AIPT NUT06 Nutrition Assignment: Case Studies and Dietary Analysis

This assignment, focusing on the NUT06 nutrition module from the Australian Institute of Personal Trainers (AIPT), presents two case studies to analyze and evaluate. The student analyzes the eating habits of two individuals, Alex and Amber, against the Australian Dietary Guidelines. The assignment requires identifying whether the subjects' daily eating patterns align with the guidelines and providing suggestions for achieving healthier dietary patterns using the Eat For Health Educator Guide. Furthermore, the student must determine if referral to an allied health professional is necessary and justify the reasoning. The responses demonstrate an understanding of dietary principles, the ability to apply guidelines to real-life scenarios, and the importance of professional recommendations. The assignment emphasizes practical application of nutrition knowledge, including the impact of diet on health conditions like diabetes and pregnancy. The student provides detailed answers for each case study, comparing the subjects' diets with the recommended guidelines and offering suggestions for improvement.

NUT06 Nutrition
Assignment v1.4 (2018/01/29)
NUT06 Nutrition
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Assessment
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Assignment
Assignments may include short answer questions or longer answer questions and are designed to
test how you apply your knowledge in a real-world situation. All assignments are completed as a
Microsoft Word document and are submitted to an assessor through My eCampus. Your assessor
is looking for how you apply your knowledge and how you think critically about the topic area.
This assessment item will involve the analysis of case studies. Concerning the fitness and nutrition
industry, case studies provide a record of clinical interactions and help frame important questions
so that critical information about the client’s current state of health and their future goals can be
obtained.
In this assessment task, there are five current case studies for which you will need to complete a
range of clinical and safety questions relevant to specific mock case studies. These include:
• Identify daily eating patterns in the format of the Australian Dietary Guidelines.
• Compare eating patterns with the recommendations in the Eat For Health educator guide.
• Provide suggestions for achieving healthy dietary patterns using the Eat For Health educator
guide
• Refer clients to either an Accredited Practicing Dietitian, an Accredited Sports Dietitian, or a
medical practitioner if necessary.
Where relevant, you will need to support you answers with current literature and research
articles, which are available via the My Academic Library in My eCampus. You can also refer to
the additional course resources within the NUT06 unit cluster area to further support your
answers.
The minimum word limit for each case study will be 150 words.
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Case Study 1
Alex is 33 years old and has been obese since he was a teenager. During this period, he has also
developed type 2 diabetes. Alex struggles to find sustainable employment and suffers from
depression.
Alex's attitude towards food is driven by his mental state: he is someone who eats for comfort. He
currently takes medication for diabetes and depression and regularly meets with his GP to discuss
and evaluate these two conditions.
Alex has been advised by his GP to seek advice regarding changing his diet because not only will this
have positive effects on his mental state, but losing weight will also lessen the impact of his
diabetes.
Alex's daily meals usually include a breakfast from McDonald's, including a McMuffin and a
milkshake. He snacks throughout the day on chips, biscuits, and doughnuts before having a lunch of
fish and chips with a Coke. For dinner, he usually has either pizza or pasta and either a beer or
Coke.
Please answer the following questions relevant to this case study.
1. Using the format of the Australian Dietary Guidelines, identify whether Alex’s daily eating
patterns are meeting the guidelines relevant to him.
Alex should enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from the following categories; lots of
vegetables and legumes/ beans, plenty of fruits, cereals preferably whole grains and/or
varieties of high fibre content, lean meats and white meats and finally milk or milk products or
their alternatives which should have reduced fat content. On the contrary, the types of food
that Alex feeds on are of the nature that is completely opposite of what is suggested by the
above guideline. His diet lacks fruits, vegetables and is completely dominated by foods of high
fat content.
It is also his responsibility to limit himself from intake of foods containing saturated fat, added
salts and sugars and alcohol. On the contrary, Alex has a habit of taking pizza, chips and
doughnuts among others on a daily basis whereas they are saturated with fats. He must also
drink a bottle of coke during lunch and have the same or alternate it with beer during dinner.
Coke contains high levels of added sugars while beer contains alcohol and thus his feeding
habit is a complete contradiction of guideline 3.
