AAU MSc Community Nutrition & Dietetics Entrance Exam Crash Course

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards generated from the AAU MSc Community Nutrition & Dietetics entrance exam crash notes, covering core nutrition, nutritional assessment, community nutrition, epidemiology, research methods, food science, and Ethiopian national nutrition policies.

Nutrition

The science of how the body consumes, digests, absorbs, transports, uses, stores, and excretes nutrients.

Macronutrients

Nutrients needed in relatively large amounts, including carbohydrates, proteins, and fats.

Micronutrients

Nutrients needed in smaller amounts, including vitamins and minerals.

Glucose

The body's major immediate fuel, which the brain relies heavily on under normal conditions.

Glycogen

The storage form of glucose stored mainly in the liver and skeletal muscle.

Soluble Fiber

Dietary fiber that can help lower LDL cholesterol, slow glucose absorption, and increase satiety.

Insoluble Fiber

Dietary fiber that helps increase stool bulk and promote bowel regularity.

Essential Amino Acids

Amino acids that must be obtained adequately from the diet because the body cannot synthesize enough of them.

Complete Protein

A protein source that contains all essential amino acids in adequate amounts.

Marasmus

Severe acute malnutrition characterized by severe energy deficiency, severe wasting, very low body weight, loss of muscle and fat, and no edema.

Kwashiorkor

Severe acute malnutrition classically associated with severe protein deficiency, characterized by edema, muscle wasting, possible fatty liver, skin and hair changes, and poor appetite or apathetic behavior.

LDL

Low-density lipoprotein, often called "bad cholesterol," higher levels of which are associated with increased cardiovascular risk.

HDL

High-density lipoprotein, often called "good cholesterol," higher levels of which are generally associated with lower cardiovascular risk.

Vitamin A

A fat-soluble vitamin essential for vision, immunity, growth, and reproduction; deficiency causes night blindness and xerophthalmia.

Vitamin D

A fat-soluble vitamin essential for calcium absorption, bone health, and mineralization; deficiency causes rickets in children and osteomalacia in adults.

Vitamin K

A fat-soluble vitamin whose primary role is blood clotting (koagulation) and bone metabolism.

Thiamine (B1)

A water-soluble B vitamin required for carbohydrate metabolism and nervous system function; deficiency causes Beriberi.

Niacin (B3)

A water-soluble B vitamin whose deficiency causes Pellagra, characterized by the 3 Ds: dermatitis, diarrhea, and dementia.

Folate (B9)

A water-soluble B vitamin crucial for DNA synthesis, cell division, red blood cell formation, and preventing fetal neural tube defects.

Vitamin B12

A water-soluble B vitamin important for DNA synthesis, red blood cell formation, and neurological function, found primarily in animal-source foods.

Vitamin C

A water-soluble vitamin required for collagen formation, wound healing, antioxidant functions, and enhancing non-heme iron absorption; deficiency causes scurvy.

Heme Iron

The form of iron derived from animal foods that is generally more bioavailable.

Non-Heme Iron

The form of iron found mostly in plant foods, the absorption of which is improved by Vitamin C.

Iodine

A mineral needed for thyroid hormone production; severe deficiency causes goiter and impairs brain development in early life.

Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR)

The energy required to maintain essential physiological functions at rest.

Thermic Effect of Food

The energy required for the digestion, absorption, and metabolism of food.

Body Mass Index (BMI)

An anthropometric screening tool calculated as $\text{BMI} = \frac{\text{weight (kg)}}{\text{height}^2 (\text{m}^2)}$.

Mid-Upper Arm Circumference (MUAC)

An anthropometric measurement useful for assessing acute malnutrition, particularly in young children and pregnant women.

Community Nutrition

The discipline that applies nutrition science to improve the nutritional health of entire populations and communities.

Nutrition Surveillance

The continuous and systematic collection and interpretation of nutrition-related information to identify trends, detect problems, guide policy, and evaluate programs.

Supplementation

A nutrition intervention strategy involving direct administration of nutrients in concentrated forms (e.g., iron tablets).

Fortification

A nutrition intervention strategy that adds one or more nutrients to commonly consumed foods (e.g., iodized salt).

Stunting

A chronic form of malnutrition indicated by low height-for-age, resulting in a child being short for their age.

Wasting

An acute or recent form of malnutrition indicated by low weight-for-height, resulting in a child being thin for their height.

Underweight

A composite nutritional indicator measured by low weight-for-age, which can reflect stunting, wasting, or both.

Colostrum

The first milk produced after delivery, rich in immune components, protein, and Vitamin A.

Exclusive Breastfeeding

Feeding an infant breast milk only (with no other food or liquids, except medically indicated drops or syrups) for the first 6 months of life.

Double Burden of Malnutrition

The coexistence of undernutrition alongside overweight, obesity, or diet-related non-communicable diseases within the same population, household, or individual across the life course.

Primary Prevention

Health intervention aimed at preventing disease before it happens, such as promotion of breastfeeding and food fortification.

Secondary Prevention

Health intervention aimed at early detection of disease, such as growth monitoring and malnutrition screening.

Tertiary Prevention

Health intervention focused on managing established disease and reducing complications, such as medical nutrition therapy.

Food Security

A condition existing when all people have physical, social, and economic access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food, encompassing four pillars: Availability, Access, Utilization, and Stability.

Incidence

The number of new cases of a disease or condition developing in a population during a specified time period.

Prevalence

The proportion of all existing cases (new and old) of a disease or condition in a population at a specific point or period in time.

Cross-Sectional Study

An observational study design where exposure and outcome are measured at the same point in time, useful for determining prevalence.

Cohort Study

An observational study design that groups participants by exposure status and follows them over time to determine incidence and relative risk.

Case-Control Study

An observational study design that starts with individuals who have a disease (cases) and matched individuals without (controls) and looks backward to determine past exposures.

Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT)

An experimental study design where participants are randomly assigned to an intervention or control group, providing strong evidence for causality.

Confounder

A variable that is associated with both the exposure and the outcome, distorting the true causal relationship between them.

Sensitivity

The ability of a diagnostic test to correctly identify individuals who actually have the condition (true positive rate).

Specificity

The ability of a diagnostic test to correctly identify individuals who do not have the condition (true negative rate).

Validity

The extent to which an instrument or tool measures what it is intended to measure accurately.

Reliability

The consistency or repeatability of a measurement tool's results under identical conditions.

Nutrition-Specific Interventions

Actions that directly address the immediate causes of undernutrition, such as micronutrient supplementation, breastfeeding promotion, and management of acute malnutrition.

Nutrition-Sensitive Interventions

Actions that address the underlying determinants of nutrition, such as agriculture, WASH, social protection, and education.

HACCP

Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point; a systematic preventive food-safety system based on seven principles to identify and control potential hazards.

Maillard Reaction

A non-enzymatic browning reaction that occurs between a reducing sugar and amino compounds when subjected to heat.

Gelatinization

The process where starch granules absorb water and swell, losing their crystalline structure when heated.

Retrogradation

The process where gelatinized starch molecules realign and reassociate into a crystalline structure upon cooling.

Probiotics

Live microorganisms that, when administered in adequate amounts, confer a health benefit on the host.

Prebiotics

Substrates selectively utilized by host microorganisms that confer a health benefit.

Seqota Declaration

A 15-year high-level commitment (2015–2030) by the Ethiopian government aiming to end stunting in children under two years of age by 2030.

First 1,000 Days

The critical window of opportunity for nutritional intervention spanning from conception to a child's second birthday.