choices and dietary recommendations.

Outcome 2: Students will demonstrate a) an understanding of the complex and evolving nature of scientific knowledge of the role of nutrition in the promotion of health and the etiology and prevention of disease and b) the ability to access and evaluate critically scientific information from the primary research literature to investigate causal effects of nutrition and other environmental factors in human health and disease.

Students will relate and identify across the life span
• health promotion and disease prevention guidelines.

Students will be able across the life span to:
• explain a public recommendation or policy position regarding diet and nutrition for an individual
• interpret current research relevant to public dietary recommendations or policy.