In conclusion, guideline 1 stipulates that Alex should find relevant means of achieving and
maintaining a healthy weight, be physically active and choose amounts of nutritious foods and
drinks that meets his energy needs. He however makes no effort of achieving the same as he
has no physical exercise programme to help him maintain healthy weight. He also consumes
foods of high fat content and takes drinks containing high added sugar and alcohol irrationally
without choosing the right amounts that will only meet his energy requirements.
2. Using the Eat For Health Educator Guide (found in the additional resources), suggest how
Alex could change his habits to achieve healthy dietary patterns.
Since Alex struggles to get sustainable employment, it therefore goes without saying that hes
limited incomes. He could therefore lack access to nutritious types of food that could prove too
expensive for him to purchase. Cheap foods that are readily available in the market are not the
best for health and wellbeing. I could therefore strongly advice Alex to secure a more
sustainable employment so as to have consistent flow of income to support a healthy dietary.
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He should embrace consumption of diets low in saturated fats as unsaturated fats are an
essential composition of a healthy diet. He should therefore avoid the following foods; pizza,
doughnuts, chips, biscuits and any other foods fried in hydrogenated vegetable oil. He should
also avoid drinks with added sugars concentration and instead embrace artificially sweetened
drinks.
Being an individual who takes food for comfort is another disadvantage for Alex. He should
instead forget this behaviour and embrace consumption of food for nutritional benefits derived
from such foods.
3. Should you refer Alex to an allied health professional? If so, to whom and why?
The amount of information that Alex receives from his general practitioner is not adequate
enough for him to make relevant decisions on his dietary. I would therefore refer him to a
nutritionist for him to receive practical and detailed advice on the foods to consume to ease his
situation.
Case Study 2
Amber is 28 years old and currently 12 weeks pregnant with her first child. She has suffered from
severe morning sickness during this, her first trimester, and has changed her diet significantly
because of this.
Amber's obstetrician anticipates that her morning sickness will subside for the remainder of her
pregnancy, but Amber is keen to try improving her eating habits during the second and third
trimesters, as she is adamant that she would like to breastfeed and understands that a good diet
will aid this.
For the past 12 weeks, she has eaten sporadically throughout the day depending on when she feels
nauseated. She typically skips breakfast or will have a slice of toast with butter and jam on her way
to work. She does not tend to snack during the day but will occasionally eat a muesli bar. Her
workplace has an on-site café, and she usually orders a cheese and tomato toasted sandwich for
lunch. In the evening, both she and her husband arrive home relatively late, so they have been
eating for convenience in the form of microwave meals and ordering Thai food or pizzas twice per
week.
Please answer the following questions relevant to this case study.
1. Using the format of the Australian Dietary Guidelines, identify whether Amber’s daily eating
patterns are meeting the guidelines relevant to her.
Amber being a pregnant woman ought to encourage, support and promote breastfeeding. This
can only be possible if she could embrace and adopt healthy dietary. She should however cease
the habit of eating sporadically as this denies her the chance to ingest healthy and useful food
in her body. Her occasional feeding on muesli is however advantageous to her body and will
help her during breastfeeding as muesli is a whole grain that is rich in fibre. She clearly
understands that a good diet will aid her breastfeeding but it the high time that she
implements her knowledge.
She should strive to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, be physically active and choose
amounts of nutritious drinks and food that will meet her daily energy requirements. Whereas
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breakfast is a very crucial composition of a person’s healthy diet, Amber misses it most of the
times. She therefore denies her body essential nutrients necessary to generate enough energy
for her to perform her routinely activities and therefore ends up straining her body. She should
also embrace consumption of the right quantities of the right quality food since her feeding
quantities are typically determined by whether she has nausea or not.
Amber rarely enjoys a wide variety of nutritious foods from the five key groups as stipulated by
guideline 2. She lacks vegetables and legumes in her diet and thus denies her body essential
nutrients that emanates from such foods. Apart from a slice of tomato included in her toasted
sandwich for lunch, Amber does not embrace feeding on fruits. This will have a negative impact
on her health as her body will suffer from vitamins deficiency which can only be obtained in
plenty through consumption of fruits. She also lacks at least lean meat, poultry, fish, eggs nuts
and seeds or legumes/beans in her diet. These foods are crucial in the provision of proteins
which is vital for healthy living and pregnancy development.
