Eritrean kids. Photo: B. Snell

Course Coordinator

A/Prof Mike Toole

Course Synopsis

Nutrition is one of the key elements of primary health care and a major determinant of good public health. Scientific evidence is growing of the inter-generational links between nutritional status at different stages of the life cycle.

 Nutrition Throughout the Life Cycle

“Undernourished adolescent girls and women give birth to underweight and often stunted babies. These infants are less able to learn as young children and are more likely themselves to be parents to infants with intrauterine growth retardation and low birth weight.”

Fourth Report on the World Nutrition Situation, January 2000

 The course will provide a comprehensive summary of the issues involved in maintaining community and household food security, assessing nutritional status and needs, and developing and managing programs addressing malnutrition and other nutritional deficiencies. The causal factors, detection, prevention and mitigation of famine will be reviewed. In addition, the nutritional impact of urbanisation, ageing, industrialisation, and changing consumer patterns will be examined.

Course Cost (short course applicants only)

AUD $990 (individuals)
AUD $825 (ACFID members)

Venue

Classes are held in both the AMREP classrooms and the Burnet Institute Training rooms. Please check the timetable link below for details

Dates

This subject is held across a number of Tuesdays and Saturdays in Semester 2 each year.
Check Subject Timetable link for class dates, time & venues

Application form

 Course Objectives

  • identify and classify the major nutrients required for good human health and well-being;
  • analyse the major global and local determinants of adequate human nutrition;
  • assess the nutritional status of individuals and populations;
  • diagnose and manage acute malnutrition in children and adults;
  • identify the causative factors in the evolution of population nutrition emergencies;
  • plan programs to rehabilitate malnourished communities and to maintain and strengthen household food security;
  • understand the impact of rapid social, economic, and behavioural change on human nutrition in the form of chronic, non-communicable diseases.

 Course Content

The course will cover the following topics:

  • human nutrition from an evolutionary perspective
  • nutrition and the life cycle
  • global determinants of population nutrition
  • determinants of community and household food security
  • measurement of population and individual nutrition status
  • nutritional deficiencies of public health importance
  • management of acute energy malnutrition
  • nutrition and infection
  • famine detection, prevention and mitigation
  • nutritional impact of demographic and epidemiologic transition
  • maintaining food security and good nutrition
  • food safety issues