Nutrition

Upon completion of the course, you should feel confident in the following areas:

• Energy balance and nutritional biochemistry
• Digestion and metabolism of nutrients
• Roles of proteins, carbohydrates, lipids, vitamins and minerals
• Nutritional assessment and clinical intervention
• Nutrient and drug interactions
• Dietary therapeutics and eating disorders
• Nutrition-related professional issues

About the Certification Exam

This course provides a high school credit, and also is a career course that prepares students for a professional certification exam. The exam includes 200 multiple-choice questions covering a wide variety of nutrition topics taken from five domains, including the principles of nutrition, human health/nutrients, nutrition assessment, intervention/monitoring and professional concerns. The exam allows four hours for completion.

With the help of this course, you can look at all the essential concepts addressed on the exam. Our short video lessons can help you review coursework from college and may even introduce you to some new information in this ever-changing field. You’ll study nutrition-related biochemistry and physiology, symptoms of certain nutritional deficiencies, clinical monitoring and behavior optimization in dietary therapeutics. At the end of each lesson, you can test your knowledge with the accompanying multiple-choice quiz, which can also provide practice with the format of the actual test.

In order to sit for this biannual exam, candidates must meet certain education requirements, apply through the Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists (BCNS) and pay the fees prior to posted deadlines. Payment may be made online or through the mail. Examinees are asked to arrive 20 minutes before test time and should carry an approved form of identification.

Scoring the Certified Nutrition Specialist Test

Your scores will be sent through email within six weeks of taking the exam and are marked as ‘pass’ or ‘fail’. The results will offer a breakdown of the scores per each domain tested on the exam. Those with unacceptable scores may apply for reexamination for a fee and should do so no later than two months before the next administration of the test.

Nutrition Fundamentals

About 40 of the test items are related to the fundamental principles of nutrition. You should be prepared to answer questions about biostatics/epidemiology, life cycle, regulations of metabolism, nutritional biochemistry and nutrition-related physiology. In addition, you can expect to see questions on the balance of energy and caloric food values.

Human Health and Nutrients

Encompassing about 30% of the test, or 60 questions, your knowledge in this domain is measured through questions about metabolism, absorption, digestion and transport of nutrients, along with nutrient function and toxicity. Macro- and micronutrient sources will be addressed, as well as the bioactive components in foods and nutrient deficiency/insufficiency.

Assessments of Nutrition

This domain includes about 40 test items that touch on obtaining diet, lifestyle and health histories, assessments of diet effects on heath conditions and identification of clinical status. You should also be aware of current information on genetic and genomic factors and their relationship to nutrition.

Monitoring and Clinical Intervention

Through about 50 exam questions, your understanding of nutrition’s connection to diseases, drugs, herbs, therapeutics and supplements will be assessed. Make sure that you’re also current in your understanding of nutraceutical/supplement therapeutics, eating disorders and botanical therapeutics.

Professional Concerns

The final 5% of this exam covers issues related to food safety and quality. You can also expect test items concerning ethical standards and practice boundaries, as well as cultural issues faced by nutrition specialists.

Certified Nutrition Specialist (CNS) is a registered trademark of the Board for Certification of Nutrition Specialists (BCNS), which is not affiliated with this course.