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WageningenX: Nutrition and Cancer

4.7 stars
45 ratings

Cancer has overtaken cardiovascular disease (CVD) as the leading cause of death in many parts of the world. It causes one in eight deaths worldwide. Global trends show that the majority of all cancer deaths occur in the low- and middle-income countries. Yet, cancer can be partly prevented and many of these deaths can be avoided.

Discover the latest insights on the role of diet, nutrition and lifestyle in the prevention, occurrence and progression of cancer in the open and online course Nutrition and Cancer.

5 weeks
6–8 hours per week
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
Free
Optional upgrade available

There is one session available:

44,666 already enrolled! After a course session ends, it will be archivedOpens in a new tab.
Starts Nov 19

About this course

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Can cancer risk be reduced through a healthy diet or lifestyle? Many studies have been conducted on the role of nutrition and physical activity in cancer prevention. This has resulted in recommendations for cancer prevention. Far less research is conducted on nutrition and cancer progression, but the evidence is increasing that a healthy diet may also play a beneficial role for cancer survivors. Join this online course and learn more about the role of nutrition in the occurrence and progression of cancer. You will learn how nutrition is involved in cancer occurrence, cancer treatment, and progression. And you will discover what the evidence-base is for dietary guidelines.

This online course focuses on a wide range of dietary exposures (including vegetables, meat, dietary supplements, alcohol) and lifestyle factors (including body composition and physical activity) in relation to the occurrence and progression of the most common types of cancer, such as large bowel cancer, breast cancer, prostate cancer, and lung cancer.

For whom?

Dieticians and physicians often get questions from cancer patients about what they can do themselves to help their recovery process. After completing the course you will have gained a solid scientific basis to better weigh and interpret all the information available on nutrition and cancer and to take care of your own health and/or that of your patients.

This online course is especially valuable for professionals (in training) from various fields related to nutrition or cancer (e.g. nutritionists, epidemiologists, health policy makers, physicians, caregivers, nutrition educators, biologists and food scientists).

This course, is part of theNutrition and Disease Professional Certificate Program of Wageningen University & Research. Did you already complete Nutrition, Heart Disease and Diabetes? That is the other course in this Professional Certificate Program.

At a glance

  • Institution: WageningenX
  • Subject: Food & Nutrition
  • Level: Intermediate
  • Prerequisites:

    The level of the course is intermediate. The prerequisites are basic biology.

  • Language: English
  • Video Transcript: English
  • Associated programs:
  • Associated skills:Cancer, Management Of Cancer, Cancer Prevention, Body Composition Analysis, Prostate Cancer, Breast Cancer, Cardiovascular Disease, Diabetes Mellitus, Health Policies, Physical Exercises

What you'll learn

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  • Study designs to investigate the relation between nutrition and cancer
  • Diet- and lifestyle-related risk factors for cancer development and survival
  • The mechanisms by which nutrition impacts cancer
  • Guidelines for primary and tertiary cancer prevention for the general public and for survivors
  • Understand the evidence-base for dietary guidelines

Module 1
Start with an introduction to the relation between nutrition and cancer development and progression, and discuss the different types of research designs by which this relation is studied.

Module 2
Discuss dietary and lifestyle risk factors related to cancer occurrence, by outlining the current WCRF/IARC evidence-based recommendations for cancer prevention.

Module 3
Learn about the interaction between nutrition and genes, and how this can influence cancer occurrence.

Module 4
Learn about the importance of dietary and lifestyle guidelines for the increasing group of cancer survivors.

Module 5
In this module you will learn about the adherence to guidelines and how important it is to have a clear and correct communication to the public. (This module is only accessible to verified learners.)

Learner testimonials

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"I liked the fact that the topic of nutrition and cancer was approached in so many different ways, as in from the perspective of a pathologist, epidemiologist, patient, dietician, surgeon, scientist, pharmacologist, etc."

''I really enjoy all the professores, who were incredible during all explainations. the language used were perfectly understandable and clear for all students, all over the world.''

''I loved this course! Very well organized! The videos, texts, interviews were spectacular and I learned a lot.''

Frequently Asked Questions

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Do you have questions about the MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses) and/or related online programmes of Wageningen University & Research? To help you find answers to your questions, we created a list with frequently asked questions about enrolling, participating in- and finishing a MOOC.

This course is part of Nutrition and Disease Professional Certificate Program

Learn more 
Expert instruction
2 skill-building courses
Self-paced
Progress at your own speed
3 months
6 - 8 hours per week

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