Research Paper on Nutrition Perspectives

Objective: Discover different ways of approaching nutrition, how it impacts our daily lives and what choices we can make to improve our health and our world.

A rubric will be used for grading this assignment.

Choose a book or documentary from the following list:

• Fast Food Nation by Eric Schlosser
• Diet for a New America by John Robbins
• Go green, Get lean by Kate Geagan
• In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto by Michael Pollan
• Omnivore’s Dilemma by Michael Pollan
• Animal, Vegetable, Miracle: A Year of Food Life by Barbara Kingsolver
• The Flexitarian Diet by Dawn Jackson Blatner
• What to Eat by Marion Nestle
• Intuitive Eating by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
• Why We Get Fat…and What to do about it by Gary Taubes
• Mindless Eating by Brian Wansink
• The End of Overeating by David Kessler
• Food Inc. by Robert Kenner
• Supersize Me by Morgan Spurlock
• Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead by Joe Cross and Kurt Engfehr

Write a paper that includes the following:

Information about your book/documentary.  Use the heading Background for this section. 

1. Who is the author and what are his/her credentials?  When was the book written or the documentary produced?
2. Give a brief summary and tell about the central themes of the book/film?
3. Are the themes still applicable today? Why or why not?

Choose three nutrition concepts (i.e., serving sizes, caloric intake, etc.) from your book/film to discuss.  Entitle this section Nutrition Concepts and compose at least one paragraph for each concept. 

1. What does your textbook say about each concept?
2. What does a scholarly source say about each concept? You must use at least three scholarly sources other than your textbook.  (please refer to “Websites: Tips for Finding Reliable Health Information” below for a list of acceptable sources)

Tell what you learned about nutrition from this assignment.  Entitle this section What I Learned. 

1. How did the book/documentary change your point of view?  What did you find most interesting about this book/documentary?
2. Discuss the validity of the book/documentary based on what you’ve learned about reliable research this semester.  What makes this good or poor research?
3. Will you incorporate the ideas you learned about into your own life? Why or why not?

Use of proper grammar and style 

1. Did you use proper grammar, spelling, and sentence structure?
2. Did you cite your sources with parenthetical citations in the body of your writing?  You must document your research. Parenthetical citations must be used throughout your paper. Even if you put into your own words the information you have learned from your research, you must document from whom and where you found the information.  This is done by putting the author’s name at the end of a sentence or paragraph with the page that the information was found and enclosing it in parentheses.  An example of this would be as follows: The six classes of nutrients are carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, minerals and water (Wardlaw 5).
3. Did you include a works cited page referencing all the sources you used in your paper (i.e., film/book, your textbook, additional sources from part 2)?  Give enough information for the reader to find the source you cited.
4. Is your paper at least 3 pages in length, double spaced, 12 pt. font?

Web Sites: Tips for Finding Reliable Health Information:

The following suggestions may help when you are surfing the Web for health information.

Domain names

Choose sites with domain names that end in .gov or .edu, whenever possible. Many sites with a domain name ending in .org also are good sources of information. Although many domains ending with .com are reliable sources of information, this varies widely by site, and consumers should use good judgment when determining the validity and accuracy of information found on these sites.

Mission statements

Look for a mission statement that describes the organization and what its values are.

Credentials and affiliations

Look for the author’s credentials. Registered dietitians (RDs) are the best sources of nutrition information. People with the designations of master of public health (MPH) or certified health education specialist (CHES) also are reliable sources of information. Note that the designation “nutritionist” varies by state and does not always imply a formal education. Also research the author’s affiliations to determine if any conflict of interest exists.

Updates

Look for a recent date of last update to ensure that the information is timely.

Peer-reviewed content

Look for peer-reviewed information. This means that the article was checked for accuracy by a team of other well-educated professionals. 

Contact us

Reliable Web sites will provide an e-mail address for questions and feedback. 

References

Articles should include references, as well as other reliable sources of information. 

Claims

Beware of unrealistic claims, and remember that if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Never trust a Web site that implies that you can replace the nutrition of whole foods with supplements. Do not believe any claims that ask you to eliminate an entire group of food from your diet (eg, all carbohydrates or all dairy).

