The primary objective of this course is to equip nutrition and dietetics students with the skills to develop evidence-based meal plans that meet the physiological, metabolic, and clinical needs of individuals at different life stages and with specific health conditions. Students will gain the competence to design individualized, culturally appropriate, and practical menu plans for specific life stages—including pregnancy, infancy, childhood, adolescence, adulthood, and old age—as well as for special conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular diseases, kidney diseases, obesity, cancer, food allergies, and vegetarian/vegan diets. The course also covers the organization, standards, and therapeutic diet specifications of hospital and institutional menu planning systems.

This course covers the principles of menu planning for special populations from both theoretical and practical perspectives. First, it addresses fundamental concepts such as menu design constraints, individualization, and the life-cycle approach, as well as topics related to maternal nutrition (pregnancy, lactation, gestational diabetes). It then covers nutrient requirements specific to growth stages from infancy through adolescence, complementary feeding, school nutrition programs, and energy and micronutrient needs during periods of rapid growth. Subsequently, the course addresses special adult populations and chronic conditions, including nutritional risks in the elderly, sports nutrition, obesity management, and medical nutrition therapy (MNT) for diabetes. Finally, it covers cardiovascular and renal diseases, cancer, food allergies, plant-based dietary models, and hospital/institutional menu planning systems. Each week, the course focuses on the physiological characteristics of the relevant population, changes in nutritional requirements, therapeutic diet principles, and practical menu examples.