Nutrition for Weight Management

Catalog description

This course explores the various and intricate issues involved in weight management, from dietary, hormonal and environmental factors that influence weight gain/loss, to the manipulation of nutritional strategies employed in eliciting weight changes. The course provides students with an in-depth understanding of health issues associated with being overweight, obese or underweight and examines different approaches - both clinical and dietary, in managing weight, and the role of physical activity in the process. Students will learn how to perform an assessment of a client with regard to weight management, and decide which nutritional strategy to employ based on a client's weight goals (loss or gain) and lifestyle considerations. Different nutritional strategies will be explored including weight management for athletes, sedentary adults, children and individuals with specific health considerations. Students will learn about accepted parameters of health weight loss, healthy weight gain, and how to calculate these parameters to lose body fat and gain lean muscle in a healthy time frame. Additionally, students will investigate the role of nutrition in preventing chronic diseases associated with obesity, and gain experience in performing a client assessment and developing an appropriate weight management intervention program. Prerequisite of EXS 510 is Required