XNB345 Advanced Nutrition Metabolism
To view more information for this unit, select Unit Outline from the list below. Please note the teaching period for which the Unit Outline is relevant.
| Unit code: | XNB345 |
|---|---|
| Prerequisite(s): | XNB251 and XNB252 and XNB255 and LQB481 and (LQB488 or LSB250 or LSB231) |
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Timetable | Details in HiQ, if available |
| Availabilities |
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| CSP student contribution | $1,192 |
| Domestic tuition unit fee | $4,704 |
| International unit fee | $5,784 |
Unit Outline: Semester 1 2026, Kelvin Grove, Internal
| Unit code: | XNB345 |
|---|---|
| Credit points: | 12 |
| Pre-requisite: | XNB251 and XNB252 and XNB255 and LQB481 and (LQB488 or LSB250 or LSB231). |
| Coordinator: | Katherine Hanna | k.hanna@qut.edu.au |
Overview
Food and nutrition contribute to critical problems in health and environmental areas. Addressing these challenges demands understanding food/nutrition as a complex system involving interactions between internal (e.g.microbiome, health status, developmental stage, pharmacology, genetics) and external (e.g. social determinants, food security and sustainability) factors. You will be equipped with knowledge and skills needed to identify, interpret, appraise and apply evolving research in these areas. You will explore roles for nutritionists and dietitians to explain issues and contribute to relevant innovative solutions, including through digital practices and technologies. You will cultivate skills to communicate complex or controversial concepts and ideas to audiences with diverse perspectives. Learning from earlier units is extended to more complex, rapidly evolving concepts. Later units will build on this through applying learning in research and practice.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit you will be able to:
- Critically appraise advanced and rapidly evolving evidence and innovations in food with reference to research.
- Evaluate applications of food innovations to ethically address health and sustainability challenges.
- Collaboratively communicate complex concepts and evidence in food and nutrition research using engaging and innovative approaches to diverse audiences.
- Examine changes to major body systems that interact with nutrition across the life course and in diseased states and explain the impact on indicators used in nutrition assessment, diagnosis, intervention and monitoring.
- Explain concepts relevant to advanced nutrition topics and apply underpinning theory, evidence and data to scenarios involving individuals, groups and populations with the use of digital tools.
Content
This unit covers the following major topics:
- Sustainable food consumption and production patterns
- Novel and non-traditional foods
- Functional foods and nutraceuticals
- Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander foods, food sovereignty and entrepreneurship
- Advanced food technology and food enterprise
- Physiology of the fed and fasted state and metabolic regulation of appetite.
- Pathology indicators for nutrition screening, assessment, diagnosis and monitoring for individuals and populations
- Food, nutrition and pharmacology
- Culinary medicine
- Food, nutrition and complementary and alternative therapies
- Metabolic and physiological changes in selected health conditions and impact on nutrition.
- Evolving and/or advanced nutrition topics, including the microbiome, nutrition and genetics including the genome
- Precision nutrition
- Developmental origins of disease
- Nutrition and ageing
- Advanced and emerging technologies and digital practice in nutrition and dietetics
- Advanced food and nutrition communication to a broad range of audiences including those with diverse perspectives
Learning Approaches
The unit will be delivered using a combination of online learning modules, tutorials and workshops. A variety of resources including journal articles, websites and videos will be used to expand on learning and capture the dynamic nature of much of the content. Content from online learning modules and readings will be applied and consolidated in tutorials and workshops which will include case studies, problem solving exercises and discussions. Food laboratory activities will enable application of learning on advanced food topics. The learning approaches used will extend beyond theoretical knowledge and allow you to develop both critical evaluation and practical application skills around food and nutrition.
Feedback on Learning and Assessment
You will be provided formative feedback on your draft literature review early in the semester. Formative online quizzes will provide an opportunity for you to gauge your understanding of the content. Activities in class will also provide opportunity for receiving academic feedback on key learning needed to complete summative assessments. Summative feedback will be provided on Canvas with written and verbal recorded comments.
Assessment
Overview
Assignment information included on Canvas provides detailed criteria and tasks for completion of the assignment which you can check your work against to ensure all aspects are completed. Formative assessment in the form of case studies will identify areas needing improvement prior to the completion of the final assessment.
In this unit, the items (artefacts) you create in Assessment 3, will also be added to your whole of course Leadership in Nutrition Practice ePortfolio, to showcase your excellence as a culturally safe, evidenced based, entrepreneurial practitioner in nutrition.
Unit Grading Scheme
7- point scale
Assessment Tasks
Assessment: Evidence informed analysis of contemporary food and nutrition innovations.
You will critically appraise the current evidence and evaluate any ethical implications in the development and application of selected food innovations relevant to health and sustainability. You will submit a matrix table of evidence that summarises your key findings for formative feedback early in the semester.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details page for specific guidelines.
Assessment: Accessible evidence for everyone: translating nutrition science for impact
Using the information in your assessment 1 literature review, as a team you will discuss your work and together, translate the evidence on the topic to a presentation for a specified audience using innovative and inclusive communication strategies. You will prepare a one page audience summary and a rationale for their communication choices and how it was ensured that the message was inclusive and engaging. This is an authentic assessment because you will create your presentation for a specified audience and use communication strategies that dietitians and nutritionists apply in real settings.
The audience summary and rationale component is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details page for specific guidelines.
