UnitLevel 3Undergraduate

NUT3004 Nutrition controversies

Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences

NUT3004 Nutrition controversies is a level 3, 6-credit-point, undergraduate unit from the Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, offered in 2025 in Semester 2 at Clayton. It has no prerequisites.

Credit points
6
Offered in 2025
Semester 2
Clayton
Assessment
No exam
3 tasks

This is the 2025 handbook entry. See the 2027 entry.

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Requisites

Before NUT3004

No prerequisites or corequisites besides the enrolment rules below.

After NUT3004

No unit lists NUT3004 as a prerequisite in the 2025 handbook.

Enrolment rules

Prerequisite: NUT2001, NUT2002, NUT2103 & NUT2104 OR NUT1011 and ONE of BCH2022 or BMS2021 and ONE of PHY2042 or BMS2031

Overview

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.

 

Offerings in 2025

Teaching periodCampusMode
Second semesterClaytonOn campus

Assessment

  • Critical report (1,000 words)Written
    30%
  • Oral presentation (5-min oral presentation plus 1,000 words)Presentation
    40%
  • Research task (4 × 120-min workshops; 1,500 words)Exercise
    30%

Learning outcomes

When you finish this unit, you should be able to:

  1. 1

    Appraise novel scientific studies in relation to controversial nutrition topics and related media.

  2. 2

    Synthesise evidence from the literature, reflecting on various perspectives, to determine scientific significance and impact in nutrition.

  3. 3

    Formulate an objective analysis of the scientific evidence supporting or refuting conflicting viewpoints on diet-disease relationships.

  4. 4

    Communicate assertively in written and oral formats using scientific and non-technical language where appropriate.

  5. 5

    Collaborate effectively in a multi-disciplinary team to achieve optimal outcomes in nutritional science.

Workload and teaching

  • Workshops24 hours

Seminars: 2 hours/week, Tutorials: 1 hour/week, SDL: 10 hours/week.

Learning resources

Required resources

See Moodle for details about required resources.

Contacts

Chief Examiners
Professor Maxine Bonham
Unit Coordinators
Professor Maxine Bonham

Common questions

What are the prerequisites for NUT3004?

NUT3004 has no prerequisites, but enrolment rules apply.

When is NUT3004 offered?

In 2025, NUT3004 runs in Semester 2 at Clayton.

Does NUT3004 have an exam?

No. NUT3004 has 3 assessment tasks and no exam.

More details

Credit points
6
Level
3
Study level
Undergraduate
Faculty
Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences
Organisational unit
Department of Nutrition, Dietetics and Food
Type
Coursework
EFTSL
0.125
Student contribution
SCA Band 2
Study abroad
Available