Causes of Human Disease: Nutrition and Environment
About Course
University of LeedsDescription
Explore how nutrition and environmental factors influence our health.
On this course you’ll look at the importance of nutrition in human health and explore what happens to the body when it doesn’t receive the right nutrients. You will focus on malnutrition and obesity and how these contribute to the development of diseases, such as diabetes. Using research from the University of Leeds, you’ll learn how food can lead to ill health by carrying pathogens that cause food poisoning, or toxins linked with diseases such as cancer. You’ll then investigate environmental factors, including air pollution and its contribution to cardiovascular diseases.
Who developed the course?
University of Leeds
As one of the UK’s largest research-based universities, the University of Leeds is a member of the prestigious Russell Group and a centre of excellence for teaching.
What Will I Learn?
- Explore how poor nutrition and diet contributes to malnutrition and disease.
- Report on the nutritional and protective qualities of specific diets.
- Investigate toxins present in food and how they contribute to human disease.
- Describe how waterborne chemical toxins can have an adverse effect on health.
- Reflect on how air pollution can contribute to the risk of cardiovascular disease.
Topics for this course
18 Lessons26h
Welcome
This course explores how a range of factors can influence disease risk. You will learn about how nutrition is linked with human diseases and look at the relationship between environmental factors and disease.
Introduction from Caroline VIDEO (01:58)00:00:00
Malnutrition and disease
In this activity, you explore how poor nutrition contributes to malnutrition and increases susceptibility to disease.
Obesity and disease
This activity defines obesity. It describes its presentation, causes and how it can be assessed.
Food safety and disease
This activity identifies the toxins present in food and explores how these contribute to human disease.
Revision
This revision activity is optional and is designed for those signed up for the Causes of Human Diseases program.
Summary
To close this week of the course, you will have the opportunity to reflect on the week and explore the Glossary.