Fast Food Nation Nutrition Analysis
The first step in planning a healthier diet
is to know what you eat and its
nutritional value. This project analyzes
your intake and challenges you to make
changes. You can use the diet assessment
tool in the Computer Lab or can use one
of these free online diet analysis
programs:
Nat.Illinois.edu/mainnat.html
www.fitday.com
Mypyramidtracker.gov/planner
Computerized Nutrient Analysis
This project is an initial step in learning how to evaluate the nutritional adequacy of a diet.
Students will analyze their own food and beverage intake for nutritional adequacy against
recognized standards.
A.
Dietary Intake:
The Three Day Food Record
1. Keep a complete record of your food and beverage intake for 3 days using Eating Logs.
Use as many pages as necessary, but always begin a new day’s intake on a new form.
Submit these forms with your final project.
2. The three days must include 2 consecutive weekdays and one weekend day:
Thursday/Friday/Saturday
or
Sunday/Monday/Tuesday
3. List all the foods and beverages you consumed during the three days you selected for
your project. Be sure to include all items such as salad dressing, butter on toast, oil used
in cooking, condiments and flavorings.
a. Identify the amount of each food consumed using common household measures
i.e., 3 oz., 1/2 cup, 1/2 tsp. Also include the quantity of the oil, salad dressing,
butter, etc. used on your food.
b. When you identify the food you consumed also identify the method of food
preparation used such as fried, boiled, baked, etc. and any descriptive
information about the food items.
EXAMPLE:
FOOD ITEM AND PREPARATION
Whole wheat toast
Grape jam
Milk, 1% fat
Baked Chicken breast with wing and skin
With canola oil and spices
Mixed green salad-iceberg lettuce
Shredded carrots
Sliced tomato
French salad dressing, regular
Italian herb croutons
Black Beans
With Oil and spices
Onions
Rice, white
With butter and spices
Snapple iced tea, lemon flavored, sweetened
B.
AMOUNT
1 slice
2 tsp.
8 oz.
4 oz.
1 tsp (oil)
1 cup
1/8 cup
1/8
2 tbsp.
1 tsp.
2cups
2 tsp (oil)
1 tbsp
11/2 cups
2 tbsp. (butter)
20 oz.
Dietary Analysis:
 The MyDietAnalysis computer program completes the actual analysis of your diet.
Students will “input” the food and beverages consumed into the computer, and print
out the assigned documents.
 The information or data obtained from the computer analysis must be interpreted by
students to determine the strengths of their diet and opportunities for improvement of
their current dietary intake.
 Students’ interpretation of the computer dietary analysis should be based on the
information and knowledge students gained during this course.
 All of your narrative answers must be supported by sound nutrition information.
The Narrative:
Each question and part of each question must be answered in complete sentences.
1. My DRI’s:
A. What does DRI stand for and what are they used for?
B. Compare your intakes to the DRI are appropriate for your age & gender.
1. For how many nutrients analyzed did you meet requirements?
2. How many nutrients and which nutrients were less than 80% of
requirements?
3. How many nutrients and which nutrients were greater than 120% of
requirements?
2. MyPyramid:
A. What is the purpose of MyPyramid?
B. Using the nutritional assessment previously completed, students should note the
MyPyramid information provided by their diet analysis software and answer the
following questions:
1. Do your intakes meet recommendations for each food group?
2. What food groups are you high in?
3. What food groups are you low in?
4. What changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet the
recommendations of MyPyramid?
3. Fiber:
The health of the GI tract depends to a great extent on the foods we eat.
A. Using the nutritional assessment previously completed, students should review the
information provided by their diet analysis software and note the following:
1. What is your fiber intake? Do you meet the recommendations for fiber
intake?
2. What is your water intake? Do you meet recommendations for water intake?
3. If you have any GI difficulties, can you correlate them with any of the foods
you consume?
4. What changes could you make in your diet, specifically your intake of water
and fiber, to improve the health of your GI tract?
