LLEK10249U Evidence, Diet and Health

Volume 2025/2026
Education

MSc Programme in Clinical Nutrition
MSc Programme in Human Nutrition

 

Content

The focus of the course is how to assess available evidence for a causal relationship between lifestyle factors and diseases with a main focus on diets, foods, macronutrients and non-communicable diseases such as type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The course will provide the students with teaching in various methodological aspects and exercises and assignments that give them the opportunity to practise their skills and competences in evidence evaluation.

Learning Outcome

The main objective of the course is to provide the students with an understanding of basic methods and concepts in nutritional epidemiology, to enable them to assess available evidence for causal relationships between diet and health.

After completion of the course the students should be able to:

Knowledge:

  • Define epidemiology and causality
  • Describe the epidemiological measures of frequency and association
  • Define and explain the concepts bias, confounding, effect modification, chance, power, validity and generalizability
  • Classify epidemiological study designs, and describe their advantages and limitations in nutritional research


Skills:

  • Demonstrate ability to read and understand results in scientific papers on epidemiological studies 
  • Evaluate strategies for statistical analysis in different types of epidemiological studies
  • Critically assess the validity of studies on diet-health relationships
  • Discuss the evidence for causal relationships between diet and health
  • Make appropiate academic arguments in a discussion of epidemiological evidence 


Competences:

  • Perform evidence evaluations of relationships between dietary components and health
  • Identify gaps in current knowledge and contribute to the planning of epidemiological studies 
  • Make dietary recommendations based on an evaluation of the evidence

All material for the course will be made available at study start on the course’s Absalon page.

Academic qualifications equivalent to a BSc degree are recommended.
Knowledge and skills in nutrition, physiology, biochemistry, and statistics are recommended.
Theoretical lectures and exercise practice. The objective of course assignments is to use of the principles in evaluation of scientific evidence.
  • Category
  • Hours
  • Lectures
  • 16
  • Preparation
  • 70
  • Exercises
  • 52
  • Exam Preparation
  • 20
  • Exam
  • 48
  • Total
  • 206
Continuous feedback during the course of the semester

We provide feedback on all the written assignments mostly in plenum, but also for at least one of the assignments some individual feedback in writing on the content as well the academic writing.

Credit
7,5 ECTS
Type of assessment
Written assignment, 48 hours
Type of assessment details
Description of examination: The student will be given two papers and a number of questions that they have to consider in their answer. They will have 48 hours to complete the task. They are allowed to use all aids incl. papers from the course, their notes, and the internet*. They are also allowed to meet and discuss the exam papers and questions. However, each student must make an individual answer, and thus are not allowed to discuss the specifics (wording, structure etc.) of their written answers nor copy writing from other students. The evaluation will consider skills mainly from the strength of the arguments and an overall evaluation of the answer. The final answer must be uploaded within 48 hours.
Exam registration requirements

Approval of written assignments during the course.

Aid
All aids allowed except Generative AI
Marking scale
7-point grading scale
Censorship form
No external censorship
Internal grading. More assessors.
Exam period

The exam will take place in the 8th week of the block - starting Wednesday at 9 am and submission of answer Friday at 9 am.

Re-exam

If 10 or fewer register for the reexamination the examination form will be oral. The student will be given two papers 48 hours prior to do the oral examination. The oral exam will be 20 min.


The requirements for registration can be fulfilled before re-exam. All assignments must be handed in no later than 3 weeks before reexamination. Assignments must be approved.

Criteria for exam assesment

Please see "Learning Outcome"