Objectives and Competencies in Food and Nutrition Education in the Brazilian Undergraduate Nutrition Program.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To identify the objectives and competencies sought by the discipline of food and nutrition education (FNE) in the training of nutritionists. DESIGN: A qualitative study, based on the Theory of Social Representations. SETTING: A total of 381 Brazilian public and private higher education institutions with undergraduate courses in nutrition were invited to complete an online questionnaire. PARTICIPANTS: A total of 104 professors of FNE participated in the study. ANALYSIS: Qualitative analysis using the Discourse of the Collective Subject method and the Central Core Theory. RESULTS: The FNE discipline aims to bring awareness to the importance of the promotion of health and food and nutrition security, to break with the biological and normative vision of food, to problematize the factors related to food, and to seek strategies of promoting healthy eating habits. In addition to preparing students for their role as educators, from planning to the evaluation of FNE actions, the intended competencies range from the development of criticality in educational practices to the application of appropriate pedagogical approaches. CONCLUSION: The objectives of FNE and the desired competencies are articulated and involve, among others, preparing nutritionists for their role of educators.