Prospectus

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Nutrition and Public Health

Course
2019-2020

Tags

GPH

Admissions requirements

None.
Recommended: Biology and/or Chemistry (at high school level or taken at LUC).

Description

Public health nutrition is a multidisciplinary area of expertise. To solve global problems in nutrition and health, physiological and biomedical aspects as well as the social and behavioral context are important to take into consideration. This course will focus on understanding the main function and determinants of diet and its relationship with major global public health challenges (eg. infectious diseases, cancer and cardiovascular disease).

Also, the course will focus on translating evidence from epidemiological research to public health policies and health promotion programmes, both at the local, national and international level. It will address common study designs and methods to evaluate the role of nutrition in public health as well as intervention programs addressing nutrition (e.g., behavior, food choice) and/or its societal context (eg. food policies, legislation of food fortification, and food supply at work and schools).

Course objectives

At the end of this course, students will be able to:

  • Summarize the metabolism and function of basic nutrients

  • Describe causes and consequences of malnutrition (i.e. considering under-nutrition, over-nutrition as well as obesity).

  • Interpret the relation between nutrition and infectious diseases (i.e. HIV and malaria) and non-communicable diseases (i.e. cancer and cardiovascular disease).

  • Recognize biological, environmental and psychological factors related to nutrition.

  • Critically interpret results from nutritional epidemiological studies.

  • Translate scientific findings on nutrition and health into dietary recommendations and public health policies.

Timetable

Once available, timetables will be published in the e-Prospectus.

Mode of instruction

Lectures
Debates (eg. about food fortification)
Exercises (eg. about dietary data collection and energy expenditure)
Journal club (eg. about recent scientific findings on nutrition & health)
Nutritional assessment laboratory (eg. body composition measurements).

Assessment

  • Individual letter about food fortification (20%)

  • Poster presentations (15%)

  • Written group assignment: Systematic review about a topic in nutrition and health (30%, individual performance will be reflected)

  • In-class participation (5%)

  • Written exam (30%)

Blackboard

There will be a Blackboard site available for this course. Students will be enrolled at least one week before the start of classes.

Reading list

Michael J. Gibney, Barrie M. Margetts, John M. Kearney , Lenore Arab. Public Health Nutrition. The Nutrition Society. 2015 (e-book).

Registration

This course is open to LUC students and LUC exchange students. Registration is coordinated by the Education Coordinator. Interested non-LUC students should contact course.administration@luc.leidenuniv.nl.

Contact

Dr. Jessica Kiefte-de Jong
J.C.Kiefte@lumc.nl