Course:FNH250

Nutrition Concepts and Controversies
FNH 250
Section:	003
Instructor:	Dr. Gail Hammond
Email:	gail.hammond@ubc.ca
Office:	FNH 214
Office Hours:	Wed 12:00-13:00 or by appt
Class Schedule:	M, W, F 11:00-11:50AM
Classroom:	FNH 60
Important Course Pages
	Syllabus
	Lecture Notes
	Assignments
	Course Discussion

Course Description

Each day we make over 200 food choices, yet many of us are unaware of how the nutrients in the foods we eat impact our health. The purpose of this introductory nutrition course is for you to learn about the basic science of nutrition and apply your knowledge to your personal food choices. By working through various nutrition-focused issues, you will be able to apply what you learn to your day-to-day food choices.

Course Website: Important correspondence for the course will be posted on the FNH 250 Canvas course website. Use your CWL to login.

Course Materials:

• TEXT: Whitney, E.; Rolfes, S; Hammond, G.; and Piché, L. Understanding Nutrition, 2nd Canadian ed. 2018. Nelson Education Canada, Toronto, ON.
• SOFTWARE: Diet & Wellness Plus - online access to most recent version www.cengage.com.

Learning Outcomes

FNH 250 is designed for you to achieve the following learning outcomes

1.   The primary course outcome is for you to demonstrate a basic understanding of the science of nutrition and how it relates to health, and integrate and apply your knowledge into your day-to-day food choices.

1. 2.   Success of the primary course outcome will be achieved by you: a. Classifying nutrients and describing key physical features of each class. b. Describing the processes of digestion, absorption & transportation. c.  Explaining the primary functional roles for nutrients and energy in the body. d. Examining the effects of interrelationships between selected nutrients. e.  Analyzing the nutrient and energy content of foods using food composition tables. f.  Applying recommended intakes of foods, nutrients, and energy to your personal dietary intake and energy expenditure. g. Improving your personal eating pattern to reduce risk of inadequate or excessive nutrient intake. 3.   By acquiring the basic tenets of nutrition, you will be able to make informed decisions about nutrition information, concepts, and controversies publicized in various media and circulating in society. 4.   Although a focus is on healthy individuals, you will be exposed to links between specific nutrients and selected disease states. 5.   You will engage in, critically reflect on, and appreciate the value of enhancing your skills in and attitude toward peer-to-peer teaching and self-regulated learning.

Course Rationale

You will likely arrive at this class with your own thoughts, opinions, and practices around nutrition and making healthy food choices. Your dietary beliefs are important contributions to helping us work through various nutritional issues and controversies. In this introductory nutrition course, you will learn about the science of nutrition and be able to put what you learn into practice.

Through in- and out-of-class activities, in FNH 250 you will learn about (a) the 6 classes of nutrients, (b) rich food sources of nutrients, (c) major roles for nutrients in the body, and (d) how deficiencies, excesses and key interrelationships of nutrients impact health.

You will apply your learning of the science of nutrition by completing a detailed analysis of your own diet, engaging in a community-based experiential learning (CBEL) project, or diving deep into a nutrition-related controversial media article (details for all assignment options are available on the course website).

Course Format

The format of FNH 250 will be a combination of:

• class lectures
• small group work
• informal debate
• large group discussion
• real-world scenarios

As instructor, I will be responsible for integrating instructional strategies that support collaborative and active learning and accommodate students' different learning styles; as a student, you will be responsible for developing new knowledge by engaging in critical dialogue and research with your classmates; together, we will both be responsible for ensuring a respectful, engaging, inclusive, effective, and productive learning environment.

To be an active participant in class, you need to prepare before arriving at each class, actively engage with your classmates in class, and continue your learning outside of class. You will build on your own knowledge base through dialogue and solving problems with your classmates in a learning environment that uses your own strengths and learning styles to further develop your critical thinking skills. By committing to readings, research, and thoughtful discussion, you will be able to achieve the course objectives.

Course Input & Feedback

If you have suggestions for changes to the class format that will help you more effectively learn the course material, feel free to propose your ideas to me at any time. At the start of the course, I will ask you for ways that help you learn. Approximately midway through the course, I will gather your input on how to best make the learning activities fit with your learning needs. Subsequent changes to the course activities will reflect your input.

Course Schedule

Classes are held Tues/Thurs 1100h-1220h in FNH 60. The following schedule is tentative. See course:FNH250/Schedule.

