Subject Code/Name: FOOD20003 Food Chemistry, Biology and NutritionWorkload: 1 x 1hr lecture, 1 x 2hr lecture, 1 x 1hr tutorial
Assessment: 4 x online quizzes (each 5%), 1000 word research essay (20%), 3hr final exam (60%)
Lectopia Enabled: Yes, with screen capture
Past exams available: No. A handful of sample questions were provided to illustrate exam format and question style.
Textbook Recommendation: Understanding Nutrition: Australia & New Zealand edition by Eleanor Whitney
This book was a prescribed textbook when I started this subject, although it has since been taken off the handbook. Not required but helpful for quiz revision (more details in comments below).
Lecturer(s): Dr Ken Ng, Dr Anneline Padayachee
Year & Semester of completion: Semester 1, 2014
Rating: 4 out of 5
Your Mark/Grade: H1
Comments: This was overall quite an enjoyable and practically applicable subject, and to be honest, the easiest I've ever done at this uni. It's hard to believe it's a level 2 subject, and I'd describe it as year 11 biology (difficulty, not content) with a bit of (simple!) first year chemistry.
The
lectures cover the following content (roughly - I tried to remember the best I can, but the order of/amount of time dedicated to each topic might be slightly off or change from year to year):
(KN = Ken Ng, AP = Anneline Padayachee)
*Digestive Physiology (1hr) KN
Carbohydrates (5hr) KN
Lipids (6hr) AP
Proteins (4hr) AP
How to Research (1hr) - guest lecture by Lindy Cochrane in preparation for the 20% essay assignment
*Polyphenols (1hr) AP
*Supplements (1hr) AP
*Water (1hr) AP
*Digestive Health (1hr) AP
Water-soluble Viatmins (3hr) KN
Fat-soluble Vitamins (2hr) KN
Major Minerals (1hr) KN
Trace Minerals (3hr) KN
Student-led questions/exam format (1hr) KN (2hr) AP
Carbohydrates, lipids and proteins cover structure/properties, digestion/absorption, metabolism and relevant health implications (e.g. diabetes, obesity, protein-energy malnutrition). With regards to metabolism, there is no memorisation of complex biochemical pathways or molecules. We just needed to remember some key steps (mainly glucose, pyruvate and acetyl coA) and which nutrients fed into which pathway. Vitamins and minerals cover each specific vitamin/mineral and their roles, recommended intake, deficiency (and toxicity, if applicable) symptoms. Interspersed between these core topics are a number of special topics (marked with asterisks *) which are mainly for interest, and are assessed in the final exam but not in the quizzes.
The
quizzes assess carbs, lipids, proteins and vitamins/minerals, respectively (each quiz is 40 MCQs in 60min) . They are straightforward factual recall, except for a couple of calculation questions in the protein quiz based on dietary intake and calories (if I remember correctly). All the content are taken almost directly out of the textbook. Some details tested are
not explicitly covered in the lectures (although there aren't too many). So I'd recommend at least borrowing a copy to read over while revising for quizzes (if you don't, you'll still do fine, don't worry).
The
tutorials are not compulsory but are good revision and I'd recommend going to them. Our tutor informed us that on average, 70-80% of exam questions were directly taken or adapted from the tutorial questions (although I'm sure this is true most years, it wasn't the case in our year - see below). Powerpoint slides from tutorials are posted on the LMS, but sometimes they tend to be 'skeletons' of the answers which are explained more fully in the actual tutorials. My tutor was lovely and approachable and always welcomed questions. Plus, the 20% essay assignment is marked entirely by the tutors, and they tell us exactly what they expect from us.
The
assignment was a 1000 word research essay on the topic of edible insects (write a proposal arguing that insects should be deliberately added to bread sold in Australia - not for real, of course). Lindy Cochrane and the tutors were quite helpful. This wasn't a particularly difficult assignment overall, but probably the hardest part of this subject, and do be prepared to spend a good amount of time researching if you want to do well.
The
exam this year was 36 multiple choice questions, which is very unusual for this subject. I've been told it's usually a mix of short and long answer questions, so our year was probably easier than usual (hence we didn't get any tutorial-style questions). Our exam, whilst more difficult than the quizzes, was really not too bad as long as you absorbed the lecture contents. There were a few tricky questions, but that is to be expect. Many people finished within an hour.
I gave this subject a 4 instead of 5, because at times it felt like the lecturers were not as well organised as they could have been (e.g. numerous typos on lecture slides and exam) but they were clearly passionate about nutrition, so it was overall enjoyable. I'd recommend this subject to anyone who is interested in nutrition and its health application. If you are entering this subject wanting to do some hardcore biochemistry, this subject is probably not for you (I've heard
BCMB20003 is quite good, though.)