Healthy Eating Assignment: A Three-Day Food Record

Question

Task

Healthy Eating Assignment Description: Students will complete a three day Food Record. Students will need to review and assess their completed Food Record with regard to meeting their recommended dietary requirements as outlined by the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and the Australian Dietary Guidelines. You will evaluate their diet in the context of the current scientific literature and public health policy. You also need to identify any issues in terms of accessing appropriate foods and/or meeting Australian Guide to Healthy Eating recommendations; and what implications, if any, there might be over the short or longer term.

Answer

Compare 3-day food record vs Australian Guide to Healthy Eating
The research on healthy eating assignment signifies that when Australian Guide to Healthy Eating is compared with the three-day food record there are some similarities found on the record.

Similarities:
In the three-day food record, all the day food had some of the other food groups that are mentioned in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating.

The Day 1 food record, from the vegetable and food section of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating requirements, contains black cumin from the grain section, ginger, and mint leaves from the vegetable section in the pre-breakfast. In breakfast, it contains the white part of the egg which comes under the milk section. In the mid-morning meal, one can have blueberry fruit. At lunch, from the vegetable section cucumber and carrot are considered and fruit section, spinach. In the evening meal, we have watermelon from the fruit section. In super, from the vegetable section ginger and mint leaves and the grain section black cumin.

On day 2, the fruit section has lemon, the vegetable section has ginger for pre-breakfast. In the breakfast, we have an apple from the fruit section. In mid-morning, we have Greek yogurt from the meat section and mix berries from the fruit section. In lunch, there is a white egg part from the meat section and tomatoes and green beans from the vegetable section. In the afternoon tea, nuts are in the record and evening meal, have cucumber from the fruit section.

If the day 3 food record is check, it contains black cumin which comes under the fruit, mint leaves, and ginger which comes under vegetables. This is food taken during the pre-breakfast. In the breakfast, it contains Oats which comes under the grain, an apple with a half hand of nuts which comes under the fruit section. The mid-morning meal contains apple slices with peanut butter that comes under the fruit section. In lunch, yogurt comes under the milk section. In afternoon tea, we contain better milk that comes under the milk section. In the evening meal, the meat section is considered with the white part of the egg and from milk section 1 glass of milk.

Recommendation:
It is recommended to follow the extra food item in the food record.The food record is for the age group of 14 – 18 years of boys (Department of Health | The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, 2013). The extra food item is recommended accordingly,

On day 1, of the food record, if seen, there is 1 glass of warm water and honey is extra. In the afternoon meal, green tea is extra.

On day 2, pre-breakfast, honey, and warm water are extra. In the afternoon and Supper, green tea is extra.

On day 3, pre-breakfast, 1 glass of warm water and honey is extra. In supper, 1 black coffee is extra.

This extra section is something that doesn't come in the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating guidelines.

Observation or Issues:
While looking into the 3-day food record template, it was quite difficult to understand what are the food that can be included in the table that was given as it need a comparison between the 3-day food record and the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. It took a lot of time to get it related to the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating (Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, 2017). Find out the accurate time to make it work.

Dietary Analysis

Implications
With the implication of the 3-day food record diets that is mentioned in the template, it can help the body intake healthy nutrition. Even when the total amount of serves in the diet could not meet the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, the diet provides a healthy lifestyle to maintain the balance in the body and with proper exercise get the exact fitness the body needs (Australian Dietary Guidelines 1 - 5, 2015). The intake of this food group can also help in keeping and maintaining a healthy lifestyle.

