Availabilities:
Unit Summary
Unit type
UG Coursework Unit
Credit points
12
AQF level
Level of learning
Advanced
Former School/College
Unit aim
Builds on the knowledge gained in human physiology, physiological pathology as well as in the nutrition units to gain a deeper understanding of human physiology as it relates to nutrient requirements, intake, assimilation and utilisation in health and disease.
Unit content
Overview, revision and extension of knowledge of all physiological systems with emphasis on absorption and elimination
- The digestive process in health and disease
- The absorptive process in health and disease
- Elimination of waste products
Metabolism of nutrients
- Absorption pathways of nutrients, including across the blood-brain barrier
- Nutrient metabolism in the liver
- Fluid regulation
- Tissue pH regulation
Energy production and balance
- The adipocyte as an endocrine organ
- Hunger, appetite and satiety
- Fasting versus starvation
- Under-nutrition and anorexia
Nutrigenetics/Nutrigenomics
- Gene organisation, regulation, expression and damage
- Polymorphisms
Impact of nutrition on physiological systems
- Over-nutrition and obesity/insulin resistance
- Drug-nutrient interactions
- Endocrine, hepato-biliary, gastrointestinal and urinary systems
Learning outcomes
Unit Learning Outcomes express learning achievement in terms of what a student should know, understand and be able to do on completion of a unit. These outcomes are aligned with the graduate attributes. The unit learning outcomes and graduate attributes are also the basis of evaluating prior learning.
| On completion of this unit, students should be able to: | GA1 | GA2 | GA3 | GA4 | GA5 | GA6 | GA7 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | review the physiological processes that govern digestion, absorption, assimilation and utilisation of nutrients and elimination of waste products in a healthy body and interpret them in the context of inadequate nutrient supply, common pathological conditions of the gastrointestinal tract and drug-nutrient interactions. | |||||||
| 2 | discuss nutritional factors that influence the physiology of each body system and examine the utilisation, balance and/or storage of nutrients in body fluids and the liver. | |||||||
| 3 | critically discuss energy production and balance, hunger and satiety regulation and the physiological changes occurring in relation to nutrient intake and utilisation in fasting starvation, anorexia and obesity. | |||||||
| 4 | correlate type and quality of nutrient intake and utilisation to digestive and absorptive capacity, pH balance of body fluids (esp. blood, urine), the endocrine system and health outcomes. | |||||||
| 5 | explain the effects of polymorphisms in regard to metabolic and physiologic function regarding nutrient demands, the ability to digest and absorb food and susceptibility to various diseases. | |||||||
| 6 | observe, record, assess and discuss physiological and pathophysiological data using case studies. | |||||||
On completion of this unit, students should be able to:
-
review the physiological processes that govern digestion, absorption, assimilation and utilisation of nutrients and elimination of waste products in a healthy body and interpret them in the context of inadequate nutrient supply, common pathological conditions of the gastrointestinal tract and drug-nutrient interactions.
- GA1:
- GA4:
-
discuss nutritional factors that influence the physiology of each body system and examine the utilisation, balance and/or storage of nutrients in body fluids and the liver.
- GA1:
- GA4:
-
critically discuss energy production and balance, hunger and satiety regulation and the physiological changes occurring in relation to nutrient intake and utilisation in fasting starvation, anorexia and obesity.
- GA1:
- GA4:
-
correlate type and quality of nutrient intake and utilisation to digestive and absorptive capacity, pH balance of body fluids (esp. blood, urine), the endocrine system and health outcomes.
- GA1:
- GA4:
-
explain the effects of polymorphisms in regard to metabolic and physiologic function regarding nutrient demands, the ability to digest and absorb food and susceptibility to various diseases.
- GA1:
- GA4:
-
observe, record, assess and discuss physiological and pathophysiological data using case studies.
- GA1:
- GA2:
- GA4:
Prescribed texts
- 615.854 NUTR: Nelms, M, Sucher, KP, Lacey, K & Roth, SL, 2011, Nutrition Therapy and Pathophysiology, 2nd edn, Wadsworth: Cengage Learning , Belmont, CA. ISBN: 9781439049624.