Module Information
Course Delivery
Assessment
| Assessment Type | Assessment length / details | Proportion |
|---|---|---|
| Semester Assessment | Dietary Analysis Report | 60% |
| Semester Exam | 2 Hours | 40% |
| Supplementary Assessment | Report | 60% |
| Supplementary Exam | 2 Hours Students must take elements of assessment equivalent to those that led to failure of the module | 40% |
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this module students should be able to:
Critically interpret dietary analysis data.
Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of energy supply and demand during exercise of differing intensities and durations.
Evaluate the impact of dietary manipulations on sports/exercise performance.
Demonstrate the ability to place knowledge into practical situations with the exercise of good judgement.
Brief description
Proper nutrition is an essential aspect of sports and exercise performance as it provides energy for mechanical work and essential nutrients for the synthesis and maintenace of tissues. Improper nutrition can lead to diminished sports performance and health-related problems. This module explores relevant nutritional theory and the application to practical situations in sport and exercise. Students will consider the effect of altering nutritional intakes (e.g. through dietary manipulation and/or supplementation). Particular emphasis will be placed on energy intake, dietary composition and the proportion of energy intake obtained from each of the macronutrients, water balance, and nutritional supplementation. Practical activities will include a full weighed dietary analysis; water balance during exercise in hot environments; and the effects of ergogenic aids and manipulating carbohydrate availability on performance.
Aims
Nutrition can have a major impact on physical performance in sport and exercise. The role of nutrition (acute and chronic) needs to be properly understood to synthesise appropriate advice and recommendations for maximising sport or exercise performance. This module will allow students to study nutrition, as it applies to sport and exercise, at an advanced level. In this module students will explore relevant nutritional theory, drawing on the primary research literatue and evidence, in the application to practical situations in sport and exercise. In this way students will develop an advanced knowledge along with critical evaluation skills.
Content
The module will cover material at an advanced level. Indicative content includes topics such as dietary survey methods, glycaemic responses to carbohydrate ingestion and implications to sport and exercise performance, energetics with respect to demand and supply of energy nutrients under different exercise 'loads', and application to practical situations in sport and exercise.
Module Skills
| Skills Type | Skills details |
|---|---|
| Application of Number | An integral part of the dietary analysis process and data analysis as described above. |
| Communication | Written communication is required in the examination and CW report. Communication and team work skills are required in the practical classes, although this component is not assessed. |
| Improving own Learning and Performance | Using practical classes and results from experiments to improve own learning and develop understanding. Students will be given opportunities to improve and develop learning and understanding in lectures, seminars and tutorials. |
| Information Technology | Students will be required to use a computer software package to perform dietary analysis for the CW assignment. Results obtained in the practical classes must be presented in appropriate format using a spreadsheet package (i.e. Microsoft Excel) and appropriate data analysis will be required using a computer stats package (i.e. SPSS). |
| Personal Development and Career planning | N/A |
| Problem solving | Evaluate information, critical analysis of scientific literature/evidence. Dietary analysis and application to practical situations in sport and exercise. |
| Research skills | Finding and evaluating scientific information. Critiquing scientific literature/research studies will be included in lectures.Experimental/laboratory research skills will also be developed in the practical classes but this will not be formally assessed. However, this will develop students learning and students should be able to apply knowledge gained from the practicals (experiments) in their exam and CW report. |
| Subject Specific Skills | Use of laboratory equipment relevant to sport and exercise science, although this is not assessed. The use of dietary analysis software which is specific to sport and exercise nutrition, which is assessed. |
| Team work | Team work skills are required in the practical classes, although this component is not assessed. |
Notes
This module is at CQFW Level 6