Chapter 2
A website that is authored or sponsored by one person tends to provide ___________ information.
Biases
Which of the following are the major professional divisions for registered dietitians?
Clinical dietetics Food service systems management Community nutrition
Consumers can rely upon the advice of a professional who bears the legally protected title "nutritionalist". (T or F)
False
Nutritionalists have the same educational backgrounds and professional certification as registered dietitian nutritionalists. (T or F)
False
Popular health-related magazines typically publish articles that have been peer-reviewed. (T or F)
False
A true nutrition expert:
Is usually a registered dietitian. Has experience in the application of scientific methodology. Has extensive college coursework in nutrition, food science, and chemistry.
The RD credential indicates that the person
Participates in continuing education. Has completed rigorous classroom work in nutrition. Has completed rigorous clinical training in nutrition.
Consumers need to be skeptical of nutrition and health-related claims because
Promoters of worthless nutrition products are good marketers The FDA cannot prevent the spread of published misinformation Nutrition misinformation can be spread through a variety of sources
Major nutrition organizations put together a list of red flags that signal poor nutrition advice.
Recommendations that promise a quick fix Claims that sound too good to be true Recommendations based on a single study Scare tactics Attacks on conventional scientists and nutrition experts Testimonials and anecdotes Promotes benefits while overlooking risks Vague, meaningless, or scientific-sounding terms Vague sources Pseudoscience Disclaimers
Which of the following occurs after completion of an experiment
Scientists figure out if the findings support or disprove the hypothesis. Scientists seek to publish the results in scientific journals. Scientists summarize the findings.
Reliable information on the internet can be found by doing which of the following things?
Search sites that are managed by qualified health professionals.
A placebo is a sham treatment that does not provide measurable physical effects. (T or F)
True
By conducting a prospective epidemiological study, medical researchers can determine risk factors that may influence health. (T or F)
True
Which of the following questions should be asked when evaluating nutrition information?
Who sponsored the research? Is the information from an article in a peer-reviewed journal? Are the authors trying to sell me something?
Anecdotes
a report of personal experiences
Observational epidemiological research includes
case-control studies cohort studies
Observational epidemiological studies cannot establish
causation
A ____ is a relationship between two variables
correlation
A physician named Joseph Goldberger discovered that the disease pellagra was related to
diet.
What type of research is conducted when an investigator measures the frequency of diabetes in different populations?
epidemiological
Diets that lack proper nutrition can lead the the development of
nutrient deficiency diseases.
Testimonial
personal endorsement of a product
Saying that a company is hiding information about a cure that will help you is an example of a ____________ .
scare tactic
Epidemiologists often rely on _____ people to obtain health data.
surveys of physical examinations of
a control group is important
to the validity and accuracy of an experiment enables scientists to control the influence of control variables unrelated to the study allows scientists to determines if a treatment had an effect
A ___________ is a factor such as a person's age, weight, or environment that can change and influence an outcome.
variable
Which of the following are suggestions to help consumers make healthful and logical nutrition decisions?
-Apply healthy nutrition practices to confirm or disprove claim -Read product labels carefully -Examine the scientific credentials of the individual or company making a claim -Avoid practitioners who prescribe unnecessary megadoses of nutrients
The Food and Drug Administration regulates nutritional information in books and other forms of media. (T or F)
False
The FTC enforces consumer protection laws and investigates complaints about false or misleading health claims that appear on the internet. The letters FTC stand for:
Federal Trade Commission
Which of the following will assist consumers in identifying sources of credible nutrition information?
Reading peer-reviewed journals Looking for references to research articles
Researchers use findings from the ____ to establish national standards or assessing height, weight, and blood pressure.
NHANES
Who are the subjects in a case-control study?
Person(s) with the disease or condition under investigation. Person(s) without the disease or condition under investigation.
Nutrient deficiency diseases are a result of
Poor diets Lack of proper nutrition
________ is the credential that flags a health professional as the most accurate and reliable source of up-to-date nutrition advice.
RD
Pseudoscience
presentation of information masquerading as factual and obtained by scientific methods