third research blog

K.D. Langdon, J. Clarke, D. Corbett, Long-term exposure to high fat diet is bad for your brain: exacerbation of focal ischemic brain injury, Neuroscience, Volume 182, 19 May 2011, Pages 82-87, ISSN 0306-4522, http://0-dx.doi.org.libcat.uncw.edu/10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.03.028.
(http://0-www.sciencedirect.com.libcat.uncw.edu/science/article/pii/S0306452211002867)
Keywords: sensorimotor function; Western diet; high fat diet; stroke; animal models; metabolic syndrome


This article investigates the affects of prolonged exposure to a high fat diet on the brain. This has never been able to be tested on humans but has been heavily researched through animals such as mice and rats. The results of tests show that animals fed high fat diets for 3 months or longer show a decrease in cognitive abilities. the tests show that high fat negatively changes the cerebral microvasculature and neuronal physiology (Langdon, Clarke, Corbett. 2011).

This research gives good back up to the points we are trying to make. One of our major points is that students cannot learn as well on sub par diets provided by the school, and these tests from animals show that prolonged exposure to high fat content foods like the ones served on campus actually limits cognitive ability.

Third Research Blog -- Brandi Jackson

UNC Wilmington Campus Dining (2015). "Wagoner Dining Hall Menu." Aramark, web. Retrieved from http://uncw.campusdish.com/Commerce/Catalog/Menus.aspx?LocationId=669&MenuDate=2%2f23%2f2015&Device=False

I found this while researching food on and around UNCW. Unfortunately, the only menu available on the website is for Wagoner Dining Hall, not for any of the other dining locations on campus.

Even though it is only for Wagoner, I believe it is helpful. Through the menu, anyone is able to pick different entrees, deserts, etc. in order to calculate the number of calories, how much protein, how much calcium, etc. they will be consuming during a given meal. The interactive features of the menu are especially important for today's technology-driven world.

Below I have attached a picture for one of the menu items that will be available during lunch on February 18, 2015:

By finding this, I've created and partially answered the following question: What is UNCW doing or not doing in order to deliver quality food service to its students and faculty?

Even though there is an interactive menu available for Wagoner Dining Hall, menus for all other food service locations on campus do not have one. With this new information, it seems that there is a larger focus on Wagoner Dining Hall, considering it is in the immediate vicinity of all on-campus housing. Wagoner is closer than walking all the way to Dub's Cafe, The Landing, Hawk's Nest, or any of the corporation-owned businesses on campus (i.e. Einstein's Bros., Starbucks, Dunkin' Donuts, Port City Java, etc.). Also, Wagoner is opened for the longest number of hours, meaning people are able to catch meals at 8pm without having to leave campus.

Conclusion:

Because of this information, my group now knows that Wagoner Dining Hall has a menu that is accessible through the internet. The other on-campus food locations do not. This will provide us with a starting point when we begin our survey.

Third Research Blog - Daniel Rodriguez

Florence, Michelle D,M.Sc, P.Dt, Asbridge, M., PhD., & Veugelers, P. J., PhD. (2008). Diet quality and academic performance*. The Journal of School Health, 78(4), 209-15; quiz 239-41. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.libcat.uncw.edu/docview/215673476?accountid=14606

This Source While not directly relating to my topic  provides some very useful information. Instead of looking at college students this study looks at the effects of nutrition and weight on fifth grade students. Even though the age difference of the students in my topic and this research journal ( college and grade school) are different I believe that the journal overall still supports the topic. The research this journal is based on also seems solid. The Study its based on took a survey of app 5200 grade school students and their parents in Canada. The results revealed a relationship between poor food quality and academic assessment performance. The main idea was that Students whom had poor diets performed worse on their assessments than those who ate healthier, more nutritional diets. 

This source will most likely not be used as the main source of reference in the paper I write because it does not directly relate to college students. The comparisons that can be made between the my topic and the Studies findings may prove useful in the end though. Based on my other sources it seems that the trends found among grade school children may carry on into college. 