Assessment: Examining and explaining nutrition pathways for practice and people
You will compile a collection of work evidencing your progress in advanced topics relevant to nutrition and disease. You will develop resources requiring interpretation of data and application of concepts, including rapidly evolving topics, to individual and group scenarios. You will identify and refine an analogy to explain scientific concepts for a non-professional audience and use a range of digital practices and technologies, including generative AI to prepare the components of the portfolio.
This assignment is eligible for the 48-hour late submission period and assignment extensions.
The ethical and responsible use of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools is authorised in this assessment. See the relevant assessment details page for specific guidelines.
Academic Integrity
Academic integrity is a commitment to undertaking academic work and assessment in a manner that is ethical, fair, honest, respectful and accountable.
The Academic Integrity Policy sets out the range of conduct that can be a failure to maintain the standards of academic integrity. This includes, cheating in exams, plagiarism, self-plagiarism, collusion and contract cheating. It also includes providing fraudulent or altered documentation in support of an academic concession application, for example an assignment extension or a deferred exam.
You are encouraged to make use of QUT’s learning support services, resources and tools to assure the academic integrity of your assessment. This includes the use of text matching software that may be available to assist with self-assessing your academic integrity as part of the assessment submission process.
Breaching QUT’s Academic Integrity Policy or engaging in conduct that may defeat or compromise the purpose of assessment can lead to a finding of student misconduct (Code of Conduct – Student) and result in the imposition of penalties under the Management of Student Misconduct Policy, ranging from a grade reduction to exclusion from QUT.
Resources
Study materials, mainly from the scientific literature, will be provided to students via QUT Readings.
Risk Assessment Statement
This unit will involve workshop classes that will be held in a food laboratory area. You are required to attend induction and read the laboratory safety manual and sign the form indicating that you have read and understood the material contained in the manual. You are required to wear the prescribed safety and hygiene clothing at all lab-based sessions. For the purposes of this requirement, you must wear safe flat, closed in footwear, a long-sleeved chef's jacket, and protective headwear as a hair net. Hair nets will be provided in class.
Course Learning Outcomes
This unit is designed to support your development of the following course/study area learning outcomes.XN43 Bachelor of Nutrition Science
- Apply broad theoretical, technical and cultural knowledge and skills in food and nutrition, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, to respond to a diverse range of contexts and audiences.
Relates to: Evidence informed analysis of contemporary food and nutrition innovations., Accessible evidence for everyone: translating nutrition science for impact, Examining and explaining nutrition pathways for practice and people - Analyse and apply evidence-based research and practice to provide informed, client-centred, and sustainable solutions to sometimes complex current and emerging food and nutrition problems.
Relates to: Evidence informed analysis of contemporary food and nutrition innovations., Accessible evidence for everyone: translating nutrition science for impact, Examining and explaining nutrition pathways for practice and people - Communicate and translate technical food and nutrition information clearly, safely and inclusively using a range of oral, written and digital technologies and formats responsive to the diverse cultural, social and cognitive needs of the intended audience, communities and other professionals
Relates to: Evidence informed analysis of contemporary food and nutrition innovations., Accessible evidence for everyone: translating nutrition science for impact, Examining and explaining nutrition pathways for practice and people - Perform as an inclusive, competent, culturally responsive and ethical professional, working autonomously and collaboratively on innovative and entrepreneurial approaches in food and nutrition.
Relates to: Accessible evidence for everyone: translating nutrition science for impact, Examining and explaining nutrition pathways for practice and people
XN45 Bachelor of Nutrition and Dietetics (Honours)
- Apply advanced theoretical, technical and cultural knowledge and skills in food, nutrition and dietetics, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives, tailored to respond to a diverse range of contexts and audiences.
Relates to: Evidence informed analysis of contemporary food and nutrition innovations., Accessible evidence for everyone: translating nutrition science for impact, Examining and explaining nutrition pathways for practice and people - Critically analyse and apply evidence-based research and practice to generate informed, client-centred and sustainable solutions to complex current and emerging food, nutrition and dietetic problems.
Relates to: Evidence informed analysis of contemporary food and nutrition innovations., Accessible evidence for everyone: translating nutrition science for impact, Examining and explaining nutrition pathways for practice and people - Communicate and translate complex food and nutrition information effectively, safely and inclusively using a range of oral, written and digital technologies and formats, responsive to the diverse cultural, social and cognitive needs of clients, interdisciplinary teams, stakeholders and the broader community.
Relates to: Evidence informed analysis of contemporary food and nutrition innovations., Accessible evidence for everyone: translating nutrition science for impact, Examining and explaining nutrition pathways for practice and people - Enact inclusive, clinically adept and culturally responsive client-centred practice as a reflective, accountable and ethical professional, working autonomously and collaboratively to manage and lead innovative and entrepreneurial advances in food, nutrition and dietetics.
Relates to: Accessible evidence for everyone: translating nutrition science for impact, Examining and explaining nutrition pathways for practice and people - Conduct research with some independence that challenges, advances, builds capacity and assures quality in food, nutrition and dietetic practice, disseminating findings with individuals, interdisciplinary teams, stakeholders and communities.
Relates to: Evidence informed analysis of contemporary food and nutrition innovations., Accessible evidence for everyone: translating nutrition science for impact, Examining and explaining nutrition pathways for practice and people