The intakes of certain nutrients and specific food groups positively influence our health and reduce our risk of non-communicable diseases. Our need for nutrients and specific foods, and the development of healthy behaviours vary across our lifespan and are at times critical to achieving and maintaining health. Our dietary recommendations are based on established evidence, and national health data and primary research provide us with evidence for how healthy or unhealthy our current diets and behaviours are.

To appreciate the role of food in our health and understand differences in needs for different population groups, we need to be able to locate and critically analyse the evidence and information available to us. This task aims to develop your ability to research and critically review current evidence and recommendations for nutritional intakes and behaviours of Australians at different stages of the lifespan.

Task Details:

To complete this task, you will be required to develop a 2000 word (+/- 10%) essay that will focus on one (1) food group and two (2) population groups, defined by stages of the lifespan. For example: you may choose FRUIT as your food group and TODDLERS/PRESCHOOLERS and OLDER ADULTS as your two population groups. In this example, your essay would be developed to answer the question: What is the role of fruit in the health and wellbeing of toddlers/preschoolers and older adults?

Specifically, you will choose:

• One (1) food group from the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating:
• Grain foods;
• Vegetables and legumes/beans;
• Fruit;
• Milk, Yoghurt, Cheese and alternatives;
• Lean meats and poultry, fish, eggs, tofu, nuts and seeds and legumes/beans),

AND 

• Two (2) two population groups based on the different stages of the lifespan:
• Pregnancy
• Toddlers/preschoolers (1-5 years)
• Children (6-12 years)
• Pre-adolescents/Adolescents (13-18 years)
• Young adulthood (19-25 years)
• Early and middle adulthood (26-60 years)
• Older adulthood (61-84 years),
• Late adulthood (85+ years).

Your essay should address the following key areas:

• Introduction: This section should provide an overview of -
• your chosen food group including the nutrients provided by such foods,
• the two population groups defined in relation to stages of the lifespan, and the main ideas addressed in the body of your essay.
• Body: This section should include evidence-based discussion of -
• current Australian recommendations for intakes of foods and nutrients related to chosen food group,
• strength of evidence, levels of consensus (and any 'new' evidence) for the above recommendations,
• the role of the food group and related nutrients in the health of individuals in chosen population groups,
• current intakes and behaviours of these foods and nutrients, by your chosen population groups in Australia, and
• recognised impacts/outcomes of such intakes and behaviours on the health of these population groups.

NOTE: the body of your essay can be separated with headings for each population group however, when developing your essay you should ensure linkage is developed between the two sections.

• Conclusion: This section should provide a -
• summary of the main points included in your essay, and
• final statement about implications of evidence discussed in the body of your essay.
• Reference list.

Your essay will be assessed against the following criteria:

• Introduction includes:
• clear and concise introductory statement about the topic being addressed,
• an overview of your chosen food group and the nutrients provided by this food group;
• identification of your two population groups, and
• a statement of the scope of the essay.

• Body provides relevant and evidence-based discussion for each chosen population group, of:
• current Australian recommendations for intakes of your chosen food group and related nutrients,
• the strength of evidence, levels of consensus (and any 'new' evidence) for these recommendations and the role of these foods/nutrients in the health of individuals,
• current intakes and behaviours in Australia, and
• impacts/outcomes of such intakes and behaviours on the health of individuals.

• Conclusion:
• provides summary of main issues discussed and clear statement of implications.
• Written expression:
• is clear and concise with no unsupported statements, generalisations, inconsistencies, confusing arguments or repetition.
• Organisation and presentation of essay:
• is well organised with logical flow of ideas, presented in professional manner, grammar and punctuation are accurate, meets word length, headings and spacing/alignment contribute to overall presentation.
• Use of evidence:
• discussion is supported by appropriate evidence and referencing style is used accurately and consistently throughout. NOTE: there is no minimum or maximum number of references assigned for this task but it is expected that all statements and sources of evidence are appropriately referenced, and reliable sources are used. 