Overall this source may be less direct in relation to my topic but still has some good points within it. The data and statistics on it are on a larger scale than in the other sources I've found making it possibly more reliable research. I will definitely take advantage of this and include charts and statistics from this source in the paper.    

second research blog

Huang, T. T. -., Harris, K. J., Lee, R. E., Nazir, N., & al, e. (2003). Assessing overweight, obesity, diet, and physical activity in college students. Journal of American College Health, 52(2), 83-6. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.libcat.uncw.edu/docview/213031047?accountid=14606

This article is a study of 738 college students between the ages of 18-27 to assess their overweight, obesity, dietary habits, and physical activity. The authors found over 21.6 overweight rate in the students and that more than 69% of students ate less that recommended 5 servings of fruits/vegetables a day (Huang et al. 2003)

This article does a good job triangulating to what we are trying to prove because it shows that a big percentage of college students are overweight due to bad dietary habits and lack of exercise. It further back up our thesis observing that fact that the vast majority of students are not ingesting the proper amount of fruits and vegetables daily to have a healthy diet. In addition the authors stress how the it necessary that an intervention must take place to educate students to be able to live healthier lives. 

Second Research Blog -- Brandi Jackson

Graham, D.J., Laska, M.N. (2012). Nutrition label use partially mediates the relationship between attitude toward healthy eating and overall dietary quality among college students. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 112(3). 414-418.

In this article, a survey was conducted in the Twin Cities area of Minnesota. The survey consisted of a total of 1,201 students: 603 at a four-year university and 598 at a two-year community college. The researchers recruited the students and gave them a self-assessment test with regards to their reading of nutrition labels, dietary assessment, belief in the importance of preparing healthy meals, and demographic information. The data was analyzed and then reported. Only 35% of the respondents were dubbed "frequent label readers," meaning they read nutritional labels frequently, which I found significant. If only 35% read nutritional labels frequently, that means 65% read nutritional labels infrequently or never. Considering that, the conclusion of the survey would make a lot of sense:

"[A]ttitude toward preparing healthy meals significantly predicted nutrition label use;... both attitude and nutrition label use significantly predicted the healthy eating composite score, suggesting possible partial mediation by nutrition label use of the relationship between attitude toward healthy eating and healthy dietary practices" (Graham and Laska 416).

The quote above describes the conclusion of the survey. Attitudes towards healthy eating were positively correlated with nutrition label use and with healthy dietary practices among young adults; because of these results, nutrition label use could mean that an increase in the use of nutrition labels would have a positive net effect on healthy dietary practices and people's attitudes towards such practices.

In relation to UNCW, most foods on campus do not have nutritional labels. Unless you buy food out of a vending machine (which is mostly junk food and soda) or out of one of the convenience stores, most items on campus do not carry their own nutritional labels.

This article did not answer a question my group raised earlier, but it creates a new one: if nutritional labels were provided for all foods on-campus, would the quality of foods served at UNCW better and would students and faculty alike make more informed decisions regarding the foods they eat? My group could possibly research this further in order to better understand UNCW's food quality problem.

Second Research Blog Post - Daniel Rodriguez

Deliens, T., Clarys, P., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., & Deforche, B. (2013). Weight, socio-demographics, and health behaviour related correlates of academic performance in first year university students. Nutrition Journal, 12(1), 162. doi:http://0-dx.doi.org.libcat.uncw.edu/10.1186/1475-2891-12-1

This source contains information regarding research done on first year university students. Specifically, this journal article examines the relationship between student health behavior and academic performance for those who attended all of their course exams. The study and research from which the Journal is based on correlates directly with one of my papers topics, "effects of a good diet on academic performance".  According to the journal (2013) "This study. . . showed that academic performance is associated with a wide range of weight and health related behaviors"(p. 162). This is good supporting evidence for my paper.  The Journal also comes with two pages of tables and other information that was taken directly from the study; Statistics essentially.

