Coursera

Navigating Diets (Coursera)

Offered by National Academy of Sports Medicine,
Navigating Diets (Coursera)

The wide and wonderful world of diets can be difficult terrain to navigate, especially with so much information scattered across the Internet and in magazines. Some are backed by scientific evidence, whereas others are mostly hype. Informed readers need to be well-armed with the latest facts regarding diets and how they impact health, body composition, and athletic performance.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see Coursera's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

This course explores many different types of diets and provides details regarding their various levels of safety and effectiveness, including diets that are comprised of different macronutrient compositions, food choices, and time restrictions (fasting), in addition to the psychology diets have on adherence.
With over 30 years as a leader in fitness and wellness education, the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM) has built its reputation on providing an evidence-based curriculum that is both relevant and applicable for those seeking the skills and knowledge required to promote optimal health.
Course 5 of 5 in the Nutrition Education for the Consumer Specialization.

What You Will Learn

  • Learn the underlying characteristics that make a diet effective.
  • Discover personal preferences when looking to adhere to a diet.
  • Compare common diets used to manage safe and effective weight loss.
  • Learn some of the behavioral roadblocks that may affect diet adherence.

Syllabus

WEEK 1
NASM's Navigating Diets
The wide and wonderful world of diets can be difficult terrain to navigate, especially with so much information scattered across the Internet and in magazines. Some are backed by scientific evidence, whereas others are mostly hype. Informed readers need to be well-armed with the latest facts regarding diets and how they impact health, body composition, and athletic performance.
This course explores many different types of diets and provides details regarding their various levels of safety and effectiveness, including diets that are comprised of different macronutrient compositions, food choices, and time restrictions (fasting), in addition to the psychology diets have on adherence.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Measuring and Modeling Impact in Evaluations (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Measuring and Modeling Impact in Evaluations (Coursera)

Health & Society

We want to provide you some information about our course “Measuring and Modeling Impact in evaluations”. The purpose of this course is to give you a better understanding of different measures of impact that could be used in the evaluation of a program in the areas of maternal and child health and nutrition. For each of the measures presented, we will discuss current sources of data you might draw on as well as describe the methods that can be used to measure these. When we describe the methods, we also try to identify the strengths and weakness of the methods as well as their suitably for use in an evaluation.

Nov 16th 2026
4 Weeks
Health Nutrition Child Health
Details
Alimentación y dietética para una vuelta al mundo a vela (Coursera) Coursera
University of Barcelona

Alimentación y dietética para una vuelta al mundo a vela (Coursera)

Food & Nutrition

Comer bien en una vuelta al mundo no es tarea fácil . Aprenda cómo equilibrar alta nutrición con practicidad mientras navega alrededor del mundo. Este curso pretende introducirte en el mundo de la preparación de los deportistas que participan en regatas de navegación transoceánica, como la Barcelona World Race.

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Nutrition Food Barcelona World Race
Details
The People, Power, and Pride of Public Health (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

The People, Power, and Pride of Public Health (Coursera)

Health & Society Medicine & Pharmacology

The People, Power, and Pride of Public Health provides an engaging overview of the incredible accomplishments and promise of the public health field. The first module includes interviews with legendary public health figures whose work led to millions of lives saved with vaccines, air bags and car seats, and the federal Women Infants and Children (WIC) nutrition program.

Nov 2nd 2026
3 Weeks
Health Nutrition Vaccines
Details
Nutrition Hot Topics and Controversies (Coursera) Coursera
National Academy of Sports Medicine

Nutrition Hot Topics and Controversies (Coursera)

Food & Nutrition Health & Society

Within the ever-changing nutrition landscape, it becomes difficult to understand current trending topics. Without a doubt, your friends and neighbors will have questions regarding these nutrition hot topics. Most people want to know what to believe or discard from what they hear, but they often lack the tools or the knowledge (or the time) to research topics as they become popular. This course has been designed to take an in-depth approach to explain the science behind many nutrition hot topics and controversies faced by discerning readers today including organic vs. conventionally farmed foods, grass-fed, GMOs, gluten, sweeteners vs. nonnutritive sweeteners in addition to the myths behind detoxes and cleanses.

