WGU COURSE CONTENT · NUTRITION D440
WGU NUTRITION D440 COMPETED STUDY GUIDE 2026/27
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ALREADY PASSED!! 2026/2027
A+
Complete Blueprint Coverage · Verified Rationales
A+ 5 100%
QUESTIONS VERIFIED EXAM DOMAINS COVERED RATIONALES INCLUDED
CATEGORIES
Section 1: Macronutrients and Energy Metabolism
Section 2: Micronutrients, Fluids, and Electrolytes
Section 3: Digestion, Absorption, and Nutritional Assessment
Section 4: Nutrition Across the Life Span
Section 5: Clinical Nutrition and Therapeutic Diets
STUVIAACTUALEXAM
, SECTION 1: MACRONUTRIENTS AND ENERGY METABOLISM
Question 1
A 28-year-old distance runner consumes a pre-race meal that is very high in simple sugars and low in complex
carbohydrates. Two hours into a long training run the athlete experiences a sharp drop in energy. Which physiologic
explanation best accounts for this response?
A. Simple sugars produced a rapid insulin response followed by reactive hypoglycemia, leaving less sustained glucose
available during prolonged exercise.
B. Complex carbohydrates always cause faster fatigue than simple sugars during endurance activity.
C. Protein should have been the primary pre-race fuel because amino acids are the preferred muscle energy source.
D. Dietary fat is required within 30 minutes of exercise to prevent glycogen depletion.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale:
A large load of simple sugars can trigger a strong insulin surge and subsequent drop in blood glucose. Complex carbohydrates
provide a more gradual release of glucose, better supporting sustained endurance activity. Protein and fat are not the primary fuels
for high-intensity aerobic work in this context.
Question 2
A client following a very-low-carbohydrate diet for three weeks reports fruity-smelling breath and mild fatigue. Laboratory
work shows elevated urine ketones. Which metabolic adaptation is primarily responsible for these findings?
A. Increased reliance on ketone bodies produced from fatty-acid oxidation when carbohydrate availability is chronically low.
B. Excessive protein synthesis that releases aromatic compounds into the breath.
C. Rapid glycogen supercompensation causing overflow of glucose into the urine.
D. Vitamin C deficiency secondary to reduced fruit intake alone.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale:
When carbohydrate intake is very low, hepatic fatty-acid oxidation increases and generates ketone bodies that can be used by
peripheral tissues and the brain. Fruity breath and ketonuria are classic signs of nutritional ketosis. Protein synthesis and glycogen
supercompensation do not produce this pattern.
Question 3
A nutrition student calculates that a food label lists 12 g of total fat, of which 4 g are saturated and 1 g is trans fat. The
remaining fat is primarily unsaturated. How many kilocalories does the total fat contribute per serving?
A. 48 kcal, because fat provides 4 kcal per gram.
B. 108 kcal, because fat provides 9 kcal per gram.
C. 84 kcal, counting only the unsaturated portion.
D. 12 kcal, treating each gram of fat as 1 kcal.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale:
Dietary fat yields approximately 9 kcal per gram regardless of saturation. 12 g x 9 kcal/g = 108 kcal. The 4 kcal/g value applies to
carbohydrate and protein, not fat.
WGU NUTRITION D440 2026/2027 Page 2
WGU NUTRITION D440 COMPETED STUDY GUIDE 2026/27
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS ALREADY PASSED!! 2026/2027
A+
Complete Blueprint Coverage · Verified Rationales
A+ 5 100%
QUESTIONS VERIFIED EXAM DOMAINS COVERED RATIONALES INCLUDED
CATEGORIES
Section 1: Macronutrients and Energy Metabolism
Section 2: Micronutrients, Fluids, and Electrolytes
Section 3: Digestion, Absorption, and Nutritional Assessment
Section 4: Nutrition Across the Life Span
Section 5: Clinical Nutrition and Therapeutic Diets
STUVIAACTUALEXAM
, SECTION 1: MACRONUTRIENTS AND ENERGY METABOLISM
Question 1
A 28-year-old distance runner consumes a pre-race meal that is very high in simple sugars and low in complex
carbohydrates. Two hours into a long training run the athlete experiences a sharp drop in energy. Which physiologic
explanation best accounts for this response?
A. Simple sugars produced a rapid insulin response followed by reactive hypoglycemia, leaving less sustained glucose
available during prolonged exercise.
B. Complex carbohydrates always cause faster fatigue than simple sugars during endurance activity.
C. Protein should have been the primary pre-race fuel because amino acids are the preferred muscle energy source.
D. Dietary fat is required within 30 minutes of exercise to prevent glycogen depletion.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale:
A large load of simple sugars can trigger a strong insulin surge and subsequent drop in blood glucose. Complex carbohydrates
provide a more gradual release of glucose, better supporting sustained endurance activity. Protein and fat are not the primary fuels
for high-intensity aerobic work in this context.
Question 2
A client following a very-low-carbohydrate diet for three weeks reports fruity-smelling breath and mild fatigue. Laboratory
work shows elevated urine ketones. Which metabolic adaptation is primarily responsible for these findings?
A. Increased reliance on ketone bodies produced from fatty-acid oxidation when carbohydrate availability is chronically low.
B. Excessive protein synthesis that releases aromatic compounds into the breath.
C. Rapid glycogen supercompensation causing overflow of glucose into the urine.
D. Vitamin C deficiency secondary to reduced fruit intake alone.
Correct Answer: A
Rationale:
When carbohydrate intake is very low, hepatic fatty-acid oxidation increases and generates ketone bodies that can be used by
peripheral tissues and the brain. Fruity breath and ketonuria are classic signs of nutritional ketosis. Protein synthesis and glycogen
supercompensation do not produce this pattern.
Question 3
A nutrition student calculates that a food label lists 12 g of total fat, of which 4 g are saturated and 1 g is trans fat. The
remaining fat is primarily unsaturated. How many kilocalories does the total fat contribute per serving?
A. 48 kcal, because fat provides 4 kcal per gram.
B. 108 kcal, because fat provides 9 kcal per gram.
C. 84 kcal, counting only the unsaturated portion.
D. 12 kcal, treating each gram of fat as 1 kcal.
Correct Answer: B
Rationale:
Dietary fat yields approximately 9 kcal per gram regardless of saturation. 12 g x 9 kcal/g = 108 kcal. The 4 kcal/g value applies to
carbohydrate and protein, not fat.
WGU NUTRITION D440 2026/2027 Page 2
