EVALUATION OF A POPULAR DIET BOOK
1. Choose and read a popular diet book of your choice (Atkins, The Zone, Eat Right for Your Blood Type, etc.). The book must be a weight loss book, a book that promises to cure or treat disease or a book that describes some specific way of eating such as plant based with specific foods to be eaten or eliminated.
2. Write a paper (please type) that includes the following:
a. A detailed summary of what the diet is and the rationale for the diet. I need to know what the diet is based on and what you get to eat or what is off limits and why. If it has several stages, you need to tell me about each stage. This should take at least 2 pages double spaced minimum.
b. You will need to run a typical day of the diet you are analyzing (food intake) through the MyPlate Super Tracker which can be found to get information to answer several of the following questions (see directions at the end of all assignments). If you have access to a similar nutrient analysis program, feel free to use it. There are many free programs online that will work just fine but you must be able to print a report that details the micronutrients (all vitamins and minerals) as well as macronutrients (carbs, fat, protein) as well as a break down in food groups.
Make sure to attach your reports to your assignment. If using SuperTracker you will need to run the following reports: nutrients report, a food group and %calorie report and a meal summary report. See examples of the required printouts at the end of assignment descriptions.
c. Evaluate the diet by answering the following questions. Make sure to answer the questions in your paper in the same order that they appear on the instructions. I would prefer you to number or letter your paper in the same format as the questions. Make sure to explain your answers in several sentences and include details as needed.
i. Is it missing or under in any essential nutrients (vitamins, minerals, carbs, fat, protein, food group)? What are they? Could these lead to any health issue? Refer to your printout to answer and check your text to learn about deficiency issues.You cannot answer this question without the correct SuperTracker reports. You can put your answers for i and ii into a chart form if that helps you to organize your answers.
ii. Does it provide too much of any nutrient or food group? What are they? Could these lead to any health issue? Refer to your printout reports as well as your text to answer.
iii. Is it so different from an average individual's normal eating pattern that compliance is unlikely? Think typical American diet here. Explain.
iv. Will the person learn new and healthful ways of eating so they can keep the weight off? Explain what makes it more healthful.
v. Is it expensive? Think about the average American and what they might spend. Explain.
vi. Does it provide a calorie deficit (does it result in the individual eating fewer calories than they are burning?), which then leads to weight loss? Look at your print outs to see what is recommended for caloric intake and what amount would actually be consumed. Explain.
vii. Is it too low in calories (below 1200 calories daily), which could lead to health issues? Refer to chapter 11 in text.
viii. Does the diet make reasonable claims regarding weight loss? 1-2 pounds per week is a reasonable weight loss goal. Explain.
ix. Does it include necessary or required restrictions of certain foods? What are they? Be specific.If you have answered this question in detail in your summary, you may refer back to your summary description so as not to be redundant.
x. Are the credentials of the author promoting the diet sound? Make sure to list the credentials, education etc. You might need to Google to find out what the credentials are. Why do you feel the author's credentials make him/her a reputable authority on the subject?
xi. Does the author provide research to support his/her claims? Is it cited or is a reference list provided? Are testimonials used as a way to sell the diet?
xii. Do you have to purchase any special products such as foods or supplements to follow the diet? Does the author sell the products that are required?
xiii. Does our current body of scientific evidence support the diet approach/theory?Make sure to include several paragraphs that discuss your findings. What are the opinions of experts in the field about the diet or what did you learn about researching a particular aspect of the diet if you could not find diet reviews. Please find 3 reliable sources/reviews, which discuss the diet.
They could be positive, negative or neutral (check out US World and News Report, January 2015/16/17). If you cannot find any reviews of the diet then you will need to find articles that support or oppose any of the principles or premises of the diet that you have read (you must use diet reviews as your first choice). For example, if you read a book that has not been reviewed or you can find little information on it and the diet focuses on Omega 3 fatty acids, find 3 articles that discuss the pros and or cons of fatty acids.
Make sure to cite them correctly on a separate page, which you attach to your summary. Make sure to watch out for websites that promote particular products or are linked to the book you have read. You will lose points if your sources are actually for-profit sites marketing products or diets or are blogs of a particular diet.
xiv. How does it compare to material that we have covered in the class or found in the text? Explain.
d. Wrap Up/Critical Analysis
i. What are your reactions to this diet?
ii. How would you rate this diet on a scale of 1 (poor) to 10 (great)? Why? Think about your answers from the previous questions. Did you find the diet to be healthy? Were nutrient needs met? Was it expensive or restrictive? If your research found that the diet is unproven or unhealthy yet you rate the diet with a high score, please explain why you would still consider the diet as something reasonable to follow.
iii. Would you recommend it to family or friends? Why or why not?
Attachment:- Diet Analysis Project.rar