Conduct a three-day diet analysis that tracks your consumptions of calories, protein, fats, carbs, water, salt, vitamin B & C

Assignment Brief

Diet Analysis (15%)

Aims:

To conduct a three-day diet analysis that tracks your consumptions of calories, protein, fats, carbs (simple and complex carbs), water, salt, vitamin B & C, Mg, Zn and amount of processed vs whole foods. At the conclusion of the three days, tabulate your intake. Write a synthesis of the overall quality and quantity of your diet. Identify three changes needed to support your health. Develop improvement strategies and outcome measures for each change.

Directions:

1. Using myfitnesspal (or another diet tracking software), conduct a three day diet analysis.  Record the foods and amounts eaten during the day.
2. Complete the chart to identify how your daily diet relates to the RDI for the macro and micronutrients. 
3. Complete the diet analysis.
4. Submit the assignment following APA formatting.

Diet Analysis (Max 2 pages):

The diet analysis should include the following:

1. Based on your Chart, what aspects of your diet support a healthy eating pattern? /2
2. Based on your Chart, what aspects of your diet do not support a healthy eating pattern? /2
3. What are the potential health outcomes (a minimum of 2) if you continue in this eating pattern?  Use evidence to support this link. /4 
4. Identify two changes needed to support your health.  Describe the change required and an outcome measure for success for each.  Use evidence to support this link. /4

Diet analysis table must be completed and included with your submission as an appendix in order for the assignment to be graded. 

*Minimum of one evidence based article to support your analysis.

Please use the APA resources provided on the course Bb site.  These will support you to ensure your paper is free of APA errors.  It will be up to you to examine your paper to determine if you have made errors.  If your paper contains APA errors, you will lose 0.5 marks for 2 or less errors, 1 mark for 4 or less errors and 2 marks for 6 or more errors.

Although each section has allotted grades to emphasize the importance of the various sections, your assignment will receive an overall grade out of 15.

Sample Answer

Diet Analysis

Introduction

Nutrition plays an essential role in promoting health and preventing chronic illness. Tracking food intake provides an opportunity to evaluate dietary quality, identify deficiencies or excesses, and plan improvements. This report presents a three-day diet analysis that examined calorie, macronutrient, and micronutrient intake, with comparisons to the Recommended Dietary Intake (RDI). Based on the analysis, strengths and weaknesses of the eating pattern are highlighted, followed by evidence-based recommendations for improvement.

Healthy Aspects of the Diet

The diet included a reasonable distribution of macronutrients, with average daily intake of 2,050 kcal, where 50% came from carbohydrates, 30% from fats, and 20% from protein. This aligns with acceptable macronutrient distribution ranges (U.S. Department of Agriculture [USDA], 2020). Daily water intake averaged 2 litres, which supports hydration and metabolic function. Vitamin C intake was adequate (averaging 95 mg daily) due to regular consumption of fruit, which supports immune health and iron absorption (World Health Organization [WHO], 2020). Whole grain bread, fresh vegetables, and lean proteins such as chicken and beans were also present, contributing to fibre and micronutrient sufficiency.

Unhealthy Aspects of the Diet

The diet showed excess sodium intake, averaging 3,200 mg daily, which is above the recommended limit of 2,300 mg (WHO, 2020). This primarily came from processed foods such as packaged soups and crisps. In addition, the intake of added sugars was high, averaging 55 g daily, mostly from sweetened drinks. Magnesium (Mg) and zinc (Zn) intake were below recommended levels, reflecting limited consumption of nuts, seeds, and legumes. Finally, while some meals contained whole foods, approximately 45% of the diet came from processed sources, which may increase long-term health risks.

Potential Health Outcomes

If this eating pattern continues, two major health outcomes may result:

1. Hypertension and cardiovascular disease. High sodium intake is strongly linked to elevated blood pressure, which increases the risk of stroke and heart disease (Mozaffarian et al., 2014).

2. Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus and obesity. High sugar consumption and reliance on processed foods contribute to weight gain, insulin resistance, and increased risk of metabolic disorders (Malik & Hu, 2015).

Over time, these dietary patterns may reduce quality of life and increase healthcare burden.

Recommended Changes and Improvement Strategies

1. Reduce sodium intake.

   • Change required: Replace processed meals with fresh, home-prepared alternatives using herbs and spices instead of salt.

   • Outcome measure: Reduce daily sodium intake to under 2,300 mg within six weeks, confirmed through food logging.

   • Evidence: Studies show that lowering sodium intake decreases blood pressure and cardiovascular risk (He et al., 2020).

2. Increase intake of magnesium and zinc.

   • Change required: Incorporate magnesium- and zinc-rich foods such as nuts, seeds, whole grains, and legumes into daily meals.

   • Outcome measure: Achieve recommended intakes of Mg (310–420 mg/day) and Zn (8–11 mg/day) consistently for one month.

   • Evidence: Adequate intake of these minerals supports energy metabolism, immune function, and reduces risk of chronic disease (National Institutes of Health [NIH], 2021).

Continued...