| Unit name | Determinants of Physical Activity and Eating Behaviour |
|---|---|
| Unit code | PHEDM4014 |
| Credit points | 20 |
| Level of study | M/7 |
| Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
| Unit director | Dr. Toumpakari |
| Open unit status | Not open |
| Units you must take before you take this one (pre-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you must take alongside this one (co-requisite units) |
None |
| Units you may not take alongside this one |
None |
| School/department | School for Policy Studies |
| Faculty | Faculty of Social Sciences and Law |
Why is this unit important?
This unit focuses on the factors or determinants which influence physical activity and eating behaviours. You will be presented different frameworks and associated evidence to represent the individual, social, environmental and policy influences on behaviour. The unit encourages you to consider theoretical relationships between determinants as well as practical implications for manipulating them to achieve behaviour change in different populations.
How does this unit fit into your programme of study?
Determinants of Physical Activity and Eating Behaviour takes place after students have had an understanding of the importance of physical activity and eating behaviour for health (in the Nutrition, Disease and Public Health and Physical Activity, Disease and Public Health units) and helps you identify determinants of these two behaviours. This unit is then followed by Physical Activity and Nutrition Interventions, where you can apply knowledge from the current unit and target determinants within interventions to achieve behaviour change.
An overview of content
The unit will critically review the individual, social, environmental and policy determinants of physical activity and eating behaviour. The unit will review theories and frameworks for behaviour change and will teach you to appraise the strength of the evidence associated with each determinant in relation to physical activity and eating behaviour. This unit also contains a theme associated with examining interactions between the different types of determinants, enabling you to understand the complexity of changing physical activity and eating behaviour by building models for behaviour change.
How will students, personally, be different as a result of the unit
You will gain new subject specific knowledge in relation to the associations between individual, social, environmental and policy determinants, and physical activity and eating behaviour. You will also have gained new transferable skills in critically evaluating the strength of the evidence for determinants associated with physical activity and eating behaviour and developing a model for behaviour change.
Learning Outcomes
On successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:
Teaching will be via face-to-face interactive lectures, workshops, and small group work activities where you will work together to discuss various topics and feedback to the wider group, occasionally through brief presentations. Asynchronous materials are also provided to prepare for some face-to-face sessions. A practical session on building a model for behaviour change will highlight interactions between different type of determinants and help you understand the complexity of behaviour change through self-discovery and critical review.
Tasks which help you learn and prepare you for summative tasks (formative):
A practical group activity where you will work in small groups and use sculptures to build a model for behaviour change. Each group will be assigned a different physical activity or eating behaviour and asked to discuss determinants associated with the specific behaviour and consider how they interact to influence behaviour. Each group will briefly present their model to the wider class. The lecturer will provide verbal feedback.
Tasks which count towards your unit mark (summative):
Portfolio (3500 words maximum, 100%)
This assessment covers all of the unit learning outcomes.
When assessment does not go to plan
Subject to the university regulations for taught programmes, you may be offered an opportunity for reassessment. This will comprise a task of the same format as the original assessment.
If this unit has a Resource List, you will normally find a link to it in the Blackboard area for the unit. Sometimes there will be a separate link for each weekly topic.
If you are unable to access a list through Blackboard, you can also find it via the Resource Lists homepage. Search for the list by the unit name or code (e.g. PHEDM4014).
How much time the unit requires
Each credit equates to 10 hours of total student input. For example a 20 credit unit will take you 200 hours
of study to complete. Your total learning time is made up of contact time, directed learning tasks,
independent learning and assessment activity.
See the University Workload statement relating to this unit for more information.
Assessment
The Board of Examiners will consider all cases where students have failed or not completed the assessments required for credit.
The Board considers each student's outcomes across all the units which contribute to each year's programme of study. For appropriate assessments, if you have self-certificated your absence, you will normally be required to complete it the next time it runs (for assessments at the end of TB1 and TB2 this is usually in the next re-assessment period).
The Board of Examiners will take into account any exceptional circumstances and operates
within the Regulations and Code of Practice for Taught Programmes.
