Nutrition and Consumption
What you must understand
This domain links nutrients, dietary requirements and eating patterns. Know the six nutrient groups - carbohydrates, proteins, lipids, vitamins, minerals, water - their functions, food sources, and effects of deficiency and excess. Understand energy balance (kilojoules in versus out), macronutrient contributions, and the role of dietary fibre and water.
Know the Australian Dietary Guidelines and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating plate model: eat a variety of nutritious foods, limit discretionary foods, choose water. Understand recommended serves by age, sex and life stage. Know groups with increased requirements - infants, adolescents, pregnant and lactating women, older adults, athletes, vegetarians.
Understand factors influencing consumption: cost, convenience, availability, culture, media, health beliefs, time, and food literacy. Know current Australian trends - rising discretionary food intake, declining fruit and vegetable consumption, increased eating out, and growth in meal-kit and online grocery purchasing.
Traps in questions
- Confusing a nutrient deficiency with an excess - both matter.
- Quoting serves without linking to age, sex or life stage.
- Treating "discretionary foods" as "junk food" - use the syllabus term.
- Forgetting that energy requirements vary with activity, body size and stage of life.
Rule of thumb
For any consumer group, ask: which nutrients are critical, which foods supply them, and what barriers exist? Example: adolescents need calcium and iron; dairy and lean meat supply them; barriers include skipping breakfast and peer influence.
Worked example
"Explain why pregnant women need extra iron." Answer: increased blood volume and fetal growth raise demand; deficiency risks anaemia; sources include lean red meat, legumes and fortified cereals, with vitamin C aiding absorption.