ADVANCES IN NUTRITION: BODY WEIGHT REGULATION, DIET AND CARDIOMETABOLIC RISK - 2025/6

Module Overview

This module focuses on the role of energy balance and lipid metabolism in cardio-metabolic disease. Students are taught current evidence-based understanding on the interplay of diet, physical activity and lifestyle in the development prevention and management of metabolic disease.

The module is split into two halves, each half culminating in an applied online examination/test.

Part 1

The module is a continuation of previous modules in their second year but with a clear focus on current and emerging evidence in the field of appetite and energy balance regulation.  This introduces students to some current theories and mechanistic work that is beginning to influence clinical appreciation, particular in relation to body weight regulation (obesity and undernutrition). 

Students are reminded of how adiposity and lipid metabolism is integral to our understanding of what influences cardiometabolic risk (e,g, cardiovascular disease, insulin resistance)

Part 2

Having established a current understanding of the mechanistic basis, the second part explores new and emerging evidence how the interplay between adiposity and risk is influenced and can itself be manipulated/ Similarly how dietary and lifestyle factors influence and mitigate against cardiometabolic risk.  The module also critically appraises current dietary approaches to weight management and metabolic health and explores issues of maintaining a “healthy” weight

Module provider

School of Biosciences

Module Leader

COLLINS Adam (Biosciences)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 6

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 1

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

BMS2039 - Human Nutrition BMS2077 - Nutritional Physiology & Metabolism

Module content

PART 1:

Energy homeostasis – a revision and reexamination

Regulation of appetite and energy intake

Facultative and adaptive energy expenditure.   

Substrate utilization and whole body fuel management

Critical appraisal of the carbohydrate-insulin module (CIM)

Lipids and cardiovascular disease – mechanistic links

Revision and Case studies for part 1

PART 2:

Adipose tissue metabolism & physiology

Adiposity in health and disease

FEEDBACK ON MID-TERM EXAM

Dietary management of lipids and cardiovascular disease risk.

Obesity, weight loss and regain;

Metabolic management of weight

Revision and Case studies for part 2

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

None

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate both knowledge and application

  Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Mid-Term Online exam based on part 1- including data handling and interpretation, relation to theory


• End of Semester online exam based (based on part 2)- including data handling and interpretation, relation to theory

Both the mid-term and the end of semester exam are designed to test students’ application of knowledge ,similar to the in class cast study sessions.  Students will need to interpret data and answer questions that demonstrate understanding of the underlying mechanisms and current evidence signposted in the lectures.

The use of two exams of similar design and format, allows for students to consolidate learning of the first part of the content whilst serves as a foundation for the second part of the module.  The mid-term exam also affords an opportunity to learn from the experience of the exam, and the feedback given, to better prepare for the final end of semester exam.

Formative assessment

This will take place informally during teaching sessions and tutorials, through the use of revision and case study sessions.  In addition, online SAQs and MCQs will also be available throughout the module on all topics to help students self test.  

Feedback

A designated feedback session is timetabled at the start of the second half of the module to go through the mid-term exam paper.  Marks will be released to students within 3 weeks of the mid-term, with the option of 1:1 face-to-face feedback throughout the module prior to the end-of-semester exam. 

Module aims

• Appreciate the mechanisms involved in the regulation of appetite and food intake and the dietary, behavioural, and dietary factors which influence this
  
• Understand the role of energy expenditure and adaptive thermogenesis in the regulation of energy balance. Introducing a range of methods for the estimation of energy expenditure in humans
  
• Understand how whole-body metabolic regulation is influenced by diet, lifestyle and circadian rhythm. And how dietary and lifestyle manipulation can influence metabolic health, including chrononutrition
• Provide focus on the cardiovascular risk associated with the insulin-resistant conditions of obesity and metabolic syndrome in relation to energy, adipose tissue and lipid metabolism
  

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The module is designed to enable students to develop the knowledge, skills and critical thinking to be able to engage with nutrition-related issues concerning excess body weight, obesity and CVD in different contexts.

Sessions are designed to facilitate student interaction and accommodate different experiences, demographics (age, gender, SEC), and cultural backgrounds and to fuel discussions.  Students will learn how and where to access data, evaluate its relevance and apply their knowledge to current problems.

Students will begin to integrate what they have learnt in previous modules with their understanding of current public health issues, at an individual and population level. 
 
The learning and teaching methods include:
 

Recorded lectures; face-to-face seminar/tutorials, which provide a summary of recorded lectures, and allow for wider discussion on the topics covered.  The assessment and tutorials will also cover data handling and problem-solving evaluation of data-based case histories.  All aided by online resources (literature reviews and direct access to relevant supporting literature)

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: BMS3107

Other information

Digital Capabilities:  Skills in using digital resources gained in previous modules (such as using SurreyLearn, literature searching, online learning and presentation tools) are built on during this module.  While a selection of relevant literature (e.g. reviews, original research papers, articles in the social media) will be provided, students are also encouraged to familiarise themselves with searching and retrieving peer-reviewed literature from online databases (e.g. PubMed, Skopus).

Employability: The module provides students with the latest knowledge and understanding of the metabolic inter-relationships between energy balance, body weight and cardiovascular disease (CVD). It also equips students with the ability and skill to critically appraise the evidence for the role of diet and lifestyle factors in promoting and protecting against obesity and CVD. This knowledge and ability have multiple applications in the nutritional and dietetic management of human health and disease by health care professionals in clinical and public health settings in the UK and overseas. 

Global and cultural capabilities: This module explores the epidemiological evidence in support of the relationship between dietary fats and CVD originates from cross-cultural studies performed in countries across the globe. The module also addresses the major differences in the metabolic inter-relationship between body fat composition and risk and endpoints of CVD between ethnic groups (White Caucasians, Afro-Caribbean, South Asian). Knowledge of these differences is of key importance to the management of CVD risk in different cultures.

Resourcefulness and resilience: This module develops behaviors and skills gained in previous modules, particularly BMS2077 and BMS2052.  The application and translation of knowledge to a ‘real-life’ scenario are provided by the evaluation of data-based case studies in the Revision & case study sessions, and especially in both the mid-term and end of semester examinations.   These case studies require students to think critically and independently in interpreting the health/disease risk status of the patient via the analysis of data on body composition, energy balance and blood biochemistry. Students must then develop a risk management strategy which includes a package of appropriate therapeutic diet and lifestyle changes. 

Within the module, as part of formative learning, Students are provided with case study for the Data Handling Workshop well in advance of the live feedback event. Students are expected to attempt a series of questions related to the health/disease risk status and risk management of the patient prior to the live feedback session, to maximise their engagement with, and understanding of the solutions.

Sustainability: The sustainability of food biosystems includes provision of a diet that maintains health and prevents disease. In this respect, the module provides explicit details of all current UK (SACN) and global guidelines for the intake of dietary macronutrients for the maintenance of health and prevention of disease.  It provides the historical background, and underlying evidence for these guidelines, and when appropriate, addresses controversial aspects that may be contrary to evidence-based recommendations.  Broader aspects relevant to sustainability, including food production, processing, distribution, retail, and impact on global resources and the environment, are topics that are addressed throughout the module within the context of dietary macronutrients and metabolic health.

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2025/6 academic year.