Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to introduce nutritional analysis. It allows you to collect your data and provide a nutritional analysis and comparison of nutritional standards of your nutrition. Your experience doing this will be as a client. You will be practicing the science of completing a nutritional analysis. Also, you will become more comfortable in guiding your clients with their nutritional needs. You will explore how your nutrition affects your wellness.
Task
Data collection
Record everything you eat/drink for three days in a food diary. Try to choose typical days and be precise about serving sizes. This is an individual paper.
In addition to the type and quantity of food, record the psychosocial aspects of eating (whom you were with, where you were when you ate, and feelings and reasons for eating).
Record all your activities for one day, accounting for 24 hours. That means including sitting, reading, sleeping, etc., and your exercise activities. Only record one action each time: if you are sitting and studying, pick studying, which burns more calories.
Organization of Data and Comparison to Nutritional Standards
Enter the items on your 3-day diet record into an app or website. Use any website or app that will give you a nutritional analysis. Examples include MyFitnessPalLinks to an external site. and MyPlate Calorie Counter. Please indicate which site or app you used in your paper. Many of you may already have an app you like for nutrition and exercise – use that! Or you may use this Nutrition Guide template Nutrition Information Guide.Download Nutrition Information Guide.
Suppose your app doesn’t include the following elements: carbohydrates, fats, protein, vitamins and minerals, and fiber. Please provide a self-reflection based on label reading and what you are low and high in these elements. When identifying deficiencies, please state specific foods you may eat to address that deficiency.
Here is a helpful tool to help you read food labels: guide_to_reading_food_labels
After you enter the data, run the analysis offered by the website or app. It may be helpful to print a copy of the information or copy it into a Word doc to help you write your paper.
Enter the activities you recorded in the energy expenditure/activity section of the program you use. Save the results.
Use the copy of your 3-day food analysis to write your paper.
You do not need to include the analysis or diet record in the paper.
Analysis and Planning
After completing data collection, you have the data you need to analyze your nutrient intake by comparing the organized data to the standards. Submit a paper of 2-3 double-spaced pages (plus a title page and reference page) that discusses the following (if available on the app or website). Use the questions below to guide your analysis into written form for the paper.
List the nutrients (including Fats, Proteins, Carbohydrates, Vitamins, Minerals, and Fiber) in your analysis that are less than 70% or more than 130% of the Recommended Dietary Allowance. Include both the nutrient and the percentage of low and high items.
Based on the results of your 3-day assessment, in which nutrient groups did you not meet, and did you exceed the recommended number of servings? If one of these is not included in the app you use, give a general impression such as “Since I ate few vegetables, by reading product labels or looking up information online, I expect I may be low in… “or Since my diet is primarily vegetables, I expect that I may have a high intake of these vitamins and minerals but low in protein. If elements fall between 70-120% of the RDA threshold, state that protein, carbohydrates, vitamins, and minerals except sodium fell between 70-120%.
How do calories expended compare to calories consumed? Please specify both numbers for reference. What are the implications of the comparison?
Which dietary element or nutrient differed from nutritional standard to a degree you believe is most significant to your wellness status? Why?
Identify modifications that will enhance the adequacy of your diet.
What interpersonal or environmental factors will support, and which will hinder the modifications you are planning?
Writing
Papers will be double-spaced and typed with a font size of 11 or 12. Include a title and reference page per your discipline’s format. Three current references (less than 10 years old) are required. Each reference will be cited in your paper to support your content. The course text MUST be one of the references mentioned.
All nursing and pre-nursing students must use APA format, providing a title and reference page. Review APA at APA StyleLinks to an external site. or use the APA manual 7th
Students from other disciplines may use the appropriate format for that discipline. However, even though a title page is not required in MLA or other forms, it is a requirement by the instructor that a title page is provided. Review MLA at MLA Formatting and Style GuideLinks to an external site.
Please state in your paper if you used APA, MLA, or another professional writing format.
Helpful websites for professional article searches:
PubMed (from the National Library of Medicine): PubMedLinks to an external site.
CINAHL (from the UW-EC McIntyre Library): UW-ECLinks to an external site.