It is also her responsibility to limit herself from intake of foods containing saturated fat, added
salt, added sugar and alcohol. She has a tendency of consuming butter which contains high
levels of saturated fats that could harm her body. She should consider replacing it with foods
that contains predominantly polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats. Amber is whoever
commended for avoiding alcoholic drinks and those containing added sugars.
Amber lacks sufficient care for her food. Many are the times that she and her husband will
order ready meals with little or no information on how they were prepared. They should also
consider consumption of fresh food as ordering pizza and Thai food twice a week means they
will have to resolve to storage methods for longer periods whereas they are not aware of when
their supplier had prepared the food.
2. Using the Eat For Health Educator Guide (found in the additional resources), suggest how
Amber could change her habits to achieve healthy dietary patterns.
To achieve a healthy dietary pattern, amber should first change her influencing factors on food
choices. Her food choice is mostly influenced by morning sickness and nausea. Such factors are
however temporary and should not influence her food choice as the effects of the choices she
makes will be long-lasting in her body. She should also consider sparing substantial amount of
time from her work place to be able to prepare her own food and minimize taking ordered
pizza and Thai food.
Consumption of diets low in saturated fat is another habit that she should embrace to achieve a
healthy dietary pattern. She should minimize, and if possible, completely stop consuming
butter as it is a major source of saturated fat. She should consider replacing it with foods
containing unsaturated fats as such fats are essential components of a healthy diet.
Finally. Amber should make extra effort to maximise fibre intake. She should embrace
consumption of foods high in dietary fibre such as vegetables especially legumes, fruits and
wholegrain foods as encouraged by the dietary guidelines. The crucial function of fibre in the
the body is to aid in prevention of major chronic diseases and helping in weight control.
3. Should you refer Amber to an allied health professional? If so, to whom and why?
I would refer Amber to an accredited practicing dietitian. She is in urgent need of qualified
supervision as she is responsible for two lives; hers and that of her unborn child. She therefore
needs close attention and advice on the kind of foods that will suit her body and at the same
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time provide all the necessary nutrients to ensure proper growth of her unborn child. An
accredited practising dietitian perfectly suits her need as he will be able to translate scientific
nutrition information into practical dietary advice.
Case Study 3
James is 55 years old and suffers from cardiovascular disease. He suffered a heart attack three
years ago and has been encouraged by his GP to start a light exercise program as well as making
modifications to his diet.
James is also gluten intolerant. Currently, he follows a diet based around gluten-free principles.
A sample day of his includes two eggs and half an avocado for breakfast, a chicken salad for lunch,
and grilled steak with green vegetables for dinner. James prepares all his own meals from scratch
and cooks using utensils that he keeps in a clean condition. He stores all his perishable items in the
fridge and uses sealed Tupperware containers to store remaining food once it has been
unpackaged.
Please answer the following questions relevant to this case study.
1. Using the format of the Australian Dietary Guidelines, identify whether James’s daily eating
patterns are meeting the guidelines relevant to him.
James has a typically healthy pattern though it is in absentia of several aspects. He is observant
to Australian dietary guideline 1 that aims to achieve and maintain a healthy weight, be
physically active and choose the right amounts of nutritious food and drinks to meet an
individual’s energy needs. The content of his diet is amounts to what is just enough to meet his
energy requirements. Grilled steak and chicken salad helps him maintain muscle strength and
healthy weight.
He however does not enjoy a wide variety of nutritious foods from the five key categories
brought into the lime -light by guideline 2. In each category, he limits himself to specific foods
whereas he is supposed to explore and enjoy as many varieties of food lying under each
category as possible. It is also notable that his diet does not include milk, yoghurt and cheese
and/or any of their alternatives. He also does not include drinking water in his diet.
Guideline 3 advices James to limit intake of foods containing saturated fat, added salt, added
sugar and alcohol. He is further advised to replace foods that contains the mentioned
components with nutritious foods in absentia of the same. James takes at least half an avocado
as part of his breakfast. Avocado is rich in predominantly monounsaturated fats and therefore
he is in line with the guideline. His diet also lacks such drinks that are alcoholic or contains
added sugars. He therefore conforms to this guideline fully.
In conclusion, James has taken it as his personal responsibility to care for his food, prepare and
store it safely. He is the one who prepares all his food from scratch, and does so using clean
utensils. He has adopted an effective storage method of using a fridge to store all his perishable
foodstuffs and use of sealed Tupperware containers to conceal food remnants from any kind of
contamination. Again, he is in conformity with guideline 5
2. Using the Eat For Health Educator Guide (found in the additional resources), suggest how
James could change his habits to achieve healthy dietary patterns.
