Nutrition and Human Health

Nutrition and human health is a discipline that examines the relationship between what we eat and how our bodies function, developing and disease. It draws on biochemistry, physiology, epidemiology, and public health to understand how nutrients are consumed, absorbed, and metabolised, and how dietary patterns relate to health outcomes across the life course. As the prevalence of diet-related conditions such as obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease continues to rise, the practical importance of this knowledge has never been greater.

At the University of Suffolk, this part-time programme with foundation year is aimed at students who are new to the field or who have been away from formal education and want to rebuild both their knowledge and their confidence in the sciences. The additional foundation year has a strong track record of supporting students from non-traditional educational backgrounds into successful degree-level study, reflecting the university's commitment to social mobility and widening access. You will develop an understanding of how nutrition affects human health across different stages of life, engaging with the scientific evidence base for dietary recommendations and the public health contexts in which nutritional advice is given.

The part-time structure makes the degree accessible alongside work and other commitments.

Graduates from nutrition and human health programmes are well placed for careers in public health, health promotion, the NHS, community nutrition, the food industry, corporate wellbeing, social care, and related fields. Those wishing to practise as a registered dietitian will need to complete further accredited training, but the undergraduate degree provides a strong scientific foundation for those aspiring to professional registration. Postgraduate study in nutrition, public health, food science, or dietetics is a natural continuation.