Coursera

Navigating Diets (Coursera)

Offered by National Academy of Sports Medicine,

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

Coursera

Case Western Reserve University

Designing Your Personal Weight Loss Plan (Coursera)

Personal and Professional Development

This 5 week course will guide learners through the essential steps in planning an individualized weight loss program. There is no guarantee of weight loss through completing the course; learners will have the framework and essential components for an evidence-based weight loss program. This course is intended for healthy adults who do not have any chronic disease such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart disease, lung disease or any others. In addition, this course does not provide information for people who have food allergies or intolerances. Losing weight and keeping it off requires planning and goal-setting. Crash diets or fad diets are ineffective and can be dangerous. This course provides evidence-based information for planning a weight loss program that is safe and effective in producing a one to two pound loss per week.

Nov 20th 2023

5-12 Weeks

Nutrition Food Personal Development

Coursera

The State University of New York

Health and Safety of a Home-Based Childcare Center (Coursera)

Education

This course is targeted toward individuals wishing to operate a safe and healthy family day care center, and it covers topics including staffing; creating a safe environment; nutrition; mental health & wellness; and emergency planning.

Aug 24th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Health Nutrition Emotional Intelligence

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.

Aug 24th 2026

4 Weeks

Health Nutrition Child Health

Coursera

Pennsylvania State University

Dairy Production and Management (Coursera)

Sci: Biology & Life Sciences Veterinary

With the world's first MOOOOO-C, you will gain a broad and comprehensive understanding of all aspects of dairy management such as genetics, nutrition, reproduction, animal health, farm economics, and sustainability of dairy production systems. There's something here for everyone whether you are just looking for the basics or have years of experience in the dairy industry.

Sep 21st 2026

5-12 Weeks

Sustainability Nutrition Animal Health

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.

Aug 24th 2026

4 Weeks

Health Nutrition Healthy

Coursera

McMaster University

Hacking Exercise For Health. The surprising new science of fitness. (Coursera)

Health & Society

Renowned exercise physiologists Martin Gibala and Stuart Phillips of McMaster University teach the surprising new science of cardio fitness and strength-building—and then provide you with hacks to get fit and strong (and healthy!) in less time than you ever thought possible. What’s the right mix of exercise between cardio and strength? How do you know if you’re working out hard enough? What’s better, heavy or light weights? These questions and more are addressed through a course designed to provide even the most inexperienced of exercisers the tools you need to design time-efficient workouts that can be done virtually anywhere, from your own home to a city park or even at your workplace.

Sep 7th 2026

4 Weeks

Health Nutrition Healthcare

Coursera

University of California, Davis

Equine Welfare and Management (Coursera)

Sci: Biology & Life Sciences Veterinary

This unique course was developed by veterinarians at the world-renowned University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. The course will address horsemanship from a welfare perspective, within the context of “The Five Freedoms” of animal welfare. We’ll explore equine physiology, behavior and basic needs including housing, nutrition, hygiene and disease management.

Sep 14th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Nutrition Equine Horses

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.

Aug 31st 2026

1 Week

Health Nutrition Healthy

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.

Sep 7th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Nutrition Food Barcelona World Race

Coursera

Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Nutrición y obesidad: control de sobrepeso (Coursera)

Health & Society

En este curso, ofrecido por la UNAM, reconocerás una herramienta para evitar, manejar y controlar el sobrepeso y la obesidad, al destacar la importancia del autocuidado y el apoyo familiar en el manejo de este padecimiento. Te mostrará el verdadero valor de los alimentos como compañeros de tu vida, te alejará de los kilos de más y te forjará hábitos saludables que marcarán una senda de salud perdurable.

Sep 14th 2026

4 Weeks

Nutrition Obesity Overweight

Coursera

Johns Hopkins University

Public Health Perspectives on Sustainable Diets (Coursera)

Health & Society

What we eat and how we produce that food have significant effects on human health and the sustainability of our planet. But what is a ‘sustainable’ diet? A sustainable diet, as defined by the FAO, promotes health and well-being and provides food security for the present population while sustaining human and natural resources for future generations. This short course looks at the urgent need to address the sustainability of our food systems, including better understanding the complex relationship between diet and climate change. We’ll explore current research on dietary shifts needed in high, middle, and low-income countries to achieve both sustainability and food security goals and discuss evidence-based strategies to promote sustainable diets.

Sep 7th 2026

3 Weeks

Sustainability Nutrition Food

Coursera

Stanford University

Child Nutrition and Cooking (Coursera)

Food & Nutrition Health & Society

Eating patterns that begin in childhood affect health and well-being across the lifespan. The culture of eating has changed significantly in recent decades, especially in parts of the world where processed foods dominate our dietary intake. This course examines contemporary child nutrition and the impact of the individual decisions made by each family.

Sep 14th 2026

5-12 Weeks

Nutrition Children Cooking