A three-day food diary which will enable you analyze your own diet, in order to evaluate your energy and nutrient intake. Remember to include the quantities of the different foods you eat. Use tables or a spreadsheet (e.g. Excel) to record your food diary. Please include caffeine and alcohol in your food diary where applicable. This raw data forms Appendix A of your assignment.

Calculate:

Note: All energy values calculated must be expressed in kilojoules (kJ)

Your total energy intake (kJ) and express the energy nutrients (carbs, protein, fat and alcohol as applicable) for your three-day diet as a percentage of your total energy intake. This should be Appendix B of your assignment.

Your average daily intake for the nutrients (listed in the table below) and express your average daily intakes as a percentage of the RDI/AI of these nutrients for each of the three days. This should be Appendix C of your assignment.

Show the fully-worked calculations used to generate the following data. This is Appendix D of your assignment:

BMI
BMR
Estimated energy requirement (EER) taking into consideration your personal physical activities in this calculation. Note that formula for EER can be found on p238 (or p250 of the 1st edition) of the recommended textbook.
Converting quantity (g) of energy yielding nutrients to kJ
Expressing energy yielding nutrients as % of total energy intake
Expressing average daily intakes as % of RDI/AI
In your calculations, you should include any assumptions or conversions you have made.

Convert any Excel spreadsheets you use in your calculations or for your food diary to a pdf file (this will be printed out so please ensure the text is in a legible font size before you convert to pdf) and submit this as an attachment.

(Note: Consider a nutrient which is ±20% of the recommended level to be in excess or deficient)

Present:

Your Results in a Summary Table and indicate nutrients that are in excess or deficient. Discuss your summary table in relation to your anthropometric data, based on your calculations above and highlight the effects of any excesses or deficiencies in your diet. Recommend any changes that are required in your diet or lifestyle to maintain your health and explain the reason for the changes you would make. If your assessment recommends no changes, explain why.

Note that your result summary table should be included at the beginning of your assignment and is a summary of the data from your appendices.

Rationale
The dietary analysis assignment serves the purpose of applying the ‘theoretical’ knowledge relating to the importance of nutrient intake to a practical exercise, emphasizing the importance of a healthy diet. As such it requires addressing the following learning outcomes as appropriate for an individual’s circumstances, since not all are applicable in every case:

be able to describe the range of nutrients and recommended nutrient intakes
be able to outline the digestion, absorption and transport of nutrients in the human body;
be able to describe the nutritional importance of water soluble and fat soluble vitamins, minerals and trace minerals;
distinguish those special nutritional requirements during periods of physiological stress (eg during different stages of the life cycle including pregnancy and lactation, and during periods of physical activity);
be able to discuss the link between diet and health;
be able to describe the role of nutrition in various disease states;
be able to identify the role of pharmaceutical agents in nutritional therapy.
Marking criteria
Assessment rubric