FOOD AND NUTRITION

In order to be well equipped to work as a nutrition professional, it’s essential to have compassionate care and cultural competence, understanding the most up-to-date evidence-based methods and techniques to work with the public. This module seeks to further develop understanding of the complexity of food choice and the physiological, political, psychological, social and cultural factors which affect it. In addition, it will introduce you to intervention strategies such as motivational interviewing and digital technology and telehealth as care pathways.

You will consider the different clinical measures for testing the nutritional status of an individual by examining the chemistry of different micronutrients as well as analysing methods of data collection.

Focusing on the specific area of childhood nutrition, you will be studying the requirements and legislation surrounding pre-natal, infant, toddler, child and teenage nutrition. You will also pay attention to both policy and practice and how they ultimately impact young individuals.

In this module you will investigate the variety of career paths open to you, and of interest to you, across the industry. You will explore a number of employment related frameworks, in addition to reflecting on your own strengths and areas for development in relation to the career paths of your choice. You will undertake at least 40 hours of placement within industry – this can be work shadowing, voluntary or paid work, and may be in a block (i.e. one week) or across a number of weeks. If you wish to explore more than one career pathway, this is also encouraged to enable you to develop a clear career plan for the final assessment. The final presentation will allow you to employ reflection tools to consider your career plan and future actions to plan for employment.

You will develop your ability to carry out effective research, considering research within the health field, specific nutrition methodologies, data capture and statistics. You will also consider any current limitations of existing research.

You will examine the nutritional needs of athletes and those undertaking substantial exercise programmes, exploring the importance of nutrition in achieving optimal health. Other topics addressed will include exercise and metabolism, energy generation, hydration and vitamin and mineral needs for athletic performance.

Food technologists and product developers need to understand the ingredients that can be incorporated into food products and how they relate to the formulation of new and innovative developments as well as improving existing products. This module has a strong practical focus and, with an industry-led project, you will be able to participate in a real-life development opportunity. Alongside the practical element you will also study the theories of product development and strategies for new products and product improvement and considerations around scale-up. This will include market trends and analysis, competitor reviews and benchmarking exercise.

You will study current issues and trends in food and nutrition by reading press articles and scientific reports, paying particular attention to the science of weight loss. In addition you will study buyer behaviour to see if it affects the popularity of certain market products.

You will learn more about the various functions and job roles in different sectors of the agri-food supply chain including agriculture, manufacture, distribution, food services and retail. This will broaden your knowledge of the food industry and enable you to investigate food resources, climate and seasonal effects, food waste and environmental control.

This module covers how a well-balanced diet can support overall health specifically through the prevention and treatment of disease. It examines how diet can be used to help contribute towards the prevention of certain diseases, as well as aid in the treatment of symptoms of others. This module further seeks to provide understanding of health claims in the health and well-being market and the role of nutritionists in examining these claims through scientific method and educating the public in their veracity and efficacy. The module does not seek to treat, mitigate or cure any diseases – what will be learned on this module is not a substitute for professional medical advice. What the module will do is develop consideration of the positive contribution nutritional balance and modifications can make to disease prevention and treatment.

You are required to select a research question or topic aligned to your profession, formulate the best way to answer the question, and present your written findings in both a written and presentation format (poster presentation).

Today's nutrition professionals need advanced communication knowledge and skills to excel in their career, whether they are working in public health settings, with individual clients or providing food businesses with advice. This module seeks to enhance interpersonal, non-verbal, oral and written communication skills while providing you with an understanding of the importance of evidence-based practices, and being able to translate nutrition messages to a wide variety of audiences. You will be given the opportunity to apply your nutrition knowledge to real-world settings and across multiple platforms.

You will explore advanced concepts in sports nutrition and look at the application of diet in response to individualised sport-specific needs through the assessment of anthropometry and caloric assessment. You will analyse the use of contemporary and emerging diets within sport such as the Palaeolithic diet, ketogenic diets and intermittent fasting practices.

You will study the principles, control and optimisation of processing systems, food handling, hygiene, refrigeration, mixing and blending. You will also investigate scientific principles and food preservation methods including heat treatments, chilling, drying, fermentation and chemical preservatives.