Nutrition controversies

Nutrition controversies will focus on developing your fundamental scientific knowledge and critical reasoning skills in the area of nutritional science. You will build on your skills gained in earlier units that taught principles relating to evaluation of evidence and advanced research methodologies. Using your background in physiology, immunology and biochemistry, you will link diet and disease outcomes using available evidence.

In this unit you will develop an appreciation for the controversial and unresolved nature of the reported associations between dietary factors and disease processes. You will critically evaluate the underpinning evidence and identify unresolved questions and/or alternative opinions. Examples of nutritional controversies will be drawn from topics studied across the range of other units on the course and from current topics and trends in the media and on social media.

Teaching activities in this unit will have an emphasis on student-centred enquiry supported by a series of student-led seminars and discussions, and written and oral research syntheses.