Lifestyle Medicine (Obesity) MSc

This engaging module delves into the global obesity epidemic, equipping students with a comprehensive understanding of the causes, consequences, and challenges of obesity and weight management. You will explore national and international obesity trends in both children and adults, analysing the dietary, physical activity, economic, and social factors driving this public health crisis. The module also examines the serious health implications of obesity at both individual and population levels, highlighting its impact on chronic diseases and healthcare systems. A key focus is on developing critical evaluation skills, enabling students to assess prevention and intervention strategies aimed at tackling obesity. By the end of this module, you will be able to interpret obesity-related research, contribute to evidence-based discussions, and apply knowledge to real-world public health initiatives, preparing you for careers in nutrition, healthcare, and policy development.

This module dives into the critical connections between nutrition and health, exploring how diet shapes the risk and prevention of chronic diseases like cardiovascular disease, cancer, and diabetes. You’ll investigate nutritional epidemiology and public health, examining how food choices and eating behaviours differ across populations. The role of scientific advisory committees and regulatory agencies will be unpacked, revealing how policies influence what we eat. Most importantly, this module equips you with the skills to analyse and apply evidence-based dietary strategies to improve health outcomes. By understanding healthy eating recommendations and the science behind them, you’ll be prepared to navigate emerging nutrition challenges and contribute to public health initiatives. Whether you aim to work in healthcare, policy making, or nutrition research, this module provides essential expertise for making a real-world impact on diet-related health issues.

Module Content:

1. Emerging concerns in nutrition and health
2. Dietary factors in the aetiology and prevention of chronic diseases (eg. cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes).
3. Nutritional epidemiology and public health.
4. Nutrition needs of different groups, including eating behaviour and food choice.
5. Role of scientific advisory committees and regulatory agencies.
6. Healthy eating recommendations for the general public.

This module equips you with essential skills in nutritional and anthropometric assessment, teaching you how to evaluate a client’s dietary needs using research-backed methods and best-practice guidelines. You’ll master dietary assessment techniques, from gathering and interpreting dietary information to analysing the complex relationship between diet, health, and disease. Hands-on experience with dietary analysis software and biochemical assessments will sharpen your ability to assess nutritional status with precision. Additionally, you’ll explore nutritional anthropometry, learning how to measure weight, height, BMI, muscle mass, and body fat, while understanding their uses and limitations. Key screening tools like the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST) will prepare you to identify and address nutritional risks effectively. This module is vital for those pursuing careers in nutrition, healthcare, and public health, ensuring you develop the analytical and practical skills needed to assess and improve nutritional health in diverse populations.

Module content:

1. Dietary Assessment
• Obtaining and interpreting dietary information to assess nutritional/health status
• Obtaining and interpreting information about the interaction of diet, health and disease
• Use of dietary analysis software
• Biochemical assessment of nutritional status
2. Nutritional anthropometry. Uses and limitations of:
• Weight
• Height and Proxy measures for height etc.
• Indices e.g. Body Mass Index (BMI)
• Circumferences e.g. mid-upper arm circumference (MUAC)
• Estimation of muscle
• Skinfolds and the assessment of body fat
• Screening tools using anthropometry e.g. Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST)

This module provides a comprehensive understanding of clinical exercise testing and prescription, equipping you with the skills to assess and design exercise programs for health and disease prevention. You’ll explore the role of exercise in cardiovascular health, learning essential pre-exercise screening and risk stratification methods. Through both lab-based and field-based assessments, including cardio-pulmonary and submaximal fitness tests, you’ll gain hands-on experience in evaluating functional capacity. A key focus is on analysing exercise and respiratory responses to inform safe and effective exercise prescriptions, factoring in heart rate, perceived exertion (RPE), and cardiovascular medications. Practical skills in aerobic fitness testing, such as Step, Cycle, and Shuttle Walk Tests, will prepare you for real-world clinical settings. By the end of the module, you’ll have the expertise to develop tailored exercise programs, ensuring safety and maximising health benefits for individuals across various fitness and medical conditions.

This module provides a comprehensive foundation in research methods and data analysis, equipping you with the skills to design, conduct, and interpret scientific research. You’ll explore different research types—analytical, descriptive, experimental, and qualitative—while mastering key concepts like hypotheses, variables, sampling, and measurement reliability. Learn how to collect and analyse data effectively, from experimental designs and surveys to case studies and qualitative research techniques. A strong emphasis on ethical research practices ensures you understand the responsibilities of scientific inquiry. You’ll also gain hands-on experience with SPSS software, learning to establish databases, transform variables, and apply statistical tests like ANOVA, t-tests, and chi-square analyses. By the end of the module, you’ll be able to critically evaluate research, apply statistical techniques, and use data-driven insights to inform decision-making—essential skills for careers in academia, healthcare, and scientific research.

This module provides an opportunity to conduct independent research, allowing you to contribute to the growing body of knowledge in your field of study. Working closely with a supervisor and research coordinator, you will design and execute a research project that aligns with your academic discipline. This involves identifying a research question, reviewing existing literature, selecting appropriate methodologies, and analysing data to generate meaningful insights. Through this process, you’ll develop critical thinking, problem-solving, and research skills, essential for academic and professional success. The module emphasises independent inquiry and evidence-based analysis, preparing you to engage with real-world challenges in your chosen field. By the end, you’ll have completed a rigorous, well-structured research project, demonstrating your ability to contribute valuable findings to your discipline—an essential competency for further study, professional research, or industry application.

This module delves into the sociological and psychological influences on nutrition and health behaviours, equipping you with essential skills for public health nutrition and dietetics. You’ll explore key psychological theories, including social cognition models, motivation, and personality factors, to understand how people make food choices. A strong focus is placed on behaviour change strategies, such as motivational interviewing, cognitive-behavioural techniques, and health promotion methods, which are critical for improving dietary habits and public health outcomes. The sociology of food and eating is also examined, covering cultural, religious, and socio-economic factors that shape nutrition patterns. Additionally, you’ll gain insights into public health policy, health inequalities, and population-level intervention strategies in areas like smoking, alcohol, and physical activity. By the end of this module, you’ll be able to analyse behavioural and social factors influencing nutrition and apply this knowledge to health improvement initiatives both in the UK and internationally.

Content includes:

• Review of psychological and sociological contributions to health and lifestyle (CC3c)
• Introduction to health psychology, specifically examining factors that affect health behaviours (social cognition models of health, personality factors, motivation, interpersonal communication and group dynamics) (CC3c)
• Historical principles of behavioural change and the modern development of health promotion and health education strategies
• Practical skills in behavioural change including counselling skills, motivational interviewing, cognitive behavioural techniques, health promotion, and health education
• Psychology of eating behaviour in both normal and disordered eating.
• Human body functions relating for example energy unbalance, impact of physical activity, disease, control of appetite and consequences of deficiency. (CC1a, CC1e, CC1i)
• Socio-cultural factors related to food and eating. Introduction to the sociology of food and eating; symbolic factors of food and consumption, food as a value system, religious and cultural roles in society (CC3d). Non-material factors affecting food choice and its interaction with lifestyle patterns (CC3c, CC3e)
• Impact of class, ethnicity, income level and social expectation in food choice (CC3c, CC3e). Modifying effects of household composition, gender, socio-cultural expectation and ethnicity
• Overview of public health, health inequalities, nutrition and health policy and programme planning for populations (including smoking, alcohol and physical activity)