Healthy eating is too expensive! – GradSchoolPapers.com

HBS108 Assignment Task 1800 words, 20% of total assessment, due Friday 29 July by 5pm
Healthy eating is too expensive!
Using health information to explore a contemporary issue
Note: You may reference the topic content PDFs for this assignment but not the lecture notes (in which case you may wish to find other sources).
Introduction
Australia continues to experience high levels of diet-related conditions and diseases. For example, 63.4% of Australians aged 18 years and over were overweight or obese (11.2 million people) in 2014-15 (Australian Bureau of Statistics 2015). The health problems associated with poor diet occur as a result of excessive intake of foods that are deemed high in energy, saturated fat, added sugars and/or added salt but relatively low in nutrients (National Health Medical Research Council 2015). When consumed regularly, these foods can promote weight gain, high blood pressure and cholesterol, thus increasing the risk of disease.
When it comes to ‘healthy’ eating, however, many people believe that consuming a healthy diet is expensive and costs much more than purchasing junk food (Lee 2016). As health and health-related practitioners, we are interested in basing our practice (including clinical practice, as well as assisting governments to develop appropriate public policies and programs) on evidence. Therefore, this assignment requires you to access and understand health-related data from reputable, widely-used (by health professionals) sources of information in order to establish whether ‘healthy’ eating is indeed influenced by cost and one’s socio-economic status. If so, it is important that we understand ways that this can be addressed effectively in order to improve eating habits and reduce the risk of diet-related diseases.
TASK A: Locating Health Data and Information from Reputable Sources
Question 1
This question begins to explore ‘healthy’ eating patterns in Australia. In particular, the consumption of a balanced diet inclusive of fruit and vegetables. The Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Australian Health Survey includes data on ‘Daily intake of fruit and vegetables’ in the Australian population. You are required to locate data from this survey from the ABS website. ABS health survey data is now available in the form of (a) a very brief summary of selected findings from the survey; and (b) detailed downloadable data tables (as Microsoft Office Excel spreadsheets). The report is:
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2015, National Health Survey: First Results, 2014-15, cat. no. 4364.0.55.001, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra.
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Please go to the ABS website, and:
? Access and read the “Daily Intake of Fruit and Vegetables” summary shown in the screenshot below.
? Have a look at the “Glossary”, which is available from the ‘Explanatory Notes’ tab.
? Download “Table 6: Health risk factors by population characteristics—Australia”. This is available from the ‘Downloads’ tab.
? Click on the Excel spreadsheet, which will load Table 6 as an Excel spreadsheet.
? Select Table 6.3 at the bottom of the Excel spreadsheet, which shows “Proportion of
? persons”.
Screenshot
i. When conducting quantitative health research, it is important to define how the constructs will be measured precisely. In the Australian Health Survey, how was ‘adequate consumption of fruit and vegetables’ defined?
(3 marks)
ii. Based on the results of the survey, are Australians more likely to meet the guidelines for fruit or vegetable consumption? What are the differences between men and women? Please include percentages to support your answer.
(5 marks)
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iii. Examining Table 6.3, which quintile in the Index of Relative Socio-economic Disadvantage had the highest proportion of persons with inadequate fruit consumption? Which quintile had the highest proportion with inadequate vegetable consumption? Please include the percentages in your answer for full marks.
(5 marks)
iv. Based on information presented in the Glossary about the Index of Relative Socio- Economic Disadvantage and your answer to Question 1 (iii), what appears to be the relationship between fruit and vegetable consumption and socio-economic status? Please include data to support your answer.
(5 marks)
Question 2
This question requires you to access a report published by the Victorian Health Promotion Foundation (VicHealth), a government funded organisation that aims to promote good health and prevent chronic disease through its programs and research projects. Please access and read the following report in order to answer Question 2:
VicHealth 2016, Too little and too much: exploring the paradox of food insecurity and obesity in disadvantaged populations, VicHealth, Melbourne.
i. What were the priorities of those from low socio-economic households when purchasing foods? What foods were purchased to fulfil these priorities? List two examples for each priority.
