DIETARY ANALYSIS ASSIGNMENT
Spring, 2014
Overview The ultimate purpose of this activity is for you to evaluate the adequacy of your diet and improve your current dietary intake patterns. You will use a federally-supported, public software program (SuperTracker, associated with ChooseMyPlate.gov) to analyze your diet and energy balance. The printout will tell you how well your diet meets your recommended nutrient and caloric intake values (RDAs, AIs, and AMDRs). You will also identify 3 areas that need improvement.
When using SuperTracker, please enter a personal “profile” so that your dietary requirement estimates are as accurate as possible.
Recording Your Dietary Intake You will need to write down everything you eat and drink and your activity patterns for a three day period (forms for doing this are attached). These days do NOT need to be consecutive days, but one day should be a weekend day (Saturday or Sunday). Include all condiments such as catsup, mayonnaise, etc. You do not need to record spices, but you should include water and or vitamin/mineral supplements. During this 3-day period, you should not try to change your diet or activity in any way; this should represent your typical dietary intake and activity patterns.
When you record your diet, you will need to write a brief description of the food/beverages as well as the amount you consumed (e.g. 8 oz of 2% low-fat milk, 1 slice of whole-wheat bread, 1 tablespoon of mayonnaise, 3 oz fried chicken breast with skin, etc). Be as specific as you can. If you eat out, include the name of the restaurant (some of them are included in the SuperTracker database). You may need to ask what is in a particular food. Just do your best! If a food is a “composite food,” write down all of the components (e.g., salad = lettuce + tomato + carrot + dressing + etc). Use the following guidelines for estimating serving sizes.
Cheese
1 ounce of cheese = the size of four dice put together
¾ ounce of cheese = 1 slice of wrapped American cheese
Meat
3 ounces of meat = chicken breast
medium pork chop
piece of meat the size of a deck of cards
4 ounces of meat = piece of meat that fits into the palm of your hand
Beverages
1 can of soft drink = 12 ounces or 1.5 cups
1 medium glass of milk = 1 cup
Snacks
1 handful of snacks (chips, pretzels, nuts, etc) = ½ cup or 1 ounce
Using SuperTracker and Evaluating Your Current Diet Once you have completed your dietary assessment/activity log, you must enter all of the information into SuperTracker (under “Track Food and Activity” tab). The information generated from this diet analysis exercise can then be used to assess your current diet and set goals for improvement.
Identifying Areas in Need of Improvement Based on these results, you must write a brief (½-page, 12-pt font, 1-inch margins, typed; inside the box) essay describing 3 areas that could be improved upon and how you might go about making these changes (what foods could be increased/decreased). Your brief essay must be typed (not handwritten); any text running over the ½-page limit will not be read.
What to Turn In (THESE MUST BE STAPLED TOGETHER WITH YOUR NAME AND STUDENT ID NUMBER ON EACH PAGE; THEY MUST BE PROVIDED IN THE ORDER LISTED BELOW) – You can find most of these pages in the “My Reports” tab; use the “Export Report as PDF” button to save and print them. 5 points will be automatically deducted from assignment if it is not stapled together.
- Meal Summary report
- Physical Activity report
- Nutrients report
- Food Groups & Calories report
- Completed worksheet entitled “Assessing Your Current Diet” (answers must be typed)
- ½-page, typed essay on worksheet entitled “Reflections on Current Diet:” (12-pt font, typed) – note that this assignment is posted to Angel and was sent to you via e-mail; you should use that electronic copy to complete your essay! Handwritten essays will NOT be graded.
Maximal Points: 100 points
Late Assignment Policy: Late assignments will be accepted until February 21 and must be turned in to Karen Chojnacki by 3pm that day. Ten points will automatically be deducted from late assignments.
DIETARY RECORD/ACTIVITY ANALYSIS FORM
Day 1
DIETARY RECORD/ACTIVITY ANALYSIS FORM
Day 2
DIETARY RECORD/ACTIVITY ANALYSIS FORM
Day 3
DIETARY ANALYSIS – page 1
Assessing Your Current Diet
Using information gleaned from the various reports generated from your 3-day dietary assessment, please answer the following questions.
Comparing Dietary Goals with Current Intake Levels – Please fill in the following table.
Assessing Alcohol Consumption
Total kilocalories from alcohol: 0
Percentage of calories from alcohol: 0
Areas of Concern – Please list 3 areas of concern (e.g., too many calories, not enough calcium)
1. Not enough calcium
2. Not enough potassium
3. Not enough dietary fiber
DIETARY ANALYSIS – page 2
Reflections on Current Diet – Use this opportunity to write a brief (½-page, 12-pt font, typed) essay describing 3 areas that could be improved upon and how you might go about making these changes (what foods could be increased/decreased). Your brief essay must be typed (not handwritten); any text running over the ½-page limit (essay must fit within the box below) will not be read.
Works Cited
ChooseMyPlate.gov. "Super Tracker and Other Tools." ChooseMyPlate.gov. USDA, n.d. Web. 11 Feb. 2014. <http://choosemyplate.gov/supertracker-tools/supertracker.html>.