Suggested Web sites

www.americanheart.org (Links to an external site.): Provides nutrition and lifestyle advice to prevent and treat heart disease. Includes sections for patients, caregivers, health care professionals, researchers, and scientists. 

 www.cancer.org (Links to an external site.): Offers information about the prevention and treatment of cancer. Features a Great American Eat Right Challenge section, including cooking and shopping tips, weight control guidance, and recipes.

www.cspinet.org (Links to an external site.): Features useful consumer information through the Center for Science in the Public Interest, a consumer advocacy organization with twin missions—“to conduct innovative research and advocacy programs in health and nutrition, and to provide consumers with current, useful information about their health and well-being.”

www.diabetes.org (Links to an external site.): Includes diabetes research and information about the disease and treatment.  Also provides information about preventing diabetes, special sections for parents and kids, and advocacy tips and resources. 

www.eatright.org (Links to an external site.): Contains nutrition information, nutrition-related legislation, and a tool for locating a dietitian in your geographical location.

www.fda.gov (Links to an external site.): Lists information from the US Food and Drug Administration about food safety, including food recalls, food additives, dietary supplements, and special interest areas broken down by age and sex. 

www.foodallergy.org (Links to an external site.): Provides information about common food allergies, anaphylaxis, advocacy, and research, as well as recipes and articles written specifically for the newly diagnosed, schools, and child care. 

www.mayohealth.org (Links to an external site.): Offers comprehensive guides on hundreds of conditions and a symptom search tool, as well as information on prescription and over-the-counter drugs, medical tests and procedures, and tools for healthy living.

www.ncahf.org (Links to an external site.): Contains evaluations or food and nutrition fads and fallacies, provided by the National Council Against Health Fraud. 

www.niddk.nih.gov (Links to an external site.): Features information about diabetes, digestive health, and kidney disease, including nutrition tips, current research, and treatment options. Owned by the National Institutes of Health, the site offers quizzes to test your knowledge base, tutorials, slide shows, videos, podcasts, lesson plans, and classroom activities. 

www.nutrition.gov (Links to an external site.): Lists information on nutrition and dietary guidance from multiple government agencies, including the US Dept of Agriculture and the US Dept of Health and Human Services. 

http://www.niams.nih.gov/Health_Info/Bone/ (Links to an external site.): Includes information from the National Institutes of Health about metabolic bone diseases, including osteoporosis, Paget’s disease, osteogenesis imperfecta, and other disorders.

www.usda.gov (Links to an external site.): Provides information on food safety, MyPlate guidelines, child nutrition programs, and other information. Also on the Food and Nutrition Page, you can access the What’s in the Foods You Eat search tool, which allows you to view nutrient profiles for 13,000 foods commonly eaten in the United States.

www.vrg.org (Links to an external site.): Offers vegetarian recipes and nutrition information. 

 Others

Sports Nutrition

www.ais.org.au/nutrition/ (Links to an external site.)

www.gssiweb.org (Links to an external site.)

www.sportsnutritionsociety.org (Links to an external site.)

www.extension.iastate.edu/nutrition/sport (Links to an external site.)

www.scandpg.org (Links to an external site.)

http://nutrition.arizona.edu/new/publications (Links to an external site.)

www.urbanext.uiuc.edu/hsnut (Links to an external site.)

Eating Disorders

www.anred.com (Links to an external site.)

www.edap.com (Links to an external site.)

www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/eatingdisorders.cfm (Links to an external site.)

Dietary Supplements

http://abc.herbalgram.org (Links to an external site.)

http://www.aafp.org/afp/20010301/913.html (Links to an external site.)

http://www.consumerlab.com/ (Links to an external site.)

http://www.supplementwatch.com/ (Links to an external site.)

www.naturaldatabase.com (Links to an external site.)

www.ncaa.org (Links to an external site.)

www.drugfreesport.com (Links to an external site.)

http://dietary-supplements.nih.gov/ (Links to an external site.)

Exercise

www.aahperd.org (Links to an external site.)

www.acefitness.org (Links to an external site.)

www.acsm.org (Links to an external site.)

www.ideafit.com (Links to an external site.)

www.nata.org (Links to an external site.)

www.nsca-lift.org (Links to an external site.)

www.physsportsmed.com (Links to an external site.)

http://exerciseismedicine.org/ (Links to an external site.)

www.humankinetics.com (Links to an external site.)