(5 marks)
ii. According to this VicHealth report, what other factors influence food choices in those from disadvantaged backgrounds?
(5 marks)
Question 3
Using the skills you developed in Topic 2, locate the journal article referenced below through either the Deakin Library website or Google Scholar. Read the article carefully before answering Question 3 (i)–(iii).
Lee, AJ, Kane, S, Ramsey, R, Good, E & Dick, M 2016, ‘Testing the price and affordability of healthy and current (unhealthy) diets and the potential impacts of policy change in Australia’, BMC Public Health, vol. 16, pp. 315–337, DOI 10.1186/s12889-016-2996-y.
i. Based on information presented in Table 5 for a single unemployed household (HH3) in Logan (the low SES area), what is the average (mean) cost of a healthy diet basket? How does this compare to the cost of the current (unhealthy) diet?
(3 marks)
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ii. Based on the data in Table 5, identify the percentage that fruit and vegetables cost in the healthy diet basket for the single unemployed household (HH3). Identify the percentage that fruit and vegetables cost in the current (unhealthy) diet. How does this compare to the percentage spent on discretionary items, such as alcohol, takeaway foods and sugar- sweetened beverages? Please include data to support your answer.
(5 marks)
iii. Obtaining informed consent is one of the key ethical considerations identified in Topic 1. Based on your reading of the article by Lee et al. (2016), identify whether or not the researchers needed to obtain informed consent. Please justify your answer.
(5 marks)
iv. Based on your answers to Questions (i)–(iii), state whether cost influences Australians’ ability to consume a ‘healthy’ diet. Base your statement on the data you have accessed (i.e. not your personal ‘opinion’), and include supporting data where relevant.
(10 marks)
Question 4
Lee (2016, para. 11) suggests that “nutrition policy actions must tackle barriers to healthy eating. Ways to do this include increasing availability of healthy foods and drinks in schools and hospitals and regulating against ‘junk’ food and drink advertising directed to children”. However, there are likely to be other initiatives that can reduce the impact of cost and thereby improve healthy eating habits.
Using the skills you developed in Topic 2, locate the journal article referenced below through either the Deakin Library website or Google Scholar. Read the article carefully before answering Question 4 (i)–(ii).
Ball, K, McNaughton, SA, Le, HND, Gold, L, Mhurchu, CN, Abbott, G, Pollard, C & Crawford, D 2015, ‘Influence of price discounts and skill-building strategies on purchase and consumption of healthy food and beverages: outcomes of the Supermarket Healthy Eating for Life randomized controlled trial’, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 101, no. 5, pp. 1055–1064.
i. State if this article represents a quantitative or qualitative research study. Briefly describe how you know this particular study is quantitative or qualitative.
(5 marks)
ii. According to Ball et al. (2015, p. 1056), this study was “approved by and followed ethical standards in accordance with the Deakin University Faculty of Health Human Ethics Advisory Group”. Considering the study design used, briefly explain two ethical principles these authors would have needed to comply with in order to secure ethical approval.
(5 marks)
iii. Briefly describe in your own words what the specific findings of the above study were. You will find reading the abstract and the results section most useful for this.
(5 marks)
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TASK B: Research Hypotheses/Questions
Question 5
i. Develop a quantitative research hypothesis related to the topic of dietary behaviour and socio-economic status.
(5 marks)
ii. Develop a qualitative research question related to the topic of dietary behaviour and socio-economic status.
