1. RVU
Nutrition Course Outline for 4TH Year Pharma Students
By: Dr. Dereje Wakgari (MD)
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2. Chapter-I: Introduction to Nutrition
1.1. Definition of Terms (Terminology)
Nutrition: is the science of food, the nutrients and other
substances therein, their action, interaction and balance in
relation to health and disease, and the process by which
the organism ingests, digests, absorbs, transports, utilizes
and excretes food substances
It also deals with social, cultural, psycological and
physiological implications of food and eating
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3. Definition of Terms (cont’d...)
Human Nutrition: scientific discipline concerned with
access and utilization of food and nutrients for life, health,
growth, development and well-being
Public health nutrition: studies the relationship between
dietary intake and disease at community level
Dietetics/clinical nutrition: science/art of applying the
principles of nutrition in feeding tailored to individual
needs
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4. Definition of Terms (cont’d...)
Diet: is the sequence of meals in a day (per 24 hours)
Food: is anything edible (defined by culture/religion)
Roughage: fiber which enable the body to get rid of
waste products, which would otherwise become
poisonous to the body.
Nutrient: is an active ingredient in the food that play
specific structural or functional role in the body’s lively
activity.
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5. Definition of Terms (cont’d...)
Macronutrients: nutrients required by our body in larger
quantities and need to be transformed in to smaller units by
the body (carbohydrates, lipids and proteins)
Micronutrients: nutrients required in smaller quantities
by the body (vitamins and minerals)
Nutritional Assessment: interpretation of the
anthropometric, biochemical, clinical and dietary data in
order to determine whether a person is well nourished or
malnourished
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6. Definition of Terms (cont’d...)
Malnutrition: pathological state resulting from a relative or
absolute deficiency or excess of one or more essential nutrients
(primary vs. secondary malnutrition)
Under-nutrition: pathological state resulting from the
consumption of an inadequate quality/quantity of food over an
extended period of time
Over-nutrition: pathological state resulting from the consumption
of an excess quantity of food over an extended period of time
Specific deficiency: pathological state resulting from a
relative/absolute deficiency of an individual nutrient
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7. 1.2. Historical Development of Nutrition
• It started in the ancient time (prior to 476 A.D.)
 Hippocrates (460-359 B.C) stated that “Persons
who are naturally very fat are apt to die earlier
than those who are slender.”
• After the middle ages (476-1453), i.e. Italian
renaissance
 Leonardo daVinci (1452-1519) stated that “If you
do not supply nourishment equal to the
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8. Historical Development of Nutrition (cont’d…)
Many others made contributions in 19th centuries:
1857: Claude Bernard isolated glycogen
1899: Emil Fisher began classic studies of protein
composition
1883/87: energy studies in small animals and farm
animals were initiated
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9. Historical Development of Nutrition (cont’d…)
Spectacular advances have been made in the 20th century
• Vitamins were discovered, essential amino acids identified
• Certain minerals found to be essential
• The electron microscope (1933) made the study of nutrition at
cellular level possible.
• The one-world concept emerged in the 20th century.
Hunger anywhere in the world is of concern to us
Nutrition education and founding of the ‘Nutrition
Education Society’ in 1971
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10. Historical Development of Nutrition (cont’d…)
Gained emphasis in the international agenda:
 World food & Nutrition summits, UN declarations &
commitments
 International agencies working on food & nutrition
 Nations with food & nutrition policies
 The end of the 20th century gave priority for the role of nutrition
through the MDGs and SDGs
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11. 1.3. Nutrition and Health
• Individuals can be categorized into:
Optimally nourished
Under-nourished
Over-nourished
Malnourished
• Optimum breast and complementary feedings can prevent
13% and 6% of deaths among children of under five,
respectively.
• Improving vitamin-A status of vulnerable populations can
reduce under-five mortality rates by at least 23%.
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12. Nutrition and Health (cont’d…)
• Improvements in iron status of affected populations can increase
levels of national productivity by 20%
• Iron interventions can also reduce maternal mortality considerably
• Currently, both communicable and non-communicable diseases are
directly or indirectly associated with the effect of nutritional
problems:
 Tuberculosis, measles, diarrheal, malaria, HIV/AIDS
 Diabetes mellitus, hypertension, ischemic heart disease, colon
cancer
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13. 1.4. Classification of Nutrients
The 6 Classes of Nutrients:
Carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals &
water
There are several ways to classify the classes of
nutrients:
Essential or non-essential
Organic or inorganic
Macronutrient or micronutrient
Energy yielding or body building or disease prevention
Animal source or plant source
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14.  Test for the Presence of Nutrients
• Test for starch: add a few drops of weak iodine solution
in a test tube containing potato or wheat flour. The
occurrence of blue black colour shows the presences of
starch.
• Test for sugar: Add a few drops of benedict’s solution
into a test tube containing crushed pieces of bananas,
grapes or apple and heat it. The formation of red
precipitate shows the presence of glucose sugar in the
given food item.
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15. Test for the Presence of Nutrients (cont’d…)
• Test of fats: wrap the food item in a piece of paper and
crush it. Now, straighten the paper. Appearance of an oily
patch through which light is faintly visible shows the
presence of fat.
• Test of proteins: take some solution or solution of mash
of the food item in the test-tube. Add a few drops (2-
3drops) of solution of copper sulphate to the test-tube.
Now add 10 drops of solution of caustic soda to this test-
tube. Appearance of a violet colour indicates presence of
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