Diet Analysis
Evaluating Food and Nutrient Intake
Record your diet for 3 days. If you would like, there are “Diet Record” forms available on the content pages. Record two consecutive weekdays (example: Tuesday and Wednesday) and 1 weekend day. Start keeping track when you wake up and continue until you go to sleep. Record all food and beverages; including water. Separate your supplements and alcohol intake for each day and write them in the provided space. Any protein powder drinks, meal replacements, etc. do not get included with food, but should be included in the supplements section. There is no way to make-up this project if you lose your information.
You will enter these foods in the USDA MyPlate SuperTracker website, so include as much information as possible. The database is large….very good for fast food, not so complete for ethnic foods. Do your best to record accurately. The ‘content’ pages of d2l have useful documents to help you record an accurate food diary and determine portion sizes.
**NOTE: The SuperTracker database is often down for maintenance and can be unreliable. Because of this, it is imperative that you DO NOT wait until the last minute to use the website.
https://www.choosemyplate.gov/SuperTracker/default.aspx)
After you have the three days recorded, go to the USDA MyPlate Super Tracker website above to analyze your diet. (DO NOT include any supplements in the calculations for this dietary analysis.) When working on this assignment, do NOT utilize the Physical Activity part of the website. You have been instructed to collect diet data on 3 separate days because one day will not usually represent the overall diet; a variety of days is usually more indicative of overall trends in intake.
Instructions for the USDA MyPlate SuperTracker website: (also see tutorial linked in content pages)
1. Create a user profile with your information
2. Log in and proceed to food tracker (middle box towards the bottom)
3. Enter each of your foods, including serving sizes and quantity, for the day until all foods are entered. Make sure to change the date for each new day.
4. The dark blue navigation bar contains the My Reports menu link.
5. You need to set the dates to cover all 3 days you entered for each report.
5. Click on ‘Nutrient Report’, ‘Food Groups and Calories’ Report, and the ‘Meal Summary Report’ from the drop down My Reports menu. Copy and save all three reports in a word or pdf document. All three reports must be submitted along with your assignment in the dropbox. Use the information from these reports to complete the rest of the assignment.
To get full points on the assignment, you need to upload 4 files total: (1 “nutrient report”, 1 “food groups and calorie report”, 1 “meal summary report” and 1 assignment). Upload files in the Diet Analysis dropbox area. Your files will go through the TurnItIn plagiarism software. If you upload diet/files that are found to be copies of another student’s diet you will not earn diet analysis points and you will be written up for plagiarism.
Analyze Your Findings
1) (3pts) How did your macronutrient intake compare to the AMDR?
Target (AMDR) Average eaten (% of total cals) Status (under, OK, or over)
Protein
56g
10-35% Calories 25% Calories OK
Carbohydrate
130g
45-65% Calories 42% Calories Under
Fat
20-35% Calories 31% Calories OK
2) (5pts) Explain your carbohydrate and empty calorie intake:
Question Answer Examples from your 3-day record
What made up the majority of your grain intake-whole or refined grains? Whole grains 1 cup Pasta, whole wheat, with tomato sauce, meatless
What percent of your total calories came from added sugars? 9.95% 1 can (12 fl oz) Soft drink, cola (Pepsi, Coke)
What percent of your total calories were considered ‘empty calories’? 25.22% 6 nugget Chicken nuggets (McDonald’s, Weaver Mini Drums, Tyson Chicken Sticks, Carl’s Jr. Chicken Stars)
What was your average fiber eaten and how does it compare to the recommendations? (See page 8|17) 18g and target is 38g 1 cup, chopped Broccoli, raw
Complete the fiber quiz on page 8|13. According to the quiz, is your diet fiber rich? no
3) (2pts) How could your fiber intake (or lack thereof) influence your risk for diverticula? (see page 8|16)
When we eat low-fiber foods, we should excrete small glosses, and the pressure which makes the small glosses causes the diverticulosis.
