95831 - Community Nutrition and Nutrition Education

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, the Student will be able to:

- know the techniques for detecting food consumption as well as nutritional surveillance strategies on populations in particular physiological conditions, such as pregnancy, lactation, growth, senescence;

- apply the recommended dietary allowance (LARN) for macro- and micronutrients in different populations

- plan and carry out effective nutritional and health education interventions in the same populations;

- know and apply the principles of community nutrition/dietetics in the same populations;

- know and apply the principles of organization of community catering

Course contents

Principles of Food Bromatology with Practical Applications of the LARN (5th Edition)

Collection of Dietary History and Calculation of Intakes using Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets

 

Nutritional surveillance, definition and strategies

- Paediatric age: age-specific nutritional needs; weaning strategies, staturo-ponderal growth curves, consumption and eating habits. Nutritional surveillance in Italy: Okkio alla Salute and HBSC. Assessment of the risk of developing eating disorders. Food insecurity. Methods of nutritional surveillance in low-income countries.

- Pregnancy and Lactation: primary prevention of birth defects, nutrition needs; correct weight gain; prevention and monitoring of nutritional deficiencies in the pregnant woman, the mother and the baby; prevention of toxoplasmosis, listeriosis, exposure to contaminants; principles of nutrition and epigenetics. Human milk, transition milk.

- Senile age: physiology of aging; age-specific nutritional needs; monitoring risk factors for the development of sarcopenia, malnutrition

- Athletes: monitoring of incongruous dietary practices and the risk of developing eating disorders

Nutrition and health education

- design and evaluation of the outcomes of a health education intervention

- group nutrition education techniques

- individual nutritional counselling techniques

- engagement of the resistant user

Primary prevention strategies

- prevention of overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence: evidence-based programmes, family empowerment, European multi-stakeholder experiences, taste and variety education; the role of school canteens

- prevention of overweight and obesity in pregnant and nursing mothers, promotion of breastfeeding

- prevention of overweight, obesity, chronic degenerative diseases in the workplace;

- senile age: active ageing and prevention of sarcopenia, sarcopenic obesity, malnutrition, cognitive impairment

Principles of community dietetics (general population)

- needs and nutritional tables in community/mass catering (school catering, canteens)

- design of food plans and menus in community/mass catering and for primary prevention purposes

- principles of HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) in community/mass catering

- Management and processing of specifications following national and regional guidelines and applying knowledge of food labels

Group review and feedback


For non-attending students, no additional content is suggested; they can ask their instructor nd the Teachers for support in using the software applications.

Readings/Bibliography

Società Italiana di Nutrizione Umana (SINU). Livelli di Assunzione di Riferimento di Nutrienti ed energia per la popolazione italiana (LARN) revisione 2014. Libro/e-book.

Consiglio per la Ricerca in Agricoltura e l'analisi della Economia agraria (CREA). Dossier Scientifico delle Linee Guida per una sana alimentazione (Edizione 2018)

For exercises and examinations: Convivia - Progeo Medical software licence (available at special rates in agreement for Unibo students;  the software can also be used at a dedicated PC at Aula Informatica)

Further reading (optional):

Public Health Nutrition, 2nd Edition Edited by Judith L. Buttriss (Editor), Ailsa A. Welch (Editor), John M. Kearney (Editor), Susan A. Lanham-New (Editor-in-Chief), 2017 ISBN 978-1-118-66097-3, Wiley-Blackwell (TEXTBOOK MIGHT BE CHANGED -PLEASE WAIT FOR UPDATES BEFORE BUYING)

Nutrition Research Methodologies by Julie A. Lovegrove (Editor), Leanne Hodson (Editor), Sangita Sharma (Editor) ISBN: 978-1-118-55467-8 January 2015 Wiley-Blackwell, Chapters 4,10,12,17

Teaching methods

Module 1, taught by Professor Maria Letizia Petroni, will be held online via Microsoft Teams. Students are strongly encouraged to keep their cameras turned on during class to facilitate active participation and interaction with the instructor and their colleagues. Quick class surveys will be conducted during class.


Module 2, taught by Professor Barbara Ballotta, and related exercises will be conducted in the classroom at the Rimini Campus.


Some of the topics covered will utilize flipped classroom and peer education methodologies, where students, organized into pre-arranged groups, discuss the topics covered in a virtual or physical classroom and develop intervention plans.


For both modules, individual and group exercises are planned—with the support of the classroom tutor—using nutritional software to develop personalized nutritional plans for physiological conditions at different ages, as well as menus for community diets and catering.


This course is closely integrated with the "Diet and Chronic-Degenerative Diseases" course, and some activities may be shared between both courses.


Guided learning visits and bibliographical research will support the student's learning process and help them achieve the course's learning objectives.


Although not mandatory, attendance is strongly recommended given the course's applied focus and the practical activities it involves.


This course is part of the University's educational innovation project.

Assessment methods

To take the exam, an excellent knowledge of food bromatology is required. This is a cross-curricular skill, but it is refined through careful study of the complete LARN document and consultation of bromatological databases.


Furthermore, it is mandatory to complete exercises related to ingestion recording using the food frequency questionnaire and food diary (7-day record), using the methods communicated during the course.


The following tests (mandatory in-person and administered on the same day) assess the knowledge and skills inherent in the curriculum:


- Multiple-choice quizzes on the topics covered and on food nutrient metabolism


- Oral exam, including a discussion of the development of a collective catering project or a nutrition education or nutritional monitoring project.


Non-attending students (i.e. attendance < 70% of lectures and exercises) are also required to develop a nutritional plan to cover the needs of a specific physiological condition. This must be completed within 48 hours, following a guide provided by Professor Petroni. The supplementary test is administered upon registration on Alma Esami; its discussion will take place at the same time as the other two tests.


For attending students, participation in peer education activities will earn up to 2.5 points, which will be added to the final grade.

Teaching tools

The course has a tutor available to support exercises, including recording intake using a food frequency questionnaire and a 7-day food diary, as well as using software for food history analysis and menu design for catering.


Teaching materials (presentations with written text) prepared by the Teachers and available in PDF format, along with other scientific and educational materials, will be made available in the Virtuale environment.


For Module 1, recordings of the virtual classroom lessons with Panopto will be made available (upon request before the start of classes) for students with recognized "student worker" or "student caregiver" status or for students with specific learning disabilities (SLD).


For SLD students, other adaptations for both teaching and assessment are available, to be agreed upon with the instructors and the University services.


The course participates in the University's educational innovation project.

Office hours

See the website of Maria Letizia Petroni

See the website of Barbara Ballotta