Aims

The course aims at bringing the students in contact with the latest scientific knowledge regarding the relationships between food and health. The student is also invited to make an analysis of the measures taken by public authorities and private companies in response to the new food/health relationships that are put forward.
Several types of links between food and health can be studied, either positive (prevention of diseases, maintenance of a good body condition,…) or negative (effect of nutritional imbalance in largely consumed commodities, presence of anti-nutritional factors, chemical contaminants, …).

Main themes

The object of the course BAPA 3011 is an individual analysis of a question dealing with the impact of certain foods or nutrients on the health of the well-being of the consumers. Each student will be invited to choose a scientific paper among a collection of articles selected by the teachers, to broaden his view by an individual bibliographic search, and to present a synthesis of the current knowledge on the topic chosen accompanied by his personal opinion.

Content and teaching methods

The course comprises the selection of a specific question to be explored on the basis of a scientific article chosen in a collection of recent papers prepared by the teachers, the complementary bibliographic search enabling a better understanding of the topic, and the preparation and presentation of a 20 minutes-long speech accompanied by a short written summary in order to summarize the state of the knowledge regarding the selected question, and to stimulate the analysis on the new tendencies of the public and private sectors in terms of links between foods and health.
The topics dealing with the relationships between foods and health are in constant evolution. Therefore, the collection of subjects offered to the students by the group of teachers changes each year as well.

The students have about one month for their individual work. The teachers can be contacted to help the students with some advice during that period. The students present the result of their work to the teachers and other students during open sessions, in order to stimulate the discussion. The evaluation comprises the quality of both the oral presentation and the written summary. There is no additional examination.

Other information (prerequisite, evaluation (assessment methods), course materials recommended readings, ...)

Precursory courses:
Basic courses in biology, physiology, biochemistry and nutrition

Evaluation:
The evaluation comprises the quality of both the oral presentation and the written summary. There is no additional examination.

Support:
Scientific papers offered to and found by the students

Framing: Group of three teachers whose expertise is complementary in terms of nutrition and food science.

Other credits in programs