Causes of Human Disease: Nutrition and Environment

Causes of Human Disease: Nutrition and Environment is organized by FutureLearn.

Description:
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.

What will you achieve?:
By the end of the course, you'll be able to...
• 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.