The information is useful as now I can include more than just a quote in my paper, I can include back-up evidence on the authors conclusions. The source describes everything about the research in depth and then describes their findings as well giving me a plethora of quotes and information to pick from. Further, this source is fairly recent (2013) so the information should still be easily applicable. The only part of this source that makes it questionable to my papers main concern is that this was a European study and the foods and diets in other countries may differ from the ones in which my paper pertains to.  Even with this fact, I still believe the source will be valuable to my overall goal. 

More sources like this one will be useful but unfortunately this topic has proved hard to research. I've even read in several other journals about how there is a lack of research for this topic. most research seems to be focused on grade school age subjects not university students. Hopefully further research on my part will yield more sources and useful information such as this one did.

First Research Blog Post - Daniel Rodriguez

Trockel, M. T., Barnes, M. D., & Egget, D. L. (2000). Health-related variables and academic performance among first-year college students: Implications for sleep and other behaviors. Journal of American College Health, 49(3), 125-31. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.libcat.uncw.edu/docview/213027515?accountid=14606

Research done on a random sample of 200 first year college students revealed links between students behavioral habits and their respective GPA. This includes reference to nutrition although according to the journal very little research has been done specifically regarding college students nutrition. It instead refers to research done on younger grade school students. The journal states:

“Although the effects of eating breakfast10-12 and other nutritional variables on elementary students'13 academic performance have received much attention in the literature, little information on the effects of nutritional habits on college students' academic performance can be found. One reported study involving university students, however, showed improved immediate recall and spatial memory as a result of eating breakfast.11.”   

This document while not the most useful, contains information about what besides nutrition can affect students GPA’s giving me a better background for the information I write about. The other sources I found did not include information like this. This paper also gives me a better perspective on the other research I may come across. It contains many useful references in case I wish to explore any information related to student habits and its effect on their GPA. It would be better if this document contained more data straight from research but the third source I found (bottom of page) contains a lot of this "hard data" I need compensating for this sources lack of it.

Health and medicine; new diet and nutrition study results from free university described. (2014). Health & Medicine Week, , 3219. Retrieved from http://0-search.proquest.com.libcat.uncw.edu/docview/1477463336?accountid=14606

This short article explains how weight and health behavior in students correlated with their attendance of exams and academic performance. The results were interesting. It showed that often male students who consumed more french fries throughout the semester or whose waist size increased over the course of that school year failed to attend more exams and therefore suffered academically. This is a short article but contains useful information and directly relates to the main topic of my research which regards the effects of student nutrition on academic performance. This article is actually a summary of someone elses research so it may not be the most credible piece of work.It does however bring to light some interesting paints that the other research I found doesn't include.     

Deliens, T., Clarys, P., De Bourdeaudhuij, I., & Deforche, B. (2013). Weight, socio-demographics, and health behaviour related correlates of academic performance in first year university students. Nutrition Journal, 12(1), 162. doi:http://0-dx.doi.org.libcat.uncw.edu/10.1186/1475-2891-12-162

This source has a lot of useful data that directly relates students eating and health habits with GPA. The data will be useful in supporting the case we will make in our report. This data is particularly useful because it breaks up eating habits into categories including vegetables, fruits and eating location among other things. It provides actual statistics which the other sources lacked. It briefly explains its findings and has multiple useful quotes that will come in handy when writing the paper. I wish I could have found more sources containing this type of "hard data". but as the fist source references, "Little information on the effects of nutritional habits on college students' academic performance can be found."  My topic,"The effect of students diet on academic performance" has turned out to be quite difficult to do research on.  

First Research/Triangulation Blog Post -- Brandi Jackson

A journal article written by Quick, et al. is the published results of a survey conducted on and around the campus of Rutgers University, New Brunswick, New Jersey. The surveyors looked at four dining halls, four fast-casual restaurants, eleven fast food restaurants, and seventeen sit-down restaurants. They used the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey - Restaurants (NEMS-R) for the 32 off-campus restaurants. The NEMS-R was also adapted to accommodate the four on-campus dining halls. According to their observations, "barriers to healthy eating (i.e.,menu notations discouraging special requests, encouraging larger/unlimited servings) were noted only in sit-down and fast-food restaurants and dining halls" (Quick, et. al. A69). What's so interesting about that observation is that the dining halls on-campus, which are supposed to promote healthy eating, actually weren't. Overall, the dining halls did a better job of promoting healthy eating, but "the overall food environment needs considerable improvement" (Quick, et. al. A69). The article did not list any possible improvements for the food environment; it listed mainly statistics and collected data.

