Human Nutrition

Course Description

HUN1201 – Human Nutrition is a 3-credit lecture course that introduces the science of human nutrition: the role of carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins, minerals, and water in human health; how the human body digests, absorbs, transports, and metabolizes nutrients; the relationship between diet and disease; and how to evaluate nutritional information and dietary choices critically. The course is designed both as a foundational science course for students entering nursing, allied health, dietetics, exercise science, and pre-health programs, and as a general-education science elective accessible to all students.

The course sits within the Florida Statewide Course Numbering System (SCNS) under Health Sciences > Human Nutrition and is offered at approximately 27 Florida public institutions. HUN1201 connects nutrition science with allied disciplines including basic chemistry, organic chemistry, biochemistry, anatomy, and physiology. Most Florida nursing, dental hygiene, and allied health programs require HUN1201 as a prerequisite or co-requisite. The course is typically lecture-only (no integrated laboratory) and is offered widely in face-to-face, hybrid, and fully online formats.

Course titles vary across Florida: "Human Nutrition" (Broward, FSCJ), "Essentials of Human Nutrition" (MDC), and "Science of Nutrition" (FSU) all refer to the same SCNS course.

Learning Outcomes

Required Outcomes

Upon successful completion of HUN1201, students will be able to:

• Identify and classify the essential nutrients required for human health and describe the function of each.
• Apply the Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs), including RDAs, AIs, ULs, and EARs, to evaluate nutrient adequacy for individuals across the life cycle.
• Describe the structure, digestion, absorption, transport, and metabolism of carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids.
• Describe the functions, food sources, and recommended intakes of major and trace minerals (calcium, iron, zinc, sodium, potassium, etc.) and fat-soluble and water-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K, B-complex, C).
• Explain the role of water and electrolyte balance in human physiology.
• Apply energy balance concepts: the components of energy expenditure (BMR, thermic effect of food, physical activity); body composition; healthy weight management.
• Describe nutrition across the life cycle: pregnancy and lactation, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and older adulthood.
• Use credible federal nutrition guidance (the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, MyPlate, the Nutrition Facts label) to plan and evaluate diets.
• Critically evaluate nutrition information from various sources, distinguishing peer-reviewed science from misinformation, marketing, and pseudoscience.
• Conduct a basic diet analysis using software tools (MyFitnessPal, Cronometer, MyDietAnalysis, USDA SuperTracker successors) and interpret the results.
• Describe major diet-related diseases — obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, osteoporosis — and the role of dietary modification in prevention and management.

Optional Outcomes

Depending on instructor specialty and institutional emphasis, students may also:

• Investigate sports nutrition: nutrient timing, supplementation, hydration for athletic performance.
• Examine cultural and global nutrition: food systems, food security, dietary patterns across cultures.
• Apply nutrition counseling at an introductory level (relevant for nursing and allied-health pathways).
• Examine vegetarian, vegan, and other dietary patterns and their nutritional implications.
• Investigate food safety and the microbiome, including foodborne illness, food preservation, and gut health.
• Engage with contemporary nutrition controversies: dietary fats, sugar, artificial sweeteners, supplements, fad diets.

Major Topics

Required Topics

• Foundations of Nutrition Science: What nutrition is; nutrients and non-nutrients; the scientific method in nutrition research; types of evidence and study design.
• Federal Guidance and Dietary Tools: The Dietary Reference Intakes (DRIs); the Dietary Guidelines for Americans; MyPlate; the Nutrition Facts label.
• The Human Digestive System: Anatomy and physiology of digestion, absorption, and elimination; the role of accessory organs (liver, pancreas).
• Carbohydrates: Simple and complex carbohydrates; fiber; carbohydrate digestion, absorption, and metabolism; glucose homeostasis; the glycemic index; sugar and health.
• Lipids: Fatty acids (saturated, unsaturated, trans); triglycerides, phospholipids, and sterols; lipid digestion, absorption, and transport (lipoproteins); cholesterol and cardiovascular health.
• Proteins: Amino acids (essential and non-essential); protein structure and function; protein digestion and absorption; protein quality; recommendations for protein intake; vegetarian and vegan considerations.
• Energy Balance and Body Composition: Components of energy expenditure; calculating energy needs; methods of body composition assessment; healthy weight management; obesity as a public health issue.
• Vitamins: Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, K) — functions, food sources, deficiency and toxicity; water-soluble vitamins (B-complex, C) — functions, food sources, deficiency.
• Major and Trace Minerals: Major minerals (calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium, potassium, chloride, sulfur); trace minerals (iron, zinc, copper, iodine, selenium, fluoride); functions, food sources, deficiency, and toxicity.
• Water and Electrolyte Balance: Water functions; hydration status; electrolyte balance.
• Life Cycle Nutrition: Pregnancy and lactation; infancy and breastfeeding; childhood and adolescence; adult and older-adult nutrition.
• Diet and Chronic Disease: Cardiovascular disease; type 2 diabetes; hypertension; osteoporosis; certain cancers; the role of dietary patterns.
• Diet Analysis Project: A multi-day food record; analysis using software; interpretation against DRIs and Dietary Guidelines; identification of areas for improvement.