Student are permitted to use Generative AI for this assessment in the following ways:

• developing literature search strategies
• compiling suitable literature sources and locating data
• guidance for structuring the assignment

If Generative AI is used in any way, it must be cited as per the CQU Guidelines (Academic Learning Centre). If students choose to use generative AI, the following statement must be completed and included on the front page of the uploaded assessment: "I have used (insert technology) to (insert how you used this) in accordance with the requirements of this unit. The reason I used this was to (explain why you used it). The details of how I used it as (insert how). I hereby declare that the submission is an appropriate representation of my individual skills and abilities to meet the requirements of the task/s."

As per academic writing requirements and assessment criteria; citations of information should be of the primary source (i.e. statistics returned by AI must be fact-checked and referenced from their original source as well as the AI source).

Failure to cite primary sources as well as AI sources could be considered a breach of academic integrity.

Your use of Generative AI must be clearly outlined in an appendix as a separate file which includes the prompt used and Generative AI response (in line with marking rubric). Failure to include an appendix may result in academic integrity investigation.

Throughout this unit you will be provided with learning materials and activities designed to assist you to establish sound knowledge and understanding of food and nutrition across the lifespan. This task includes three (3) quizzes which are designed to provide you with feedback on your readiness to apply your learning to contexts and practice.

Task Details:

You will be required to complete three (3) quizzes. 

Quiz 1 (Opens Week 2):

• Will comprise 20 multiple choice and true/false questions, have a 30 minute time limit, and contribute 5% of your unit grade.
• Questions in this quiz will relate to learning content and activities in weeks 1 and 2 (inclusive).

Quiz 2 (Opens Week 5):

• Will comprise 20 multiple choice and true/false questions, have a 30 minute time limit, and contribute 5% of your unit grade.
• Questions in this quiz will relate to learning content and activities in weeks 3 through 5 (inclusive).

Quiz 3 (Opens Week 8):

• Will comprise 20 multiple choice and true/false questions and 5 open-ended questions, have a time limit of 60 minutes, and contribute 20% of your unit grade.
• Questions in this quiz will relate to learning content and activities in weeks 6 through 8 (inclusive).

All quizzes will remain open until the Friday of Week 11. 

Quiz General Instructions:

• Before commencing each quiz, you should ensure you have watched the lectures and completed the learning activities provided for each week.
• You will only be permitted one (1) attempt for each quiz, and once each quiz is commenced, it cannot be paused or restarted.
• You should have a calculator available during each quiz.

NOTE: You must undertake these online quizzes as an individual. Collusion with other students on non-group work is considered academic misconduct and may lead to action being taken by the Deputy Dean of Learning and Teaching (DDLT) for the School of Health, Medical and Applied Sciences.

Marks will be allocated for each correct response. There will be no loss of marks for incorrect responses.

Where typed answers are required, marks will not be deducted for incorrect spelling.

The end of term Online Test will assess application of your knowledge and understanding of all unit content, through application of knowledge within the context of case studies/scenarios.

Task Details:

• The Online Test will comprise two parts (Part A and Part B).
• To answer questions included in the Online Test, you will be required to develop short and/or longer written responses.
• You will have 180 minutes (3 hours) to complete the test. Once the three hour time limit for the test is reached, your test will close and your completed answers will be submitted for marking.
• Marks will be awarded for correct answers only and no deductions will be made for any incorrect responses. No marks will be awarded for any questions left blank or missed.
• You should ensure you have a calculator available during the Online test.

Part A of the Online Test will:

• Include 20 questions with each question worth 2 marks, and contribute 40 marks to the overall task.
• All questions must be attempted.

Part B of the Online Test will:

• Include four (4) case studies, each case study will be worth fifteen (15) marks, and contribute sixty (60) marks to the overall task.
• All case studies must be attempted.

The Online Test assesses recall and application of knowledge. The Online test will be marked out of 100 (40 marks for Part A; 60 marks for Part B). This mark will be converted to a final mark out of forty (40) to reflect the weighting of this assessment task to your overall unit grade.