This particular survey provides information towards answering the questions of: "how does the college experience affect dietary intake?" and "is it [the college experience] enhancing or diminishing [with regards to dietary intake]?" Just from my own experience, there are fast food and pizza restaurants all along South College Road: Little Caesar's, Domino's, Hardee's, Bojangle's, Wendy's, Cookout, etc. Other than the Japanese Steakhouse and McAllister's across from campus, the majority of food within the immediate vicinity of campus is mainly fast food.

I believe the survey results reinforce our argument, for the most part, that food on-campus needs to be improved; in comparison to the dining halls of Rutgers University promoting "barriers to healthy eating," Wagoner Dining Hall has done something similar in the past; one night, they were promoting a pizza buffet. Pizza obviously isn't the healthiest thing in the world.

I also believe that, in a way, that particular article detracts from our argument. Wagoner Dining Hall has posted labels with information regarding calories, allergen warnings, etc. above different food items; however, these labels don't get changed sometimes, and they should be with every meal rotation. In Dub's Cafe, The Landing, and Hawk's Nest, these labels do not exist at all.

Also, in another article written by Abbott, et. al., a food safety media campaign was created for five different universities across the United States: one Northeastern, one mid-Atlantic, one Northwestern, and two mid-Western. In the article, a survey with regards to food safety was conducted; 59% of the respondents were first- and second-year students. Of that 59%, .82% had never taken a nutrition, food science, or microbiology course, 65% never worked as a waiter/waitress, 83% never worked as a cook/chef/etc., and 92% didn't have any food safety certifications (Abbott, et. al. 1121). Given that information, it would be interesting to see how UNCW ranked by itself in comparison to the five universities in the article.



Conclusion

The information found in the two articles and from my personal experience could provide my group with more questions in need of answers or answer questions already raised. Either way, the information collected here will aid in the completion of our final report.





References:

Abbott, J.M., Policastro, P., Bruhn, C., Schaffner, D.W., Byrd, Bredbenner, C. (2012). Development and evaluation of a university campus-based food safety media campaign for young adults. Journal of Food Protection, 75(6). 1117-1124.

Quick, V., Weiner, A., Shu, E., Kosz, M., Byrd-Bredbenner, C. (2011). Healthfulness of the food environment on/near a university campus. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 111(9), A69.

tringulationblog

The challenge of healthy eating on campus.
A recent study published by the journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior shows that the average college student is failing to even eat one serving of fruits/vegetables a day (Massa, 2013). With the recommended serving of fruit/vegetables being at 4 to 5 servings a day, this shows the average college student is living a very unhealthy lifestyle. In addition campus's can partly be held to blame for this unhealthy behavior. Right now most colleges view meal services as a source of revenue more than a way to have keep students healthy (Massa, 2013). Processed food is much cheaper than fruits/vegetables for campuses to provide so ultimately you see less variety in fruits/vegetables on a campus and more unhealthy snack foods. Although it has been a little more expensive, The City University of New York has proven it possible to run a healthy meal plan. By taking many surveys CUNY has been able to find out what healthy foods students and faculty like and been able to create enough demand to still make a profit. CUNY has already taken the first step and as the demand for healthier campuses grows, Other colleges now have a blueprint of how to successfully change their campus eating.

Information from this article can be very helpful in proving our point that UNCW needs to change to a healthier service. It shows how unhealthy students are living and emphasizes that the only reason colleges have meal services is to make a profit. In addition it shows that colleges can achieve the best of both worlds by providing students with healthier eating options and still turn a profit.