4. Carbohydrates:
A. Explain: what dietary carbohydrate is and the difference between simple sugars,
natural sugars, complex carbohydrate, and dietary fiber. Identify food sources of each.
Explain the role that each type of carbohydrate plays in a person’s health.
B. Using the nutritional assessment previously completed, students should note the
following based on their average intake:
1. How many grams of carbohydrate do you consume?
2. What percentage of your calories comes from carbohydrate?
3. How many grams of sugar do you consume?
4. What percentage of your calories comes from sugar?
5. Compare the % calories from CHO with the AMDR. Does your intake meet
the recommendation for CHO?
6. What three foods did you consume that contain the highest level of sugar?
How many grams of sugar were in each food?
7. What changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet carbohydrate
and sugar recommendations?
5. Lipids:
A. Explain: what dietary fat is and the difference between saturated, polyunsaturated,
and monounsaturated fat. Identify food sources of each. Explain the role of each type of
fat in the body.
B. Using the nutritional assessment previously completed, students should note the
following based on their average intake:
1. How many grams of total fat do you consume?
2. What percentage of your calories comes from total fat?
3. How many grams of saturated fat do you consume?
4. How many grams of trans fat do you consume?
5. How many milligrams of cholesterol do you consume? Compare your intake
to the recommended intake of cholesterol.
6. Compare your % calories from fat with the AMDR. Does your intake meet
the recommendation for fat?
7. What three foods that you consumed contained the highest level of fat? How
many grams of fat were in each food?
8. What specific changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet fat
and cholesterol recommendations?
6. Protein:
A. Explain: what dietary protein is, why the body needs it, the difference between
complete protein and incomplete protein, and food sources of each.
B. Using the nutritional assessment previously completed, students should note the
following based on their average intake:
1. How many grams of protein do you consume? Is your intake more than 2X
your RDA value for protein?
2. What percentage of your calories comes from protein?
3. Compare your % calories from protein with the AMDR. Does your intake
meet the recommendation for protein?
4. What three foods that you consumed that contained the highest amount of
protein? How many grams of protein were in each food?
5. What specific changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet
protein recommendations?
7. Water Balance: Sodium/Potassium:
Using the nutritional assessment previously completed, students should note the following based
on their average intake:
A. Sodium:
1. How many milligrams of sodium do you consume?
2. How does your sodium intake compare to the recommendation?
3. What three foods that you consumed contained the highest amount of
sodium? How many milligrams of sodium were in each food?
4. What specific changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet
sodium recommendations?
B. Potassium:
1. How many milligrams of potassium do you consume?
2. How does your potassium intake compare to the recommendation?
3. What specific changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet
potassium recommendations?
C. Water:
1. How much water do you consume?
2. How does your water intake compare to the recommendation?
8. Antioxidants:
Using the nutritional assessment previously completed, students should note the following based
on their average intake:
A. Vitamin E:
1. How many milligrams of vitamin E do you consume?
2. How does your intake of this nutrient compare with the recommendation?
3. What specific changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet
recommendation?
B. Vitamin C
1. How many milligrams of vitamin C do you consume?
2. How does your intake of this nutrient compare with the recommendation?
3. What specific changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet
recommendation?
C. Vitamin A:
1. How many micrograms of vitamin A do you consume?
2. How does your intake of this nutrient compare with the recommendation?
3. What specific changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet
recommendations:
D. Selenium?
1. How many micrograms of selenium do you consume?
2. How does your intake of this nutrient compare with the recommendation?
3. What specific changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet
recommendations:
9. Phytochemicals:
Using the 3-day food record, students will identify which foods in their journal contained
phytochemicals. To help you with this activity, Figure 1 on page 352, can be used.
1. List at least 3 phytochemicals, their functions and at least 2 foods that contain each of
them.
2. If your diet doesn’t contain at least 3 phytochemicals, discuss what you would do to
improve your diet.
10. Bone Health:
Using the nutritional assessment previously completed, students should note the following based
on their average intake:
A. Calcium:
1. How many milligrams do you consume?
2. How does your intake of this nutrient compare with the recommendation?
3. What specific changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet
recommendation?