Course Conduct

Your attendance at all classes is expected and will enhance your likelihood of successfully completing the course. If you cannot attend a class, it is your responsibility to be informed of the content discussed in class; for example, class announcements, quiz scheduling, quiz content, or other course content. I will not respond to emails inquiring about content that we address in class. Successful completion of the course requires a strong academic performance and your active participation in the learning activities. Throughout the course, appropriate conduct is expected of all students. Research has shown that you are more likely to be successful if you conduct yourself in the following manner:

• Read the class notes and textbook ahead of time
• Arrive to class on time and prepared for active participation
• Ask questions about any material you don't understand
• Contribute similar or different ideas on the topic of discussion
• Be respectful of diverse opinions
• Use considerate language in class and online
• Employ good time management skills
• Turn off electronic devices that you are not using for academic purposes

Course Assignments

Term Assignment (choose 1)

1. In the dietary term assignment, you will keep a record of 3 consecutive days of your food and beverage intake and influences on your food choices over 2 weekdays and 1 weekend day (Saturday or Sunday). For one of the two weekdays, you will keep a 24-hour (1440 minutes) record of all your activities (from midnight to midnight) including, for example, sleeping, eating, studying, walking, and other physical activities. This will allow you to estimate how much energy you expend during the day. If you choose, you may record your activities over all 3 days of your food record. You will then analyze your food and beverage intakes, compare your results to current recommendations, and make realistic plans for dietary changes that will benefit your health. You will also analyze and discuss the implications of your energy intake compared to your energy expenditure.
2. On the CBEL term assignment, you will plan and implement a food-related project in collaboration with a community group, such as students in a school or community service organization. You will present your experiences to the class and submit a group report as well as a personal reflections on your project.

Controversy Group Work

In a small group format, you will explore a nutrition-related controversy in depth. This group work involves a report or class presentation of your topic and self and peer evaluations. Detailed instructions are posted on the home page of the FNH 250 Connect website.

Student Support

The UBC Learning Commons http://learningcommons.ubc.ca/ is an online portal available for all students to help you achieve academic success. You can access peer tutoring and academic coaching, interactive workshops, study groups, tech tools, student-directed seminars, and many other academic resources at the website.

The UBC Writing Centre (accessed through the UBC Learning Commons website) offers free academic writing tutor services for UBC students from September to April. You can make an appointment or drop into the Chapman Learning Commons in the Ike Barber Learning Centre for assistance with your writing. If you are looking to improve your writing skills, this is a valuable free resource to you as a UBC student. See the website for more details.

Evaluation

Activity	Details	Percentage of Grade
Midterm #1	multiple choice, fill in the blanks, short answer	15%
Midterm #2	multiple choice, fill in the blanks, short answer	20%
Controversy Group Work	details posted on FNH website	15%
Term Assignment	details posted on FNH website	25%
Final Exam	2 hours: multiple choice, fill in the blanks, essay questions	25%
TOTAL:		100%

Exams are designed to cover specific information as well as general concepts that apply to the different nutrients, including physical features, key functional roles, interrelationships, rich food sources, and recommendations. Sample previous exam questions will be posted on the course website well in advance of each exam. The midterms will be reviewed with you a week following the exam. Your term assignments will be returned to you before or at the scheduled final exam. Feedback and marks on your group work for your nutrient/food-based controversy will be emailed to you. Grades are determined based on UBC policies and regulations for Grading Practices, available at: http://www.calendar.ubc.ca/vancouver/index.cfm?tree=3,42,0,0.

Scheduled Exams and Late Assignments

Every student will be expected to write the exams as scheduled on the dates and times found in the Course Schedule. Exceptions will only be granted for medical reasons accompanied by a valid medical certificate from your treating health care professional indicating your dates of illness and expected date of return to school work. The term assignment is due at the date and time indicated on the Course Schedule. For each day your assignment is late, 10% will be deducted from your assignment grade. Late assignments must be submitted to the main FNH office (room 230) and date stamped by office staff. Note the daily time deadline (1100h) for submission of late assignments.

Final Words

Your successful completion of FNH 250 will prepare you for upper level nutrition courses. As you develop personal learning strategies, you will be able to apply these skills to other courses in your degree program and ultimately to your employment in the workforce. FNH 250 provides you with opportunities to try different approaches to learning, allowing you to be more aware of learning skills that best fit with your goals. Active participation in the course activities allows you to take advantage of these opportunities and expand your understanding and application of personal learning strategies. Enjoy your learning experiences in FNH 250!