Essentials of Nutrition

Is this course right for me?

Nutrition is a science-based discipline and as such is an ever evolving field of study continuously updated in response to the latest research, studies, and clinical trials. As it is presented, this course is condensed into seven lessons that are collectively designed to provide students with a foundational overview of the fundamental aspects of nutrition, substantiate material with scientific evidence, and identify how one can implement nutritional knowledge into his or her own life in order to optimize health and prevent disease. Interactives, external websites, and references are linked to throughout each lesson of the course for your educational benefit. Utilizing these tools will assist students in fostering an understanding and grasp of the concepts presented.

 *An Introduction to Nutrition can be viewed in its entirety on the publisher's webpage. 

This course content is licensed under a Creative Commons by-nc-sa 3.0 license. This content has been accessible since December 29, 2012, and it was downloaded then by Andy Schmitz in an effort to preserve the availability of this book. More information is available on this project's attribution page.

Course Goals/Objectives

• Overview nutrition as an evidence-based science
• Explore the concepts of health, wellness, and disease by explaining the terms nutrition, health, health promotion, and disease prevention
• Introduce the different types of nutrients and their corresponding functions
• Explain the role that health factors (genetics, environment, lifestyle, etc.) play in health status
• Assess personal health
• Analyze why nutrition is important to overall health
• Define the components of a healthy diet
• Discuss recommendations for optimal health
• Learn how to evaluate the nutrition facts panel to discover the nutritional information of food
• Discover accurate portion sizes and learn to judge food adequately
• Define and calculate body mass index
• Identify factors that affect body fat composition and distribution
• Estimate daily energy requirements and explain factors that affect basal metabolic rate
• Outline the complementary benefits of positive dietary changes and increased physical activity
• Define fitness and discuss the essential elements of physical fitness
• Identify the physical, mental, and emotional benefits of physical activity
• Discuss the roles of nutrition and lifestyle choices in the prevention and management of chronic diseases.

IMPORTANT: Drive's Essentials of Nutrition course is a condensed version of a full-length course titled An Introduction to Nutrition. These seven individual lessons have been intentionally selected for the purposes of training and education. In order to proceed through the course, click on each individual lesson link below and review the corresponding lesson material. When you reach the end of the lesson, click the "I'm Done" button at the top of the screen to navigate back to course menu (as seen on this page) and then proceed to the next lesson. Note: A chapter navigation menu may appear at the top of some lessons, but this menu WILL NOT direct you to any of the other lessons designed for this course.