The role of nutrition has moved beyond the food pyramid and the importance of a balanced diet in maintaining a healthy weight, and is now also recognized as a significant contributing factor in addressing age and disease-specific conditions. As research advances into these areas, students approach nutrition from a wide range of perspectives that continue to change and evolve. As the MDR numbers in Market Need below indicate, the number of courses in Medicine, Nursing, Physical Education, Science and Public Health have all increased in the past 5 years. Public Health has grown most drastically as it becomes evident that nutrition has the potential to improve the health of our rapidly aging population, which will in turn affect the services they require as a result of aging in good health vs. poor health, and the role nutrition plays in combating other public health issues such as diabetes, obesity, and heart disease. This is of particular importance in the emerging scenario where medical costs are increasing in cost and services are declining in availability.

Students using Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease are seeking insights into how they can improve the health of their patients, clients and consumers as they interact with them in professional roles in medicine, nutrition and dietetics, and even in food development as new products aimed at specific health issues are of increasing interest and public demand.