Competencies and objectives

Provisional information. Pending approval by the Department Council.

 

Course context for academic year 2026-27

Nutritional Epidemiology constitutes one of the most relevant disciplines for the future dietitian-nutritionist, as it provides the necessary tools to analyze food intake and diet quality at the population level. This discipline makes it possible to evaluate the health status of human groups in relation to their body composition and other indicators of nutritional status.

Through descriptive studies, students learn to identify the distribution of lifestyle habits, food consumption, and physical activity according to sociodemographic variables. This analysis is fundamental for carrying out precise health diagnoses at the European, national, and local levels.

On the other hand, analytical studies make it possible to establish scientific associations between dietary exposure factors and the development of prevalent diseases. In this process, statistical techniques are applied to assess the validity of the results, integrating the principles of Evidence-Based Nutrition and the gender perspective in research.

Finally, the course equips students to determine the scientific evidence of nutrition-related problems to be addressed in public health. Its purpose is to provide rigorous technical information to support healthcare planning, the design of intervention programs, and decision-making in the field of Public Nutrition, ensuring that the proposed actions respond to the real needs of the population. Likewise, mastery of scientific evidence helps the professional provide a rigorous foundation for treatment in clinical consultations with patients and to personalize health and performance interventions in areas such as sports nutrition.

 

 

Learning outcomes / Course competencies (verified by ANECA in official undergraduate and Master’s degrees) for academic year 2026-27

Specific Competences (CE)

  • E12 : Communicate effectively, know how to use information and communication technologies, especially those associated with nutrition and habits.
  • E13 : Understand, evaluate critically and know how to use sources of information related to nutrition, diet, lifestyles and health care factors.
  • E14 : Capacity to write reports and complete records involved in the professional work of a Dietetist-Nutritionist.
  • E15 : Understand the essential elements of the profession of a Dietetist-Nutritionist and carry out one's profession respecting other health care professionals.
  • E29 : Develop the profession from a patient/user/client focused approach.

 

Specific transversal competences of the degree course :>>Foreign language proficiency

  • CT1 : Read and understand texts in a foreign language.

 

Specific transversal competences of the degree course :>>IT and information competences

  • CT2 : Show computer and information system skills and abilities.

 

Specific transversal competences of the degree course:>>Oral and written communication competences

  • CT3 : Show oral and written communication skills.

 

General Competences of the Degree Course (CG):>>Public health and community nutrition module

  • 52 : Understand national and international health care systems, as well as health care policies.
  • 53 : Participate in the analysis, planning, intervention and evaluation of epidemiological studies and diet and nutrition intervention programmes in different areas
  • 54 : Design and carry out nutritional assessments to identify the diet and nutrition needs of the population, as well as identifying the determining factors of nutritional health.
  • 55 : Design, intervene in and implement diet-nutrition education and diet-nutrition training programmes.
  • 56 : Collaborate with planning diet-nutrition policies for dietary-nutritional education of the general public.
  • 57 : Acquire the capacity to take part in promotion, prevention and protection programmes focused on the community and public health.

 

 

 

Learning outcomes (Training objectives)

No data

 

 

Specific objectives stated by the academic staff for academic year 2026-27

Theoretical Objectives

  1. Define the concept and areas of action of epidemiology and nutritional epidemiology.
  2. Describe the basic types of epidemiological designs and indicate their correct applicability in the nutritional field.
  3. Critically assess the validity of the results of nutrition-related epidemiological studies, integrating scientific evidence.
  4. Apply and interpret dietary assessment methods and indicate the appropriate methodology for exploring relationships between diet and health status.
  5. Describe dietary patterns using primary sources of nutritional information.
  6. Identify the determinants of nutritional health, including social and political factors, and their impact on the most frequent diet-related diseases.
  7. Develop skills in planning epidemiological studies to support decision-making in intervention programs and food and nutrition policies.

Practical Objectives

  1. Acquire skills in calculating measures of frequency and association through problem-based cases.
  2. Apply practical tools for population-level nutritional assessment in primary studies.
  3. Train in the coding, analysis, and interpretation of data from population consumption surveys.
  4. Identify biases and errors in studies assessing nutritional status (food consumption and anthropometry).
  5. Train in the validation processes of questionnaires used to evaluate food consumption.
  6. Create technical-scientific reports for the dissemination of results using ICT (Information and Communication Technologies) effectively.
  7. Analyze the implications of epidemiological studies in the design of public health promotion, prevention, and protection projects.

 

 

General

Code: 27528
Lecturer responsible:
Giménez Monzó, Daniel
Credits ECTS: 6,00
Theoretical credits: 1,40
Practical credits: 1,00
Distance-base hours: 3,60

Departments involved

  • Dept: Community Nursing, Preventive Medicine & Public Health and History of Science
    Area: Preventative Medicine and Public Health
    Theoretical credits: 1,4
    Practical credits: 1
    This Dept. is responsible for the course.
    This Dept. is responsible for the final mark record.

Study programmes where this course is taught