Course Title: Healthy Living

Part A: Course Overview

Course Title: Healthy Living

Credit Points: 12.00


Course Code

Campus

Career

School

Learning Mode

Teaching Period(s)

PUBH1336

Bundoora Campus

Undergraduate

150H Health Sciences

Face-to-Face

 Sem 1 2011

PUBH1336

Bundoora Campus

Undergraduate

160H Medical Sciences

Face-to-Face

 Sem 1 2006,
Sem 1 2008,
Sem 1 2009,
Sem 1 2010

Course Coordinator: Dr Kerrie Lante

Course Coordinator Phone: +61 3 9925-7362

Course Coordinator Email: kerrie.lante@rmit.edu.au

Course Coordinator Location: 201.3.04

Course Coordinator Availability: By e-mail appointment


Pre-requisite Courses and Assumed Knowledge and Capabilities

There are no pre-requisites for this course.

You are expected to bring into the course

  1. A commitment to learning and research
  2. Demonstrated enthusiasm, passion and a willingness to work with others


Course Description

This course provides an introduction to the principles of physical activity, healthy nutrition and good health, with a particular focus on helping students to apply these principles to their professional practice when working with people with an intellectual disability. The course includes an explanation of the relationship between physical activity and health, physical activity attributes of people with an intellectual disability, prescribing and evaluating physical activities, motor skill learning, the factors affecting food choice, role of nutrients, the state of knowledge related to nutrition and people with an intellectual disability, food and nutrition policies affecting those working with people with an intellectual disability, the role of dieticians, weight management, and food safety. The course encourages students to apply physical activity and healthy eating and principles to their future practice and to continue an interest in promoting physical activity and healthy eating to people with an intellectual disability.


Objectives/Learning Outcomes/Capability Development

At the conclusion of this subject, students who have attended lectures, completed assigned readings, laboratory experiences and other assigned work and followed procedures conducive to learning should be able to:

  1. Describe the value of physical activity for people with an intellectual disability.
  2. Describe the principles of motor skill acquisition.
  3. Describe the components and principles of assisting people with an intellectual disability to achieve health-related physical fitness.
  4. Describe the physical and motor characteristics of people with an intellectual disability.
  5. Describe methods to assess the motor skill and health-related physical fitness of people with an intellectual disability.
  6. Describe the barriers to physical activity that people with an intellectual disability experience.
  7. Describe the characteristics of successful physical activity interventions for people with an intellectual disability
  8. Describe factors affecting food choice.
  9. Describe three ways in which food can be classified.
  10. Describe the role of nutrients and the Australian dietary guidelines.
  11. Critically examine a diet in relation to the five food groups and the aids
  12. Develop knowledge of national, state and department of human services policies related to healthy living
  13. Develop knowledge of menu planning and be able to apply those principles to working with people with an intellectual disability
  14. Understand the concept of energy balance and the consequences of being in a positive and negative energy balance
  15. Describe and know how to handle food safely



Overview of Learning Activities

Lectures, laboratory experiences, workshop activities and independent reading are the key student learning experiences. Throughout the course students will challenged to creatively apply knowledge to a range of situations. Additionally, students will be given the opportunity to accept responsibility for their own learning, select assessment tasks based on contract grading, work in a team and individually as well as communicate skills and knowledge in a variety of ways and contexts.
A reading guide will assist students to focus their reading and study. The subject is evaluated by questionnaire.


Overview of Learning Resources

Lectures will be made available through myRMIT Studies.

A series of required readings will be available on-line from the National Centre on Physical Activity and Disability at http://ncpad.org


Overview of Assessment

Assessment in this course is by contract. Student tasks include:

  • Mid-semester take-home exam
  • Literature Search/Research Project & Report
  • Completion of a 12-13 hour laboratory & laboratory Experience Report
  • End of course open book exam