Question

Have you ever looked at your diet and activity before this assignment? If so, what tools or methods did you use? What challenges did you encounter completing this assignment? What new perspective, if any, do you have now that you have used Diet & Wellness Plus to analyze your diet and activity level? Would you recommend a similar tool with others to help them to assess their diet and activity? Why or why not? Minimum 500 words required.

Answer 1

DIETARY ASSESSMENT METHODS .

Diet is a major lifestyle - related risk factor of various chronic diseases . Dietary intake can be assessed by subjective report and objective observation . Subjective assessment is possible using open - ended surveys such as dietary recalls or records , or using closed - ended surveys including food frequency questionnaires . Each method has inherent strengths and limitations .

DIETARY ASSESSMENT BY OBJECTIVE OBSERVATION .

Dietary intake can be assessed by objective observation using a duplicate diet approach or food consumption record by a trained staff . The duplicate diet method collects duplicate samples of a patient's normal diet , and then analyses it to estimate potential dietary exposures . This method has been mainly used to measure exposure to environmental contaminants such as phthalates and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in foods and beverages . Food consumption record collects dietary information on patient's food preparation and consumption in their home with the objective observation of skilled field workers .

DIETARY ASSESSMENT BY SUBJECTIVE REPORT

Subjective dietary assessment methods that assess an individuals intake includes ;

1. 24 hour dietary recall ( 24 HR )
2. Dietary record ( DR )
3. Dietary history
4. FFQ ( food frequency questionnaire )

24 Hour dietary recall and dietary record ;

The 24 HR and DR are completely open -ended surveys and collect a variety of detailed information about food consumed over a specific period . The 24 HR is conducted in an in - depth interview manner and typically requires 20-30 minutes to complete a single day recall . The amount of each food consumed are estimated in a reference to a common size container ( eg ; bowls , cups , and glasses ) , standard measuring cups and spoons etc . DR collects data from patient's self - record at the time the food are eaten , thus minimizes reliance on a patient's memory .

Interactive computer based technologies , which were introduced relatively early in dietary assessment method development , aims to be a comprehensive system for data collection , coding , entry , and calculation of intakes . In addition , mobile phone applications that allow users to enter dietary intake data have been released . Patient's can manually record their diet by choosing corresponding items from a pre - defined list of foods and beverages , and the quantity of food consumed can be recorded.

DIETARY HISTORY .

This method requires that patient's complete a 24 HR , 3 - day food diary , and checklist of foods usually consumed .

FOOD FREQUENCY QUESTIONNAIRE

The FFQ is an advanced form of the checklist in dietary history method , and asks respondents how often and how much food they ate over a specific period . Presenting about 100-150 foods , this questionnaire takes 20-30 minutes to complete and can self - administered or collected via interview .

SPECIFIC BIOCHEMICAL MARKERS

Specific biochemical markers have been used as a surrogate to measure the dietary intake of selected nutrients or dietary components . These markers are highly correlated with dietary intake levels , free of a social desirability bias , independent of memory , and not based on subject's ability to describe the type and quantity of food consumed . So these markers provide more accurate measures than dietary intake estimates do .

ACTIVITY ASSESSMENT METHODS .

Assessment of physical activity in a free - living environment is important for understanding relations between physical activity and health and determining the effectiveness of interventions . Techniques include ;

1. Behavioural observation .
2. Questionnaires in the form of diaries , recall questionnaires and interviews .
3. Physiological markers like heartrate , calorimetry
4. Motion sensors .

Behavioural observation ;

It is one of the method to assess the physical activity . It has evolved by direct entry of data in a computer . This method is time consuming , the presence of an observer might interfere with the activity behaviour of the subject and the classification of observed activities , especially activity intensity , is subjective .

Questionnaires

Activity questionnaires , including interviews and diaries , are the most common tools for the assessment of physical activity . This method is cheap and allows application in large populations .

Heartrate monitoring ;

Heartrate monitoring is one of the first objective methods for the assessment of physical activity . It include 2 -4 days continuous heart rate monitoring . Those with a higher level of physical fitness can generate more activity at a lower heart rate than unfit subjects . The combined heartrate with accelerometry , may improve precision of physical activity measurement .

Motion sensors ;

Motion sensors are the most promising for the assessment of physical activity . Sensors can be applied in free - living subjects over prolonged period of time . When equipped with a data memory to store information on body movement , they can also be used to study patterns of physical activity in time . Various sensors hane been developed from mechanical devices to electronic accelerometers . Accelerometers can provide information about the total amount , the frequency , the intensity , and the duration of physical activity .

Pedometers ;

Pedometers measure number of steps taken with a horizontal , spring - suspended lever arm which is deflected when the subject's hip accelerates vertically with a force beyond a chosen threshold . Pedometers correlate strongly with uniaxial accelerometers , and directly observed duration of activities . It provide more accurate data for running and moderate walking , as these behaviours require forward vertical motion .

Armbands ;

In recent years armbands has been developed and validated in an effort to address the limitations of other devices . Several versions of the armbands exist ( eg ; sensewear , healthwear, bodybugg ) and they use motion and heat- related sensors to measure energy expenditure and monitor metabolic physical activity . Armbands have provento be excellent devices for tasks of daily life ( low to moderate activity ) , but have not been ideal for higher intensity exercise .

The interaction between daily physical activity and health requires an objective and reliable method for the assessment of physical activity in free - living subject's . The method should be suitable to measure physical activity over periods long enough to be representative for normal daily life , with minimal discomfort to the subject's .