Food and nutrition affects each and every one of us in many different ways. Most, if not all of us, discuss food, nutrition and health in some way on a somewhat regular basis and inherently understand the value of discussing such topics with others e.g. seeking clarification, help/advice, and confirmation/agreement from others.

In Learning and Teaching, group discussion involves interaction and sharing of learning, provides benefit to all involved and is recognised as a key aspect of ‘deep’ or meaningful learning.

This assessment task provides you with opportunity to talk with other students about selected topics related to food, nutrition and health, to assist you to develop understanding of food and nutrition facts and their connections with broader concepts in nutrition and health.

To complete this task you will:

•  be allocated to a group of approximately 10 students in which you will contribute to group discussion of four (4) topics (see list below), and
• develop a brief report of your personal discussion contributions and reflection of your learning from these discussions.

Task details:

Group allocations and group spaces:

At the end of week 4 (after Census date for Term 1), each student will be randomly allocated to a group. This random allocation aims to create a mix of students from different disciplines and backgrounds thereby providing greater opportunity for exploration and learning of different perspectives.

Each group will be provided with a group space on the unit Moodle site (see My Group Space in the Assessment BLOCK). Only students allocated to your group will be able to access and view your discussions.

Individual contributions to group discussions:

Your individual contributions to discussions should include: asking questions of others in your group about the topic, responding to other student’s questions or comments, questioning others about what they have said.

Prior to making a contribution to discussion of a topic it is expected that you will have:

1. Completed the learning activities related to the topics listed below and also included in the unit Learning Guide (Learning Guide will be available on the unit Moodle site). NOTE: You are not required to submit your answers to these activities.
2. Read through or view any related media articles provided on each of the topics.
3. Reflect on your answers to the learning activities and opinions of any related media and consider your knowledge, understanding and experiences related to the topic.
4. Make note of any questions that arise from these activities that you feel unable to answer alone or would like to explore further and/or any personal experiences or opinions you have regarding the topic.

Topics:

Food selection guides & Dietary Guidelines and Nutrient Recommendations Related learning activities: 1.3 Use of food labels; 4.2 Categorising food for understanding; 4.4 How does your dietary intake compare with the Australian Dietary Guidelines?

Individual nutrients and their role in a healthy diet Related learning activities: 2.2 Vitamin D requirements; 2.3 Calcium requirements; 3.2 Lactose Intolerance; 4.1 Dietary iron intake;4.3 Iron deficiency anaemia

Nutrition assessments Related learning activities: 5.1 Strengths & limitations of 24 hr food recalls; 5.2 Food frequency questionnaires (FFQ); 5.3 Online dietary analysis

Food and nutrition in sport and exercise Related learning activities: 6.1 How do your activity levels compare to the Australian Physical Activity Guidelines?; 6.3 Nutritional supplements.

Once you have completed the activities outlined above you are required to:

1. Go to your allocated group space on unit Moodle site and from your notes (see #4 above) ask your group a question that you feel unable to answer alone or would like to explore further OR post a discussion of a personal experience or opinion you have regarding the topic.

NOTES ON DISCUSSION POSTS:

· It is recommended that you develop and save your discussion posts in a Word document and then copy and paste your discussion to your group space on Moodle. This is to avoid loss of text from a forum that sometimes occurs if there is loss of internet connection or timing out.

· PLEASE DO NOT ATTACH A WORD DOCUMENT FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTION - this adds another ‘click’ (and additional time to load) to the process and deters reading by others.

· You may choose to add additional materials – images, videos, media articles to your forum to explore topics further.

· Please review and proof read your contribution prior to saving.

Reflective report:

You are required to develop and submit a brief reflective report that includes the following:

1. A table that outlines/lists the topics you posted questions/comments to and includes:

a. date of post,

b. topic being discussed,

c. type of posting eg. question posed to group OR response to another students question OR opinion/experience shared with group OR questioning another student about what they have said

d. general direction of discussion e.g. was there consensus or disagreement amongst your group? was their similarities or differences in group experiences or comments?)

NOTE: you do not need to include a copy of your posted discussion.

2. Written account of your reflections of what the discussions did for your learning e.g. Increased your understanding of a topic; change/confirm your opinion and/or personal practices; prompt you to talk with others about the topic and your new knowledge/understanding, etc (approximately 1-2 pages). Format: Word document – including running header that includes your student name, student number and assessment task name; Prefer: size 12 font, 1.5 or double line spacing.

Length: there is no minimum or maximum word length for any aspect of this task.