Nov 9th 2026
1 Week
Nutrition GMOs Genetically Modified Organisms
Details
Science of Fat Metabolism (Coursera) Coursera
National Academy of Sports Medicine

Science of Fat Metabolism (Coursera)

Food & Nutrition Health & Society

The term “fat” can be applied to several aspects of health and fitness, from macronutrients in food to tissues in the body, to molecules in the blood. The consumption of fat can be a complex topic due to many different things: fat types, their health effects, the ways fats are metabolized and stored, etc. This course provides a greater understanding of fat-related concepts including the fats consumed in various diets, the physiology of fats within the body, in addition to ways fats are absorbed, stored, and utilized as fuel.

Nov 9th 2026
1 Week
Health Nutrition Fat
Details
Sustainable Food Production Through Livestock Health Management (Coursera) Coursera
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Sustainable Food Production Through Livestock Health Management (Coursera)

Sci: Biology & Life Sciences Health & Society

Learn about the impact of infectious disease on sustainable animal-based food production by understanding the science of growth, immunity, and infection and by learning the problem-solving skills needed to advance animal health and food production through optimal management practices. In this course we will explore the effect of infectious disease on sustainable animal-based food production. The content and learning outcomes of this new course will be designed to be relevant across different food production sectors (i.e., beef, dairy, poultry, and pigs).

Nov 2nd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Health Sustainability Nutrition
Details
Making Sense of Supplements (Coursera) Coursera
National Academy of Sports Medicine

Making Sense of Supplements (Coursera)

Food & Nutrition Health & Society

No matter how hard you try, there is no escaping the endless stream of advertising for all the nutritional supplements out there. From protein and creatine to caffeine and other more-controversial performance aids, there is something tailored to every health, wellness, and fitness goal. This course has been designed to help explore some of the most common trends in the nutritional supplementation landscape and to help separate research-supported hope from marketing hype.

Nov 9th 2026
1 Week
Health Nutrition Healthy
Details
Science of Exercise (Coursera) Coursera
University of Colorado Boulder

Science of Exercise (Coursera)

Health & Society

Learners who complete Science of Exercise will have an improved physiological understanding of how your body responds to exercise, and will be able to identify behaviors, choices, and environments that impact your health and training. You will explore a number of significant adjustments required by your body in order to properly respond to the physical stress of exercise, including changes in carbohydrate, fat and protein metabolism, nutritional considerations, causes of muscle soreness & fatigue, and the effectiveness and dangers of performance enhancing drugs.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
Health Nutrition Healthy
Details
National Academy of Sports Medicine Nutrition Essentials (Coursera) Coursera
National Academy of Sports Medicine

National Academy of Sports Medicine Nutrition Essentials (Coursera)

Food & Nutrition Health & Society

NASM's Nutrition Coaching Essentials enables you to provide evidence-based guidance to those seeking to improve body composition, athletic performance, and health. By successfully completing this program, you will have the knowledge and abilities to leverage nutrition education to increase your client's success, reduce turnover, and maximize adherence.

Nov 23rd 2026
1 Week
Nutrition Sports Coaching
Details
Public Health in Humanitarian Crises 2 (Coursera) Coursera
Johns Hopkins University

Public Health in Humanitarian Crises 2 (Coursera)

Health & Society

This course, Public Health in Humanitarian Crises 2, addresses public health issues of people affected by disasters, both natural or conflict-related. It discusses the many changes that occur in people’s lives when they are uprooted by a disaster, including many important topics related to humanitarian crises, such as when there is an epidemic a public health emergency; what do we mean with the humanitarian development nexus; what are the basics of disaster epidemiology and surveillance; humanitarian principles; and other very relevant topics. We will explore what humanitarian interventions could look like if we want to mitigate the effects of disasters.

Nov 23rd 2026
5-12 Weeks
Nutrition Epidemiology Diseases
Details
Understanding Obesity (Coursera) Coursera
University of Edinburgh

Understanding Obesity (Coursera)

Health & Society Medicine & Pharmacology

In this course, we’ll look at the facts and misconceptions around obesity and discuss key physiological and psychological concepts around the brain’s control of appetite and body weight. We’ll consider the biological and environmental pressures that make it easy to gain weight (and hard to lose it!). Most importantly, we'll give you the opportunity to reflect on your own knowledge and assumptions around the subject.

Nov 2nd 2026
4 Weeks
Health Nutrition Obesity
Details