For James to achieve a healthy dietary pattern, he should focus on consuming foods low in
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saturated fat. it is possible for him to actualize this by; trimming any visible fats from meat
before grilling it. Removing fat pads and skin from chicken is also another effective way of
ensuring that all the meats he ingests is lean. He should also embark on consumption of
reduced fat milk, yoghurt and cheese. He should also consider using small amounts of
unsaturated oils or spreads when preparing his food in preference to other cooking fats.
James diet has a deficiency of fibre. He should therefore embark on consuming such foods that
will maximise fibre intake. This can be achieved by ingestion of fruits, either fresh or canned. He
should however avoid fruit juices as they contain little or no dietary fibre. Considering his
condition as a gluten intolerant, he should not seek fibre from foods such as wholegrain bread,
whole meal pasta and such other breakfast cereals that could contain high contents of gluten.
3. Should you refer James to an allied health professional? If so, to whom and why?
James should seek the attention of an accredited practising dietitian. He will get all the relevant
help and advice from this professional on the kind of foods that he should consume while at
the same time taking into account all his health conditions and more so cardiovascular disease.
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Case Study 4
Linda is a 21-year-old student in her final year at university. She is also a very talented distance
runner and is hoping to qualify for the next Olympic Games in the marathon.
Linda's goal is to meet the qualifying standard in the next 12 months, so she has increased her
training load and intensity to help achieve this. Between her increased training volume and her
studies for university, her diet has not been a priority, and she is seeking guidance on how to modify
her diet to support her training and lifestyle goals.
An example of her daily diet includes having Nutri Grain cereal for breakfast with semi-skimmed
milk, followed by cheese and ham sandwiches for lunch, and pasta for dinner. She tries to drink 1.5
litres of water each day, but also has three or four black coffees each day.
Linda prepares her own food, but at times, she forgets to put the milk back in the fridge after using
it in the morning. She regularly arrives home in the afternoon and only then puts the milk back in
the fridge.
Please answer the following questions relevant to this case study.
1. Using the format of the Australian Dietary Guidelines, identify whether Linda’s daily eating
patterns are meeting the guidelines relevant to her.
Following her desires to qualify for the next Olympic games, Linda ought to achieve and
maintain a healthy weight, be physically active and also choose amounts of nutritious foods
that will be sufficient for her energy needs. She puts considerable efforts towards achieving this
through consumption of foods such as cheese and paste which are components of a healthy
dietary. It is observable that she literally consumes considerably low amounts of food taking
into consideration that she requires relatively higher amounts of energy for her practice.
Guideline 3 stipulates that she should avoid foods containing saturated fat, added salts, added
sugars and alcohol. Contrary to this, she has been consuming three to four cups of black coffee
daily. It goes without saying that the coffee contains lethal amounts of added sugars and thus
hinders her from achieving the requirements of this guideline. Its therefore advisable for her to
completely cut consumption of black coffee.
Guideline 5 demands that one should care for their food by, preparing and storing it safely.
Linda is observant to this requirement but its saddening that at time she forgets returning milk
remnant in the fridge after taking what is enough in the morning. By leaving it outside the
fridge, it has high possibilities of getting contaminated or going bad and could be a major cause
of health disorders. Linda should therefore put extra care to ensure that she falls in line with
this guideline.
2. Using the Eat For Health Educator Guide (found in the additional resources), suggest how
Linda could change her habits to achieve healthy dietary patterns.
To achieve a healthy dietary pattern, Linda should consider reducing the amount of added
sugars that she takes in her body. The first crucial step to take is to reduce the amount of black
coffee taken daily and if possible, stop it totally. Alternatively, she could avoid using sugar
additives in her coffee and instead embrace artificial sweeteners. This will help her evade the
risk of excessive weight gain that would ruin her talent as an athlete.
Though she consumes Nutri Grain cereal for breakfast and pasta for lunch, she should consider
additional foods to maximise fibre intake. Her diet is in deficiency of fruits and vegetables
which are alternative sources of fibre that could compliment the current ones. She should also
consider including legumes, nuts and seeds in her diet for her to sail towards achieving healthy
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Assignment v1.4 (2018/01/29)
dietary patterns.
