WSU BIO 140 Exam 1 (Chapter 1-2)

Food Tracker

A component of the MyPlate website that allows individuals to conduct dietary self-assessments.

Fortification

The intentional addition of nutrients to a food.

Malnutrition

A state of poor nutritional status caused by an imbalance between the body's nutrient requirements and nutrient availability.

MyPlate

A visual food guide that illustrates the most important food intake pattern recommendations of the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Noninfectious diseases

An illness that is not contagious, does not involve an infectious agent, and often times long term and chronic.

Nutrition Facts panel

A required component of most food labels that provides information about the nutrient content of the food.

Primary malnutrition

A condition whereby poor nutritional status is caused strictly by inadequate diet.

Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA)

The daily intake of a nutrient that meets the physiological requirements of nearly all (roughly 97 percent) healthy individuals in a given life stage and sex.

Tolerable Upper Intake Level (UL)

The highest level of usual daily nutrient intake likely to be safe.

USDA Food Pattern

A USDA publication that categorizes nutritionally similar foods into food groups and makes recommendations regarding the number of servings of each food group that should be consumed daily.

adenosine triphosphate (ATP)

A chemical that provides energy to cells in the body.

anthropometric measurement

A measurement of the body's physical dimensions or composition.

autoimmune disease

An illness resulting from an inappropriate immune response that attacks the body's own cells.

biochemical measurement

Laboratory analysis of a biological sample, such as blood or urine, for a nutrient or other biomarker.

body composition

The proportions of fat, water, lean tissue, and mineral (bone) mass that make up the body.

calorie

The unit of measurement used to express the amount of energy in a food.

cause-and-effect relationship (or causal relationship)

A relationship whereby an alteration to one variable causes a change in another variable.

chronic degenerative disease

A noninfectious disease that develops slowly, persists over a long period of time, and tends to result in progressive breakdown of tissues and loss of function.

conditionally essential nutrient

A normally nonessential nutrient that, under certain circumstances, becomes essential.

confounding variables

A coincidental factor related to a study's outcome but not of primary interest to the research; these should be accounted for in the study design or analysis.

control group

Study participants who do not receive a treatment or intervention.

correlation (or association)

A relationship whereby an alteration to one variable is related to a change in another variable.

dependent variable

The outcome of interest in a research study.

diet recall

A retrospective dietary assessment method whereby a person records and analyzes every food and drink consumed over a given time span.

diet record (or food record)

A prospective dietary assessment method whereby a person records and analyzes every food and drink as it is consumed over a given time span.

dietary assessment

The evaluation of adequacy of a person's dietary intake.

dietitian

A nutrition professional who helps people make dietary changes and food choices to support a healthy lifestyle.

disease

An abnormal condition of the body or mind that causes discomfort, dysfunction, or distress.

double-blind study

A human experiment in which neither the participants nor the scientists know to which group the participants have been assigned.

eating patterns (also referred to as food patterns)

A combination of foods and beverages that constitute a person's overall dietary intake.

energy-yielding nutrients

A nutrient that the body can use for energy.

enrichment

A type of fortification whereby specific amounts of selected nutrients are added to certain foods.

epidemiologic study

A study in which data are collected from a group of people who are not asked to change their behaviors in any way.

essential nutrient

A substance that must be obtained from the diet to sustain life.

food frequency questionnaire

A retrospective dietary assessment method whereby food selection patterns are assessed over an extended period of time.

functional food (or super food)

A food that likely benefits human health by providing a high concentration of nutrients, phytochemicals, or zoochemicals.

graying of America

A phenomenon occurring in the United States characterized by an increasing proportion of the population over the age of 65.

health claim

An FDA-approved statement that describes a specific health benefit of a food or food component.

hypothesis

A prediction about the relationship between variables.

infant mortality rate

The number of infant deaths per 1,000 live births in a given year.

infectious disease

An illness that is contagious, caused by a pathogen, and often times short-lived.

inorganic compound

A substance that does not contain carbon.

intervention study

An experiment in which a variable is altered to determine its effect on another variable.

life expectancy

A statistical prediction of the average number of years of life remaining for a person at a particular age.

macronutrients

A class of nutrients that humans need to consume in relatively large quantities (more than a gram per day).

micronutrients

A class of nutrients that humans need to consume in relatively small quantities.

moderation

A nutrition basic related to choosing overall serving sizes that fit within caloric needs.

morbidity rate

The number of illnesses or diseases in a given period of time.

mortality rate

The number of deaths that occur in a certain population group in a given period of time.

nonessential nutrient

A substance that sustains life but does not necessarily need to be obtained from the diet.

nutrient

A substance found in food that is used by the body for energy, maintenance of body structure, or regulation of chemical processes.

nutrient content claim

An FDA-regulated word or phrase that describes how much of a nutrient is in a food.

nutrient density

The relative ratio of a food's amount of nutrients to its total calories.

nutrient requirement

The amount of a nutrient that a person must consume to promote optimal health.

nutrition

The science of how living organisms obtain and use food to support processes required for existence.

nutrition transition

A shift from undernutrition to overnutrition or unbalanced nutrition that often occurs as a society transitions to a more industrialized economy.

nutritional adequacy

A condition whereby a person regularly consumes the required amount of a nutrient to meet his or her physiological needs.

nutritional deficiencies

A condition caused by inadequate intake of one or more essential nutrients.

nutritional status

The extent to which a person's diet meets his or her individual nutrient requirements.

nutritional toxicity

Overconsumption of a nutrient that results in dangerous toxic effects.

organic compound

A substance that contains carbon and hydrogen atoms.

overnutrition

A state of poor nutrition that occurs when the diet provides excess nutrients and/or energy.

peer-reviewed journal

A publication that requires a group of scientists to read and approve a study before it is published.

phytochemical (or phytonutrient)

A compound found in plants that likely benefits human health beyond the provision of essential nutrients and energy.

placebo

An inert treatment given to the control group that cannot be distinguished from the actual treatment.

placebo effect

A phenomenon whereby a study participant experiences an apparent effect of the treatment just because the participant believes that the treatment will work.

qualified health claim

A health claim that has less scientific backing and must be accompanied by a disclaimer (or qualifier) statement.

random assignment

A research strategy whereby study participants have equal chance of being assigned to the treatment and the control group.

rate

A measure of some event, disease, or condition within a specific time span.

regular health claim

A health claim that is supported by considerable scientific research.

researcher bias

A phenomenon whereby the researcher, usually inadvertently, influences the results of a study.

risk factor

A lifestyle, environmental, or genetic factor related to a person's chances of developing a disease. Just because something is a risk factor does not mean that it is causative in nature.

scientific method

A series of steps used by scientists to objectively explain observations.

secondary malnutrition

A condition whereby poor nutritional status is caused by factors other than diet, such as illness.

sign

A physical indicator of disease, such as pale skin and brittle fingernails, that can be seen by others.

single-blind study

A human experiment in which the participants do not know to which group they have been assigned.

symptom

A subjective manifestation of disease that generally cannot be observed by other people.

undernutrition

The inadequate intake of one or more nutrients and/or energy.

variety

A nutrition basic related to consuming different types of foods and beverages within a single food group and across food groups.

zoochemical (or zoonutrient)

A compound found in animal-based foods that likely benefits human health beyond the provision of essential nutrients and energy.