Marks for this task will be allocated for completion of required tasks as outlined in your reflective report. Your report should therefore include:

• A table that includes details of each topic and discussion post (2 marks for each contribution to each topic (maximum of 10 marks will be awarded for contributions to each topic) (max. 40 marks)
• Depth of reflection: (10 marks)
• Presentation and writing: spelling and grammar, effectiveness of communication, organisation and formatting of portfolio: (10 marks).

In Australia, overweight and obesity affects 64% of adults and 25% of children and adolescents. In simple terms, overweight and obesity are caused by energy imbalance however, there are many other factors that contribute to the development of overweight/obesity. Obesity poses significant risk to our short and long term health and our risk of developing nutrition-related diseases/conditions. Food and dietary behaviours are integral components of weight management but much confusion exists regarding what a healthy diet is and how best to manage our body weight.

This assessment task provides you with opportunity to explore evidence related to the causes, consequences and ‘cures’ or strategies for managing body weight and preventing or treating overweight and obesity.

To complete this task you will be required to:

• Conduct research and develop a 2000 (+/- 10%) word essay that demonstrates your understanding of overweight and obesity including:

•  Definitions and measurement and known issues/limitations of measures
•  Causes – modifiable and non-modifiable factors
•  Health consequences
•  Effectiveness of weight loss strategies and strength of evidence for key strategies.

Marks for this task will be allocated according to the following criteria

• Provides introduction of the topic including significance of the issues and definitions (10)
• Provides evidence based discussion that demonstrates understanding of the causes and health consequences of overweight and obesity (20)
• Utilises current evidence to discuss effectiveness of two (2) common weight loss strategies (20)
• Utilises relevant research, reports and policies/guidelines throughout (10)
• Provides conclusion that restates arguments, maps main conclusions and future viewpoint (10)
• Demonstrates academic writing skills (grammar, sentence structure, punctuation) (10)
• Demonstrates critical thinking and information literacy skills (10)
• Demonstrates understanding of academic referencing (10).

Nutrition assessments are integral to understanding if we meet our needs for a healthy diet. There are no 'gold standard' measures of dietary intakes and the process of assessing the intakes of an individual requires consideration for a broad range of factors (ie. holistic assessment). Understanding how to conduct a basic nutrition assessment is valuable to understanding our own personal intakes and in your respective professional roles, you may encounter times in the future where this task may help you provide the appropriate advice to others.

To complete this task you will be required to:

1. Conduct a nutrition assessment on a family member or friend that includes a: 24-hour food recall, 3-day food record, height, body weight, waist circumference and record of any nutrition-related diseases/conditions.

2. Develop a 15-20 minute oral presentation that reports the outcomes of your assessment and includes discussion each of the following criteria:

• Issues encountered during the conduct of your 24-hour food recall and 3-day food record, how these align with evidence based processes, and any other assessment methods you believe would have enhanced the quality of information collected in your nutrition assessment (include evidence based justification).
• Evidence based discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of food recalls and 3 day food records and issues that you encountered in the process of conducting the nutrition assessment, that may have impacted the accuracy of the nutrition data you collected and your subsequent recommendations.
• Comparison of the individual’s food intakes in relation to their stage of the lifespan and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (AGTHE) recommendations for serves of each food group (including discretionary foods).
• Suggestions for change in dietary intakes and behaviours that you consider necessary for this individual to meet the recommendations for a healthy diet with respect for their stage in the lifespan and current dietary recommendations.
• Comparison of the individual’s anthropometric measures in relation to current Australian standards/recommendations for Body Mass Index and Waist Circumference.
• A conclusion that includes suggestions for changes to dietary intakes that you consider necessary for this individual to meet nutrition recommendations and the requirements for a healthy diet.

Marks for this task will be allocated according to how well you address the following requirements:

• Organisation of presentation: logical sequence; includes relevant and accurate references (10 marks)
• Content included in presentation: Introduction is attention-getting (5 marks); introduces the topic well (5 marks); technical terms are well-defined in language appropriate for the target audience (5 marks); presentation contains accurate information in relation to each of the criteria (25 marks); discussion of material included is relevant to the topics being discussed (10 marks); appropriate amount of material is prepared in discussing each of the topics (10 marks); Conclusion includes appropriate suggestions for changes necessary to meet nutrition recommendation (5 marks).
• Overall Presentation: Speaker uses a clear, audible voice; delivery is poised, controlled and smooth; style presentation and images areas well prepared, informative, effective and not distracting; length of presentation is within assigned time limits; good language skills, pace, pitch and pronunciation are used (25 marks).