Before purchasing any foodstuffs, Linda should also conduct thorough checks on the food
labels. This will help her understand the nutritional constituents of the foods that she is about
to buy. This will again help her achieve a healthy dietary pattern as no purchase of un-nutritious
food will be made whether knowingly or unknowingly. She will also be able to distinguish
between such foods that contains saturated fats and those of unsaturated composition.
3. Should you refer Linda to an allied health professional? If so, to whom and why?
Linda is an athlete. The professional best suit for her is an accredited sports dietitian. Such a
person will help her settle on diets that are best fit for a person conducting vigorous exercise
like she is doing in her preparation for Olympic qualification.
Case Study 5
Olly is 40 years old and has lost a significant amount of weight recently. He has introduced regular
exercise into his life over the last 12 months and has lost weight due to his efforts to ensure that he
follows the Australian Dietary Guidelines.
Despite his best efforts, Olly is still 10kg overweight and is struggling to lose the remaining weight.
He currently exercises at moderate intensity for 30 minutes three times per week. A typical day in
Olly’s diet includes two pieces of wholegrain toast with butter and vegemite in addition to two hard
boiled eggs for breakfast; for lunch, he usually eats grilled chicken or fish with white rice or potatoes
and a small amount of vegetables such as broccoli or green beans; and for dinner, he will generally
eat either grilled steak with potatoes and vegetables or he will cook a chicken stir fry with noodles
or rice.
Olly also snacks on at least two pieces of fruit per day and drinks two litres of water.
Olly prepares all his food for each day the night prior and stores all perishable items in airtight
containers in the fridge.
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Assignment v1.4 (2018/01/29)
Please answer the following questions relevant to this case study.
1. Using the format of the Australian Dietary Guidelines, identify whether Olly’s daily eating
patterns are meeting the guidelines relevant to him.
Olly is trying as much as he can to lose weight. Guideline 1 urges one to achieve and maintain a
healthy weight be physically active and choose amounts of nutritious foods and drinks to meet
one’s energy requirements. It is however notable that Olly consumes large amounts of food
and this is directly attributable to his low rate of weight loss despite numerous efforts to attain
the same. Olly should however embark on consumption of foods that will aid him in
maintenance of muscle strength.
Olly should also be enjoying a wide variety of nutritious foods from the five core groups on a
daily basis. It is notable that he includes vegetables in his diet but not in sufficient quantities.
His breakfast which consists of whole grain toast is commendable but he should seek to replace
the butter aspect with other alternatives. His daily consumption of butter also explains why je
has a slow rate of weight loss as butter is a weight booster. Olly is to be commended for
including plenty of water in his diet.
Guideline 3 limits Olly from intake of food that contains saturated fat, added salt and added
sugar. It is commendable that Olly has been able to observe this guideline. He should however
embrace the use of oils and spreads in preparing his food as they contain unsaturated fats
which are essential components of a healthy dietary.
Olly is again commended for preparing his food and storing all perishable substances in airtight
containers and thus observing guideline 5.
2. Using the Eat For Health Educator Guide (found in the additional resources), suggest how
Olly could change his habits to achieve healthy dietary patterns.
Olly should possibly check on his foodstuffs to ensure that they are all low in saturated fats. He
should trim any visible fats from meats before grilling it. He should also remove skin and fat
pads from chicken before grilling. He should again endorse drinking of reduced fat milk,
yoghurt and consumption of cheese.
Maximizing fibre intake is another approach that Olly could take to achieve healthy dietary
patterns. Although he takes fruits and vegetables, which are crucial sources of fibre, he takes
them in limited amounts. Including nuts, seeds and legumes is another intervention that will
aid in maximization of fibre intake.
In conclusion Olly should be careful with the foods and drinks he purchases from vendors. He
should scrutinise the food labels well so as to get clear and full understanding of the nutritional
composition of the foods he is about to purchase. This will prevent purchase of foods and
drinks with un-nutritious composition.
3. Should you refer Olly to an allied health professional? If so, to whom and why?
I would refer Olly to a nutritionist who will aid him to achieve optimal health. The nutritionist
will advise Olly accordingly on the types of foods and drinks to consume and also formulate for
him a physical exercise programme all in regard to his desire of losing weight.
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