Nutrition for
Health and
Fitness
8
LEARNING OUTCOMES
1 Define the terms nutrition
and nutrient and explain how
nutrients are classified.
2 Describe the function of the
four macronutrients in the
body and list common dietary
sources for each.
3 Explain what micronutrients
are and why they are important
for health.
4 Outline the guidelines for a
healthy diet.
5 List several resources that can
be helpful in planning a healthy
diet.
6 Explain why children, pregnant
women, vegetarians, and
those with food allergies or
intolerances have special
dietary needs and how these
needs can be addressed.
7 Describe how rigorous exercise
training alters a person’s
nutrition requirements.
8 List the pros and cons of
dietary supplement use.
9 Describe the major issues of
food safety and how changes in
food technology affect the food
we consume.
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do it! LABS
laboratory 8.1 Complete Lab 8.1 online in the study
area of Mastering Health.
Name __________________________________________________________________________ Date ____________
Analyzing Your Diet
The purpose of this assessment is to analyze your eating habits. For a 3-day period (2 weekdays and 1 weekend
day), eat the foods that typically constitute your normal diet. Use the SuperTracker feature on ChooseMyPlate.
gov (select “Food Tracker” under “Track Food & Activity”) to chart the foods you ate that day and the amounts of
each food. You can enter your food or search for the items you ate during the day. After you record your food
intake, you can use the dietary analysis features to determine the nutrients in each food, the daily totals, and
the average for the 3 days. The nutrient recommendations are based on the information you entered for your
age, weight, sex, and activity level.
Select the “Food Details” report and click the “Select All” box under “Nutrients” to see the nutrient totals for each
day. This report will provide nutrient values for each item that you consumed per day. Next, select the “Nutrients
Report” for the average of your calorie and nutrient values over the 3-day period. When you create your profile,
your data will be saved in SuperTracker. You can use the site to monitor your diet as you make healthy modifi-
cations. You can also print your report or save it to your computer for reference.
Compare your average intake for each of the nutrients with the recommended values based on your age, sex,
and activity level. (Remember that this analysis is only as representative of your normal diet as the foods you
eat over the 3-day period.) Then answer the following questions:
1. How did you do on calories? Are you taking in more or fewer calories than you should be for your sex, age,
and activity level?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. Was your fat, sodium, cholesterol, and empty calorie intake higher than it should be?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. What nutrients did you eat in inadequate amounts?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What are three substitutions you could have made that would improve the quality of your diet?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
RECOMMENDED DIETARY ALLOWANCES*
• Kcal total (total daily energy expenditure) equals body weight multiplied by kcal per pound per day:
____________________________ * ____________________________ = ____________________________
Body weight in lb kcal per lb per day kcal total (total daily
(from Table 9.1 on page 258) energy expenditure)
• Kcal from fat should be no more than 30% of total calories per day:
____________________________ * ____________________________ = ____________________________________________
30% (0.3) kcal per day recommended MAXIMUM kcal from fat
• Protein intake should be 12% of total calories per day, or 0.8 to 0.9 gram per kilogram (0.36 g per pound) of
body weight. (Pregnant women should add 15 g, and lactating women should add 20 g.):
____________________________ * ____________________________ = ____________________________________________
0.36 g body weight in lb recommended protein intake
• Carbohydrate intake should be approximately 58% of total calories per day:
____________________________ * ____________________________ = ____________________________________________
58% (0.58) kcal per day recommended carbohydrate intake
Fat 630% of diet; fiber ~30% of diet; saturated fat 610% of diet; cholesterol 6300 mg; sodium 63000 mg.
*See Table 8.5 on pages 232–233 for vitamin and mineral RDA values.
253
do it! LABS
laboratory 8.2 Complete Lab 8.2 online in the study
area of Mastering Health.
Name __________________________________________________________________________ Date ____________
Setting Goals for a Healthy Diet
What are your three worst dietary habits? (Use your Nutrient Report from Laboratory 8.1 to help identify
problems areas with your dietary habits.)
1. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
2. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
3. _________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Check the appropriate boxes in the table below to indicate the changes that you think you need to make to
improve your diet.
Increase Decrease Keep the Same
Calories
Carbohydrates
Fat
Protein
Vitamins
Minerals
Based on your selections above, list two short-term and two long-term SMART goals for improving your diet:
Short-term goal 1
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Short-term goal 2
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Long-term goal 1
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Long-term goal 2
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
254
do it! LABS
laboratory 8.3 Complete Lab 8.3 online in the study
area of Mastering Health.
Name __________________________________________________________________________ Date ____________
Planning a New Diet
The purpose of this exercise is to plan a new diet using the principles outlined in this chapter. You can also use
the My Plan tool of SuperTracker. This feature will provide general recommendations, and then you can select
specific foods to meet those recommendations. After completing Laboratory 8.1, you should have a general
idea of how your diet may need modification. Follow the example given in Table 8.6 on page 233 and the
discussion in the text to choose foods to build a new diet that meets the recommended dietary goals presented
in this chapter.
Fill in the chart below with the requested information obtained from Food-A-Pedia on SuperTracker or
from package labels. Use the totals for each column and the RDA for each nutrient in Laboratory 8.1 or
Table 8.5 on pages 231–232 to determine your percentage of RDA for each nutrient.
Kcal Protein Sat. Fat Chol. Sod. Carb. Vit. A Vit. C Ca Iron
(g) (g) (g) (mg) (mg) (g) (IU) (mg) (mg) (mg) GI
Breakfast
Lunch
Dinner
Totals
* ‡
RDA 6 30%† 6 10% 6 300 3000 7 58% 1000 60 1200 12
% of RDA
*See Table 9.1 in Chapter 9 on page 258 for determination of kcal requirements.
†
Protein intake should be 0.8 g/kg of body weight (0.36 g/lb). Pregnant women should add 15 g, and lactating women should add 20 g.
‡
For a complete list of the glycemic index of various foods, visit www.glycemicindex.com
255
do it! LABS
laboratory 8.4 Complete Lab 8.4 online in the study
area of Mastering Health.
Name __________________________________________________________________________ Date ____________
Assessing Nutritional Habits
Read the following scenarios and select which option applies to you. Score your answers according
to the instructions at the end.
1. You don’t have time to make dinner, so you run out to get “fast food.” What do you get?
a. grilled chicken breast sandwich
b. supersized burger
2. You go to a movie, find yourself hungry, and cannot resist a snack. Which do you buy?
a. unbuttered popcorn
b. candy
3. You’re late for work and realize you forgot breakfast. You decide to stop and grab something to eat.
What do you pick up?
a. a banana
b. a sausage biscuit
4. You decide to go out for a nice dinner at an Italian restaurant. What do you order?
a. spaghetti with red sauce
b. five-cheese lasagna
5. It’s 3:00 p.m., and you didn’t have much lunch and need an afternoon snack. What do you reach for?
a. an apple
b. M&Ms
6. You stop for ice cream. Which do you pick?
a. a fruit sorbet
b. regular ice cream
7. What kind of dessert would you normally choose to eat?
a. a bowl of mixed berries with a sprinkling of sugar
b. chocolate cake with frosting
8. What do you use to stir fry vegetables?
a. olive oil
b. margarine
9. Which of the following salty snacks would you prefer?
a. pretzels
b. potato chips
10. You want cereal for breakfast. Which would you choose?
a. whole-grain flakes
b. peanut butter puffs
INTERPRETATION
If you answered “b” to any of the above questions, you chose foods that are high in calories, fat, or sugar.
Follow the advice in this chapter and the MyPlate food guidance system to improve your food choices.
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