Diabetes, Obesity and Eating Disorders – HLTH 644

Course Description

This course examines the societal, family and psychological influences on eating behaviors, their contribution to the development of Type 2 Diabetes, Anorexia and Bulimia and a review of treatment options.

Rationale

Diabetes, obesity, and eating disorders are at epidemic proportions in the U.S. and around the world. The epidemiologies of the three are tightly interwoven. Understanding these conditions and the interfaces between them is central to planning interventions and public health policies.

Course Assignment

Textbook readings and lecture presentations

Course Requirements Checklist

After reading the Course Syllabus and Student Expectations, the student will complete the related checklist found in the Course Overview.

Discussions (3)

Discussion are collaborative learning experiences. Each of the 3 discussion assignments will consist of a thread of at least 400 words and at least 2 replies. The replies must consist of at least 150 words. For each thread, support your assertions with a minimum of 2 scholarly citations in AMA format. Each reply must incorporate at least 1 scholarly citation in AMA format. It is expected that the information you present in the initial post and reply posts is evidence-based. Any sources cited must have been published within the last five years. Acceptable sources include peer-reviewed research and review articles and the course textbook (where applicable). Limited use of professional websites such as the CDC, WHO, or other government organizations is accepted for presenting facts and statistics.

Camp Assessment Assignment

Students will be assigned a camp website related to the management and/or prevention of childhood overweight/obesity and will assume the role of a public health official tasked with evaluating the camp's overall effectiveness. The student will use the Camp Assessment Tool to evaluate the summer camp and develop a report of program strengths and weakness, supported by improvement recommendations.

Assessment Tool Assignments (4)

The student will develop an assessment tool that will be used to assess a community weight loss facility or online weight loss program. The assessment tool will be developed in sections over multiple weeks of the course. Each component of the assessment tool will focus on a key area of need for overweight/obese clients, including physical, psychological, intellectual, social, and spiritual aspects of successful weight loss. 

Weight Loss Program Assessment Assignments (3)

Quiz: Program Selection

The student will choose a local community program or online program specializing in the treatment, management, and/or prevention of obesity.

Interview Assignment

Then, using the assessment tool that they created previously, the student will gather information from the local facility or online program to evaluate the program's overall effectiveness and identify key areas of improvement.

PowerPoint Presentation Assignment

The student will then organize the information and results into a PowerPoint presentation discussing the evaluation of the program. The presentation must analyze and explain the scientific aspects of the public health policies and regulations regarding management of the situation created by the program evaluation.

Quizzes (6)

There will be 6 quizzes that cover the corresponding assigned reading. Each quiz will be open-book/open-notes, contain 25-30 true/false and multiple-choice questions, and have a 90-minute time limit.