4) (2pts) Look over your protein intake. Did you consume more animal based or plant based protein? (use page 14|7). List examples of each from your 3-day food record.
I consumed more animal based protein, which is 8.5 of 9 ounces from meat, poultry and eggs. 6 nugget Chicken nuggets (McDonald’s, Weaver Mini Drums, Tyson Chicken Sticks, Carl’s Jr. Chicken Stars); 1 medium steak Steak, beef, grilled or broiled, lean and fat eaten; and 1 medium breast Chicken, breast, boneless, skinless, baked.
5) (3pts) Fill in the following table pertaining to fats in your diet:
Question Answer
Was your saturated fat within the target range? No, my average eaten was 11% calories and the target should be less than 10%.
How many serving of fish did you consume while recording your diet? No fish, but one and half ounces seafood (shrimp).
How many calories came from solid fats? What percent is this of your total calories? There was 205 calories from solid fats, which is 12.99% of total calories.
6) (3pts) Fill in the select Food Groups table below:
Target Average Eaten Examples from your 3-day food record
Dark Green
2.5 cups/week 4 cups Over
Red and Orange 7cups/week 1.5 cups Under
Beans and Peas 2.5cups/week 0 cup Under
Starchy Vegetables 7cups/week 1 cup Under
Fruit Juice
No specific target 0 cup No specific target
Whole Fruit
No specific target 0 cup No specific target
7) (1pt) Are you under in any of the vegetable categories? If so, list foods that you could incorporate into your diet that would satisfy this category.
Yes, I was under many of them, I should add tomatoes, carrot into red and orange vegetable; beans into beans and peas; potatoes and carrot into starchy vegetables.
8) (1pt) What made up the majority of your fruit intake- whole fruit or fruit juice? Include examples from your 3-day record.
I did not eat any of fruit juice or whole fruit.
9) (5pts) Micronutrients: Fill in the table using ONLY your ‘average eaten’ minerals and vitamins that fall UNDER the target value. Calculate the percent of intake (see calculation help) for these UNDER micronutrients.
Nutrient Target Average Eaten % target intake (Your intake/target intake)*100 Examples of sources
Calcium (mg) 1000mg 589mg 58.9% Milk, yogurt, cheese
Potassium (mg) 4700mg 2315mg 49.3% Yogurt
Sodium (mg) <2300mg 2835mg 123.3% Poultry, pizza
Copper (ug) 900 µg 942 µg 104.7% Shellfish, whole grains
Iron (mg) 8mg 11mg 137.5% Organ meats
Magnesium (mg) 400mg 254mg 63.5% Vegetables
Phosphorus (mg) 700mg 1220mg 174.3% Milk
Selenium (ug) 55 µg 132 µg 240% Meat and fish
Zinc (mg) 11mg 14mg 127.3% Oysters
Vitamin A (RAE) 900 µg RAE 642 µg RAE 71.3% Carrots, pumpkins
Vitamin B6 (mg) 1.3mg 2.0mg 153.8% Poultry, meat
Vitamin B12 (ug) 2.4 µg 5.0 µg 208.3% Beef liver, shellfish
Vitamin C (mg) 90mg 133mg 147.8% Fruits
Vitamin D (ug) 15 µg 2 µg 13.3% Fatty fish, salmon, tuna
Vitamin E (AT) 15mg AT 6mg AT 40% Wheat germ oil
Vitamin K (ug) 120 µg 249 µg 20.5% Green vegetables
Thiamin (mg) 1.2mg 0.9mg 75% Whole grains, meats, fish
Folate (ug DFE) 400 µg DFE 306 µg DFE 76.5% Vegetables, fruits
Thiamin (mg) 1.2mg 0.9mg 75% Whole grains, meats, fish
Riboflavin (mg) 1.3mg 1.2mg 92.3% Soybeans, spinach
Niacin (mg) 16mg 28mg 175% Tuna, chicken, turkey
Choline (mg) 500mg 401mg 80.2% Eggs
Choline (mg) 500mg 401mg 80.2% Eggs
Evaluating Energy Balance and Theoretical Weight Change
See the “calculation help” link in the content page for further assistance. You must SHOW YOUR WORK!