Optional Topics

• Sports and Performance Nutrition: Macronutrient needs for athletes; hydration; supplements.
• Food Safety: Foodborne pathogens; food handling; food preservation.
• Cultural and Global Nutrition: Cross-cultural dietary patterns; food security; the global burden of malnutrition.
• The Gut Microbiome: Microbiome and health; prebiotics and probiotics; emerging research.
• Nutrition Counseling: Patient communication; behavior change models (relevant for nursing and allied health).
• Contemporary Controversies: Saturated fat and cardiovascular disease; sugar substitutes; supplements; fad diets.

Resources & Tools

• Most-adopted textbooks at Florida institutions: Nutrition & You by Joan Salge Blake (Pearson) — widely used at FSCJ, Broward, and others; Wardlaw's Contemporary Nutrition by Smith and Collene (McGraw-Hill); Nutrition: An Applied Approach by Thompson and Manore (Pearson); Understanding Nutrition by Whitney and Rolfes (Cengage).
• Open-access alternative: Human Nutrition: Science for Healthy Living (open textbook, OER Commons); Nutrition: Science and Everyday Application (open textbook, Open Oregon) — increasingly adopted at Florida community colleges as zero-textbook-cost options.
• Online learning platforms: Mastering Nutrition (Pearson, paired with Blake); MyDietAnalysis (Pearson); Connect Nutrition (McGraw-Hill); MindTap Nutrition (Cengage).
• Diet-analysis tools: MyFitnessPal (free); Cronometer (free); MyDietAnalysis (Pearson, often bundled with textbook); the USDA's MyPlate Plan.
• Federal references: The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (dietaryguidelines.gov); MyPlate (myplate.gov); the FDA Nutrition Facts label resources; the National Institutes of Health Office of Dietary Supplements (ods.od.nih.gov).
• Professional organizations: Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (formerly the American Dietetic Association); the Florida Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics; the American Society for Nutrition.
• Tutoring and support: Institution learning centers; nursing and allied-health study groups.

Career Pathways

HUN1201 is foundational for several Florida-relevant career pathways:

• Registered Dietitian Nutritionist (RDN) — pathway through accredited didactic programs in dietetics (DPDs) at FSU, UF, FIU, USF, and others, followed by a supervised practice program and the CDR exam. Florida's healthcare and food-service industries are major employers.
• Registered Nurse (RN, BSN) — HUN1201 is required or strongly recommended in most Florida nursing programs (the BSN sequence at UF, FSU, USF, UCF, FAU, FIU, FGCU, UNF, and most state-college nursing programs).
• Allied Health Professions: Dental hygiene, occupational therapy, physical therapy, physician assistant, respiratory therapy — most require HUN1201 or equivalent.
• Exercise Science / Athletic Training — pathway through SUS programs in kinesiology and exercise science.
• Public Health / Community Health — pathway through MPH programs at USF, FIU, UF.
• Food Service Management — Florida's hospitality and food-service industry, including theme-park (Disney, Universal) and resort employment.
• Health Coach / Wellness Coach — growing field; certification through ACE, NBHWC, or similar.
• K–12 Health Educator — pathway through Florida health education BS degrees.

Special Information

Articulation and Transfer

HUN1201 is part of the Florida common course numbering system and articulates seamlessly across SUS institutions. It satisfies a 3-credit science elective at most institutions. A grade of C or higher is typically required for the course to satisfy nursing, dietetics, and allied-health program prerequisites.

Format and Workload

HUN1201 is typically a lecture course (no integrated laboratory) meeting three hours per week, with substantial use of online platforms for homework, dietary analysis, and quizzes. Expect a textbook chapter per week, periodic exams, weekly online assignments, and a multi-week diet-analysis project. The course is generally considered moderate in difficulty; success depends on consistent weekly engagement with both the textbook content and the diet-analysis assignments.

Prerequisites

HUN1201 typically has no formal prerequisite beyond college-readiness in reading and basic mathematics. Some institutions list ENC1101 as a co-requisite. The course is open to first-semester students.

Sensitive Topics and Eating Concerns

Nutrition courses can touch sensitive topics including weight, body image, dieting, and eating disorders. Florida institutions generally approach these topics from a science-based, public-health perspective focused on behavioral evidence and avoiding stigma. Students who are personally affected by disordered eating, body-image concerns, or food insecurity are encouraged to use institutional counseling and student wellness resources; instructors are typically aware that some course content may resonate personally for some students. The Diet Analysis Project, in particular, can be triggering for students with current or past eating-disorder concerns; students who have such concerns should communicate with their instructor early in the term to discuss reasonable accommodations.

Course Code Variations

Florida institutions title HUN1201 variously: "Human Nutrition," "Essentials of Human Nutrition," "Science of Nutrition," "Introduction to Human Nutrition," and "Basic Human Nutrition" all refer to the same SCNS course. A related course, HUN2201 / HUN2202 (more advanced, often with additional biochemistry prerequisite), exists at some institutions for dietetics majors specifically.