Critiques
With detailed analysis when looked into the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and 3-day food record, it was observed that as per the age groups between 14 to 18 years, the number of serves for the boys should be: Vegetables: 5 ½, Fruits: 2, Grain (cereal) 7, Lean meats and alternatives 2 ½, Dairy and alternatives 3 ½. The critique that has to be mentioned over here is to meet the general nutrition of the requirements with relation to the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. Now when the 3-day food record is observed, on day 1, the total amount of serves per day is Vegetable: 4, Fruits: 3, Grain: 1, Meat, and Bean: 4. On day 2, the total amount of serves per day is Vegetable: 4, Fruit: 3, Grain 1. On day 3, the total amount of serves per day is Vegetable: 5, Fruit: 1 ½, Meat, and Bean: 4, Milk: 1. This means the food records need to meet certain criteria of the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating to balance the nutrients in the body (Department of Health | The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, 2013).

Potential Strength or Issues
The potential strengths the diet could provide are a healthy lifestyle, natural glow in the facial and a fit body also apart from it, need a proper and regular exercise.

Short Term Perspective
If the diet that is mentioned in the 3-day food record is followed for a short time, then it can help in regulating the fats that are contained in the body. It will replace saturated fats and provide a healthy diet. In this record, all the foods and drinks are recorded that were supposed to be consumed.

Long Term Perspective
From the long-term perspective, continuing the same 3 days' diet could keep the body stable, by avoiding unwanted fats to grow within which can disfigure some parts of the body. To have a good figure body, intake of the same 3-day food record diet could give a healthy living in a long-term. Along with it, a regular workout is also important to keep the strength in the muscle and have a healthy weight as the person is growing older. The same diet that is kept in the food record can be extended for a long time even when carried out multiple times.

Evaluation of dietary data

Strengths
Consumption of food and drink in the data of 3-day food record gives detail about the nutrient intake along with total dietary intake for a short term while completed thoroughly with the use of the nutritional supplement. Initially, the making of the 3-day food record was time-consuming. As looking for the accurate food intake that keeps the body healthy for which it needs a lot of research on different food dietary. The disadvantage is that of the inaccuracy of absolute nutrient values. In many cases, it may not follow the Australian Guide of Healthy Food Eating

All the food and nutrient data are used for analysis. Whether there is a food dairy or ingredients that could weigh a lot where the details could be measured through consumption and have a good estimation of actual intake. The food record dairy could ensure that in every occasion there is different eating is included along with the quantity. The 3-day food record dietary is convenient to use by the user. Qualitative information could be recorded while comparing with the Australian Guide to Healthy eating.

Other ways to measure dietary data
The most commonly used dietary measure is

1. 24-hour Recall
   The current intake of the nutrient is assessed by this method. This can be done by call or in person. If there is no announcement, then the diet does not change. In comparison to food records, the subject burden for the 24-hours recall is less, which could be around 20 to 30 minutes at the max (McClung et al., 2018). The population is low in income literacy. One disadvantage of it is that the intake of the usual diet could not be described. Based on cooperation, communication, and memory ability the success of recall will depend.

2. FFQs
   Over the time of 1 year, many people in a group provide FFQs that could give estimates of dietary intake. Various categories could distribute the nutrient intake. Specific foods are listed by FFQ which the user eats and then they are asked about it how much quantity are they eating and how often are they eating. This FFQs is culture-specific that are developed through the different list. FFQs are developed in both short and long items of food. Unfortunately, the assessment is not design based on the current intake of energy.

Understanding the food environment

Impacts of Food Environment in the food record
The choice of food mention in the record determines what food in greater quantity the broader population of the public can eat. It’s a major concern for the wide variety of public. For managing health, making a good food choice is a crucial role. An individual can consume 71% more in terms of calories that could serve as plates, bowls, saucers, or cups (Pitt et al., 2017). It is recommended to use smaller plates to control the portion of the sizes. In this way, the intake of food by the public can be controlled through sensory experience which has been attributed to a positive hedonic response. When the serving capacity is large and unlimited then the plates and bowls also get exaggerated. The way the food is presented defines the food environment of the people. In many cases, the food environment gets affected by the eating environment. So, maintaining a proper food habit can reduce the concern of malnutrition and other weakness entering the body. Even the large population of the public can obtain and follow the same food record.

