Assignment Topic: The Six Essential Nutrients and Personal Nutritional Health

Rationale: Research shows that nutrition education can teach students to recognize how a healthy diet influences emotional well-being and how emotions may influence eating habits. Nutrition education equips students with important skills they can use to improve their health throughout life. Given the important role that diet plays in preventing chronic diseases and supporting good health, this assignment will allow you to learn about the different nutrient classes, explore strategies to achieve a personal nutritional health plan, and research current nutritional trends that have a positive impact on one’s health.

Objectives:

• Student will be able to analyze the six essential nutrients and their functions/contributions to the human body in terms of health and fitness.
• Student will be able to conduct research on specific trends that have proven to have a positive impact on lowering the risk of diseases. 
• Student will be able to analyze their own personal diet and nutrition, and focus on one area to set a personal nutritional health goal.

Standards:

• 2.2.12.N.3: Analyze the unique contributions of each nutrient class (e.g., fats, carbohydrates, protein, water, vitamins, minerals) to one’s health and fitness.
• 2.2.12.N.4: Implement strategies and monitor progress in achieving a personal nutritional health plan.
• 2.2.12.N.5: Research present trends in plant based and organic food choices and industries that have shown an impact on lowering heart, cancer, diabetes, and other diseases. 

Directions: 

Part 1

Research the six essential nutrients that we get from food (fats, carbohydrates, protein, water, vitamins, and minerals). In a format of your choosing, create a table containing the following information:

• The name of the nutrient
• The purpose of the nutrient/its function in the human body (i.e, what does it contribute to a person’s daily functioning?)
• How the nutrient is related to a person’s health and fitness
• Examples of where/in what the nutrient can be found

Part 2

Conduct research on recent trends in nutrition/health and fitness that have shown an impact on lowering heart disease, cancer, diabetes, and/or other diseases. Write a 1-paragraph summary of your findings. 

Part 3

Using your new knowledge from your research and findings from Parts 1 and 2, analyze your own personal diet and intake trends in terms of nutrition. Choose an area of your diet that you would like to improve on (think about the six essential nutrients from Part 1).In a 1-page essay, complete the following:

• Describe the area of your diet that you would like to improve on
• In SMART goal format (use this resource for help with SMART goals), write out your personal nutritional health goal
• Explain how improving that area of your diet will impact your nutrition and overall health
• Discuss strategies/methods you would use to monitor your progress to achieve your personal nutritional health goal
• Cite research that exists to support the importance of maintaining quality nutrition in this specific area of your diet

Provide a list of your resources along with the above tasks in a comprehensive document.

Grading: Your assignment will be evaluated on the following:

• Completion of all assignment requirements.
• Use of accurate and up-to-date information.
• Creativity – formatting, aesthetic, and design.
• Submission of the assignment to your teacher’s email by Friday of the week assigned.

Based on the above items, your grade will be placed in the gradebook in lieu of your “participation” for the week.