(AE-CNC) Nutrition Coach Certification

The Certified Nutrition Coach Program combines research-based guidelines with applied content to better help personal trainers understand nutrition recommendations backed by science but grounded with application. Learn how to master proven coaching skills that will help you successfully guide your clients toward better health, better performance, and a better body!

• Flexible online learning
• Study from home
• Progress at your own pace
• Online exams
• International certification
• AE-CWMS: Certified Weight Management Specialist

To attend this course, you first have to complete the Personal Trainer Diploma program.

BACKGROUND

Our modern way of living has largely eliminated physical activity as one of the fundamental stimuli from our lives. The growth of non-communicable lifestyle diseases and the epidemic increase in obesity provide clear evidence of this imbalance between our lifestyless and our physical requirements. Physical inactivity has become a significant risk factor for chronic non-communicable diseases in populations. Opportunities to be physically active tend to decrease as we become adults, and recent lifestyle changes have reinforced this phenomenon.

Overweight and obesity are defined as abnormal or excessive fat accumulation that may impair health. Especially, obesity is a medical condition that may have an adverse effect on health, leading to reduced life expectancy and increased health problems. Worldwide obesity has more than doubled since 1980. In 2016, more than 1.9 billion adults, 18 years and older, were overweight. Of these, over 650 million were obese. Obesity is a leading preventable cause of death worldwide, with increasing prevalence in adults and children, and authorities view it as one of the most severe public health problems of the 21st century. A regular healthy diet and customized physical exercise with supervision consist the mainstays of treating obesity and weight management generally. That’s why there is a need of professionals in the European fitness industry who are trained in this specific group of people.

CONTENT

Physical activity, exercise, nutrition, health, and quality of life are closely interconnected. In this extensive program, we integrate these elements, with a special focus on the following subjects

• NUTRITION
  • Causation and pathophysiology
  • Energy intake, energy balance, and causes of obesity-related to energy balance
  • Energy expenditure related to physical activity, and its influence on energy balance and weight management
  • Epidemiology and diagnostics
  • Definitions, classifications, and statistics related to overweight and obesity
  • Nutrition for clients with special needs related to overweight and obesity
  • How to develop a healthy, balanced way of eating
  • The role and function of the main macro- and micronutrients
  • Energy needs for different activities
  • Positive and negative effects of different types of diets
  • Risks and advantages related to calorie reduction
  • Association with the prevention of the following health conditions linked to overweight and obesity:
    • Diabetes mellitus type 2
    • Hypertension
    • Osteoporosis and other musculoskeletal disorders
    • Dyslipidemia
• MOTIVATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY & COACHING
  • The psychological aspects of physical activity and fitness, which are influential to behavior change
  • Assessing clients motivation and readiness for behavioral change, based on psychological theories and models
  • Depression and its different stages typical identified
  • Strategies for effective goal setting, exemplified by the SMART method
  • Appropriate behavior goals and methods for goal achievement
  • The difference between sympathy and empathy, and guidelines for practice
  • Educating clients as a method for behavior change
  • Knowledge of when to refer clients to the relevant practitioner
  • Lifestyle advice, to include use of tobacco, alcohol, caffeine
  • Safe and effective advice about eating pattern for weight loss
  • Giving advice to clients about portion awareness, nutrition facts panel, labels, etc. related to weight management
  • Intervention strategies and models (Transtheoretical, etc.) for behavior change
  • Self-efficacy and methods for motivational management
• SCREENING & HEALTH ASSESSMENT
  • The use of extended screening with a focus on reflective and open-ended questions
  • Strategies and approaches for interviewing overweight and obese clients
  • The use of questionnaires and screening tools
  • Development of customized medical history questionnaires
  • The use of risk classification tools
  • Physical evaluation including body composition, cardiorespiratory endurance, muscular
  • strength, endurance, and flexibility
  • How to assess hemodynamic data, including heart rate and blood pressure, during rest and exercise
  • The relevance of anthropometric measurements
  • A wide selection of physical tests appropriate for overweight and obese clients
  • How to scientifically analyze information, interpreting relevant data and making sound reports
• PRACTICAL ADAPTION
  • How to apply exercise for improvement of the following fitness parameters:
    • Body composition
    • Psychological factors
    • Muscular strength
    • Muscular endurance
    • Flexibility
    • Cardiovascular conditioning, with attention on the following parameters relevant for
    • increased energy expenditure
    • Increased metabolic rate
    • Increased fat loss
    • Excess post oxygen consumption
  • Applying diverse methodologies in cardiovascular, cardiorespiratory and resistance training
  • Based on the recommended guidelines; applying principles of periodization and progressiveness to achieve the client’s desired outcomes without compromising health

HOW TO GET STARTED

The course material is divided into two parts. The first part covers the subjects of Nutrition, Physiology and Psychology. These subjects are taught online on our e-learning platform, and you can start whenever you like and progress at your own pace. 

The second part of the program is practical training and takes part in our schools around the world. You can sign up and attend this practical part at your convenience, but remember that you have to complete the first part of the program online first.