Critiques
Many studies show the result on how much an individual serves and consumes food subsequently. Now, if the 3-day food record is prepared and that chart is being followed then within a short time, an individual can grow healthy and fit (Lachat et al., 2018). There would be no extra fat or portion of the body will increase in size and this can be maintained for a longer time. Apart from that, the nutrient intake can be increase or decrease by comparing the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating and following the policy mention on it.

The implication of the Food Environment
Many researches were design to experiment with the food environment. It may be useful for a single point in time but tracking the change may be less useful over time (Herforth, A., 2016). Many of the eating patterns when observed was found that the results were inconsistent and contradictory (Turner et al., 2020). The goal of every nutritionist is to increase the activities that could conduct national, regional, and global levels to improve the level of nutrients in the individual body. Many studies provide sectoral policies for sensitive nutrition related to food system policies (Steinemann et al., 2017).

By measuring and monitoring the consumption of food dietary, policies and programs are designed to have a better impact on the nutrients (Ronto et al., 2017). This could have an impact on policy assessment. There is a need for global monitory and indicators to recognize the importance of diets that could provide health and nutritional status (Lake, 2018). Many dietary qualities have recently developed.

Therefore, to understand the measurement of food and nutrition it is important to examine the capacity. The food environment is far from static, it is variable and complex. Due to the complexity, there are practical limitations in the field-based measures Logue (et al., 2018).

Appendix

REFERENCES
eatforhealth.gov.au. 2015. Australian Dietary Guidelines 1 - 5. [online] Available at: [Accessed 8 April 2021].

eatforhealth.gov.au. 2017. Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. [online] Available at: [Accessed 8 April 2021].

Herforth, A., 2016. Impact assessment of policies to support healthy food environments and healthy diets.

Lachat, C., Raneri, J.E., Smith, K.W., Kolsteren, P., Van Damme, P., Verzelen, K., Penafiel, D., Vanhove, W., Kennedy, G., Hunter, D. and Odhiambo, F.O., 2018. Dietary species richness as a measure of food biodiversity and nutritional quality of diets. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 115(1), pp.127-132.

Lake, A.A., 2018. Neighborhood food environments: food choice, foodscapes, and planning for health. Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, 77(3), pp.239-246.

Logue, D., Madigan, S.M., Delahunt, E., Heinen, M., Mc Donnell, S.J. and Corish, C.A., 2018. Low energy availability in athletes: a review of prevalence, dietary patterns, physiological health, and sports performance. Sports Medicine, 48(1), pp.73-96.

McClung, H.L., Ptomey, L.T., Shook, R.P., Aggarwal, A., Gorczyca, A.M., Sazonov, E.S., Becofsky, K., Weiss, R. and Das, S.K., 2018. Dietary intake and physical activity assessment: current tools, techniques, and technologies for use in adult populations. American journal of preventive medicine, 55(4), pp.e93-e104.

Pitt, E., Gallegos, D., Comans, T., Cameron, C., and Thornton, L., 2017. Exploring the influence of local food environments on food behaviors: a systematic review of qualitative literature. Public health nutrition, 20(13), pp.2393-2405.

Ronto, R., Ball, L., Pendergast, D. and Harris, N., 2017. What is the status of food literacy in Australian high schools? Perceptions of home economics teachers. Appetite, 108, pp.326-334.

Steinemann, N., Grize, L., Ziesemer, K., Kauf, P., Probst-Hensch, N. and Brombach, C., 2017. Relative validation of a food frequency questionnaire to estimate food intake in an adult population. Food & nutrition research.

Turner, C., Kalamatianou, S., Drewnowski, A., Kulkarni, B., Kinra, S. and Kadiyala, S., 2020. Food environment research in low-and middle-income countries: a systematic scoping review. Advances in Nutrition, 11(2), pp.387-397.

www1.health.gov.au. 2013. Department of Health | The Australian Guide to Healthy Eating. [online] Available at: [Accessed 7 April 2021].