B. Vitamin D:
1. How many milligrams do you consume?
2. How does your intake of this nutrient compare with the recommendation?
3. What specific changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet the
recommendation?
C. Magnesium:
1. How many milligrams do you consume?
2. How does your intake of this nutrient compare with the recommendation?
3. What specific changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet the
recommendation?
11. Blood:
Using the nutritional assessment previously completed, students should note the following based
on their average intake:
A. Folate:
1. How many micrograms do you consume?
2. How does your intake of this nutrient compare with the recommendation?
3. What specific changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet the
recommendation?
B. Iron:
1. How many milligrams do you consume?
2. How does your intake of this nutrient compare with the recommendation?
3. What specific changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet the
recommendation?
C. Zinc:
4. How many milligrams do you consume?
5. How does your intake of this nutrient compare with the recommendations?
6. What specific changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet the
recommendation?
12. Weight Maintenance:
Using the nutritional assessment previously completed, students should note the following based
on their average intake:
A. Calories:
1. How many calories do you consume?
2. How does this caloric intake compare to the recommendations? Would you gain,
lose (and how much) or remain at a consistent weight if you continued to eat this
way?
3. What three foods that you consume contain the highest number of calories?
4. How many calories are in each of these foods?
5. What changes can you make in your diet to more closely meet your caloric
recommendation?
13. Eating Behaviors:
Using your food intake records, answer the following questions:
1. When do I eat?
2. Do I skip meals often?
3. Where do I eat?
4. Why do I eat?
5. Are there any eating behaviors I’d like to change?
14. Additives:
Using the nutritional assessment previously completed, identify a processed food that you
consumed, if you did not consume any, look at any packaged food:
1. Evaluate the ingredient list for this food and identify at least 2 ingredients that are
food additives.
2. Explain the function of each food additive you identify.
15. SUMMARIZE YOUR TOTAL FINDINGS CONCERNING YOUR DIET IN
5 – 7 SENTENCES. Be clear and specific
PROJECT MECHANICS:
YOUR PROJECT SHOULD BE NEATLY PRESENTED:




The narrative portion of the project must be typed. Points will be deducted from the
final grade if the paper is not typed.
The calculations required for the project, as well as the forms to be completed, may
be handwritten.
All forms must be submitted with the final project.
All work must be neat and legible or it will not be accepted.
THE PAGES SHOULD BE NUMBERED AND PLACED IN THE FOLLOWING ORDER.
1. A COVER PAGE WITH YOUR NAME, DATE, AND CLASS ON IT
2. THE NARRATIVE
3. ALL FORMS CORRESPONDING TO EACH QUESTION
4. THE EATING LOGS
5. THE COMPUTER PRINTOUTS
A PLASTIC COVER OR FOLDER IS HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.
Rubric for Nutrition Project
Name: __________________________Date Submitted:
_______________
Submission of EL/ CP for review
5/5 pts
10
_________
Narrative questions answered correctly and completely:
1-DRI
2
___________
2-MyPyramid
5
___________
3-Fiber
5
___________
4-Carbohydrate
10
___________
5-Fats/Cholesterol
10
___________
6-Protein
10
___________
7-Water Balance
8
___________
8-Anti-Oxidants
5
___________
9-Phytochemicals
5
___________
10-Bone Health
5
___________
11-Blood
5
___________
12-Weight Maintenance
5
___________
13-Eating Behaviors
5
___________
14-Additives
15-SUMMARY
TOTAL
5
___________
5
___________
___________/100
FORM - EATING LOG
NAME
DAY 1 2 3 (CIRCLE ONE)
FOOD ITEM
BREAKFAST - TIME ______
SNACK – TIME ______
DATE
WORK DAY
NON-WORKDAY
HOW IT WAS PREPARED
AMOUNT
LUNCH – TIME ______
SNACK – TIME ______
DINNER – TIME ______