Determine the components of energy used
Energy used or ‘energy out’ is a term used to describe the calories that you use each day. You use calories in three ways; through basal metabolic rate (BMR), physical activity, and thermic effect of food (TEF). You can think of these three things as pieces of the same pie; parts A, B and C. You will estimate these three parts based on your own information and then add them together to determine your “estimated energy requirement” (EER).
A: Basal Metabolic Rate (BMR) (3pts)
Formula to Calculate BMR
Males Female
10-18 (17.5 x wt in kg) + 651 10-18 (12.2 x wt in kg) + 746
18-30 (15.3 x wt in kg) + 679 18-30 (14.7 x wt in kg) + 496
30-60 (11.6 x wt in kg) + 879 30-60 (8.7 x wt in kg) + 829
>60 (13.5 x wt in kg) + 487 >60 (10.5 x wt in kg) + 596
There are many different ways to estimate BMR (roughly-the calories needed for basic functioning). The one you will use for this assignment is from the World Health Organization (WHO). From the table below, select the equation appropriate for your age and gender; then calculate the equation with your weight in kg (note- to find your weight in kg, take your weight in pounds and divide by 2.2):
(_______ x ________ kg) + ________ = ________ calories used through BMR
B: Average Voluntary Activity (3pts)
We are using the rec center as an example, however, physical activity could be other activities that are similar. Find the range that best describes you, and then choose a factor within that range. Then multiply your factor by the average BMR from part ‘A’:
Physical Activity Level PA Factor: Men PA Factor: Women
Light (walking to class; rec center 1-2x/week) 0.1-0.3 0.1-0.25
Moderate (rec center 3-5x/week) 0.3-0.50 0.25-0.40
Medium Heavy (rec center 5-7x/week) 0.5-0.7 0.4-0.6
Heavy (athlete who works out several hours per day) 0.7-0.90 0.6-0.80
PA Factor:_____ x BMR:________ = _____________ calories used through physical activity
C: Thermic Effect of Food (TEF) (2pts)
_________ average calorie intake x .10 = ___________ calories used through TEF
Calculate estimated energy requirement (EER)
and compare energy ‘in’ to energy ‘out’
Next, you need to find your total energy
Expenditure (which dictates your requirement). Add together your results from parts A, B, and C above and enter the result in the red box in the table below for EER. Enter your average calorie intake (calories in)in the other red box. These are the two factors involved in energy balance.
Energy Balance (3pts)
Average Calorie Intake Estimated Energy Requirement (EER) Are you in balance? (yes or no) Gaining, Losing, or Remaining the same? **
Theoretical Weight Change (4pts)
** Use the ‘3500 calories= 1 pound’ conversion to estimate the theoretical rate of weight gain or loss per week and show your work. (See ‘Calculation Help’ on the content page if needed)
Final Analysis (10pts)
This must be typed, have a minimum of 200 words of response per question. As you address your food group and nutrient intake, keep in mind that the greater your deficiency relative to recommendation, the greater the need for explanation and intervention. This is not true for going over the recommendation. You are being graded on your analysis of what you recorded. If you were sick and you ate very few calories (or recorded very few calories), you must treat this final analysis like it is what you always do and expand on what potential health issues would be affected and how you would treat them with a new diet. Those low calorie recordings will require a lot more writing and intervention that a typical calorie recording. You must provide complete and thoughtful summary in order to get full credit.
1. Explain dietary changes that are needed to address deficiencies and excesses from the macro and micronutrient tables at the beginning of this assignment.
2. Are your results from the ‘theoretical weight change’ section at the end consistent with your recent weight history? Explain.