Healthfulness of the Food Environment on/near a University Campus

In other research studies it showed that the overall food environment by campuses was not up to reasonable standards of healthy eating. In the study at Rutgers University they 20 percent of of local restaurants including 4 fast- casual, 11 fast food, and 17 sit down  vs. the 4 dining halls on campus. Results actually were in favor of the dining halls making points that the off campus restaurants gave better incentives to eat the unhealthier food and little awareness about benefits of healthy diets, but very minimally (Quick, Weiner, Shu, Kosz, Byrd-Bredbenner, 2011).

This article helps include into support our research in general just because it shows that the system as a whole around campus's is to just serve students whatever they can make the most profit on no matter how it affects of the students eating it. The article does state that on campus meals provide healthier food choices in some areas comparatively but this is still minimal and needs much improvement.

Development and evaluation of a university campus-based food safety media campaign for young adults.In this article the authors addresses the need for a more effective movement towards educating our youth on making better health decisions. They go on to explain that for a healthier food campaign to truly become more successful we need to do a better a job of tailoring the message to our specific target audience. "Designing effective campaigns involves careful study of the target population and working with them using a community-based participatory research model" (abbot et al., 2012). Through their research  they were able to find that food education information resonated much more effectively when it was uniquely tailored to specific cultures in different colleges.

This article is great to support our overall research for many reasons. First it gives it gives proof that through providing information to students you can help them change their dietary habits. In addition it makes a very valid point that in order to make a change that is receptive to students, administrators must know their student body and figure out way to educate them about health in a way that resonates through the student body. With this knowledge it helps prove that it is a possible feat for college campus's to make their campus's healthier.


                                                                        References 

Abbot, J. M., Policastro, P., Bruhn, C., Schaffner, D. W., & Byrd-Bredbenner, C. (January 01, 2012). Development and evaluation of a university campus-based food safety media campaign for young adults. Journal of Food Protection, 75, 6, 1117-24.
 
Massa, A. (2012, July 13). Food for thought: The challenge of healthy eating on campus. Retrieved February 23, 2015, from http://college.usatoday.com/2012/07/13/food-for-thought-the-challenge-of-healthy-eating-on-campus


V. Quick, A. Weiner, E. Shu, M. Kosz, C. Byrd-Bredbenner, Healthfulness of the Food Environment on/near a University Campus, Journal of the American Dietetic Association, Volume 111, Issue 9, Supplement, September 2011, Page A69, ISSN 0002-8223, http://0-dx.doi.org.libcat.uncw.edu/10.1016/j.jada.2011.06.256. (http://0-www.sciencedirect.com.libcat.uncw.edu/science/article/pii/S0002822311009667)

Collaboration in Groups

This is for our ENG-204-003 class.

2/4/2015
Collaboration in groups is very important. It requires equal effort and delegation from all parties, as well as equal understanding of purpose, goals, and the intended audience.

As for our group, good communication is also a must; without it, everything else will fall apart. To create quality work, we must create a professional environment in which to collaborate. We must also favor the ideas of the collective whole over the individual. Everyone will be held accountable for their fair share of work, as well as meeting deadlines on or before time.



2/6/2015
We completed a team analysis: Jacob had driver (17%), Daniel had innovator (23%), and Brandi had both innovator and driver (17%).

In order to complete this project, we have decided to give roles to each other.

• Brandi
• writing
• editing
• research
• Daniel
• formatting
• research
• Jacob
• research
• analyze
• writing

We decided on a central topic: food quality on campus. We would like to research the quality of UNCW's on-campus food services in comparison to other institutions. We personally believe that offering healthy and nutritious food leads to more productive students; we would like to research the nutritional value of on-campus foods.

We have compiled a list of essential questions:

• What are the benefits of nutritional food?
• How does the college experience affect dietary intake? Is it enhancing or diminishing?
• How does this affect classroom performance, if at all?
• What is the general consensus of UNCW students in regards to food on-campus? If meal plans were not a concern, where would students most likely eat? What does this say about the quality of food on campus? (survey)
• In comparison to other institutions, where does UNCW's quality of food rank?
• Is the quality of food on campus worth the amount that students pay for meal plans?
• What is UNCW doing or not doing in order to deliver quality foods to the students and faculty of the university?