(5 marks)
TASK C: Searching Databases
Question 6
Select either the hypothesis or research question you developed in Task B [You must clearly state which one you have selected to use for this question otherwise you will lose marks for this section]. Using the skills you developed in Topic 2, access the Deakin College e-resources (through the Deakin Library website) and conduct a search for a journal article that is relevant to your research question/hypothesis. The article must be:
? An academic journal article
? Peer reviewed
? Published within the past 10 years
? Qualitative in nature if it is addressing the qualitative research question OR quantitative in nature if it is addressing the research hypothesis
? Appropriate to the hypothesis/research question
To receive any marks for this question you must paste the abstract of the article into your assignment as an appendix. NOTE: The abstract is NOT included in the word count for this assignment neither is its effect on your TurnItIn score.
i. Name the database(s) you searched in order to find the article.
(2 mark)
ii. Specify the search terms you used to successfully locate the article.
(2 mark)
iii. Provide the full reference to this article (in Deakin-Harvard style) here as your answer to this question.
(3 marks)
iv. Based on the evidence presented in your article, along with the material you reviewed in Questions 2, 3 and 4, write a brief recommendation on how to best address the barriers to healthy eating experienced by Australians.
(7 marks)
[10 marks will be awarded for writing, grammar, presentation and referencing]
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How to structure your assignment
This assignment should take the form of a structured report (i.e. a question answer format) rather than an “essay” and should be approached with a formal scientific writing style (i.e. full sentence structure). Please note you are not expected to re-write the questions in your assignment as this would be an unwise use of your word count. Please use appropriate section and question numbers to label your answers clearly.
Assignment Title – Top of the first page
Student name & ID – Either as a footer OR under the assignment title
COMPULSORY: Label all responses to questions with the appropriate question number
Font – 12 point, Times New Roman
Line Spacing – 2
Margins – Normal
Borders – None
Use of references
Include all references cited in your assignment (including those that you are instructed to locate and use) in a reference list at the end of the assignment, using the Deakin-Harvard (i.e. author-date) referencing style. If you refer to any additional data not included in these sources, you must reference these additional sources of data too. Remember that, as covered in Topic 2, references are not restricted to academic journals, and can include books and reports from reputable websites. Information about the Deakin-Harvard referencing style is available here: http://www.deakin.edu.au/students/study-support/referencing/harvard
Word limit
The word limit for the assignment is 800 words (excluding the reference list, but including in-text citations and headings). You are permitted a 10% margin over the word limit, but words over 880 will not be assessed. This is done to ensure equity among students—it is unfair if students who exceed the word limit get higher grades (due to including extra material over the word count) than students who comply with the limit. Also, concise writing that states the key points without being unnecessarily verbose is an important report-writing skill that you can demonstrate in your assignment!
Using the TurnItIn Originality check and Assignment Submission
Before submitting your assignment you should check the originality of your work using TurnItIn. In Week 4 there will be a PowerPoint presentation shown during your HBS108 lecture that will cover this process. Your lecturer will also show you how to submit your assignment online via Moodle. Until then read through the assignment material, attempt the assignment questions if you feel confident, and be ready to ask your lecturer any questions in class in Week 4!
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References
Australian Bureau of Statistics 2015, National Health Survey: First Results, 2014–15, cat. no. 4364.0.55.001, Australian Bureau of Statistics, Canberra.
Ball, K, McNaughton, SA, Le, HND, Gold, L, Mhurchu, CN, Abbott, G, Pollard, C & Crawford, D 2015, ‘Influence of price discounts and skill-building strategies on purchase and consumption of healthy food and beverages: outcomes of the Supermarket Healthy Eating for Life randomized controlled trial’, American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, vol. 101, no. 5, pp. 1055–1064.
Lee, A 2016, A healthy diet is cheaper than junk food but a good diet is still too expensive for some, The Conversation, retrieved 2 June 2016, .
Lee, AJ, Kane, S, Ramsey, R, Good, E & Dick, M 2016, ‘Testing the price and affordability of healthy and current (unhealthy) diets and the potential impacts of policy change in Australia’, BMC Public Health, vol. 16, pp. 315–337, DOI 10.1186/s12889-016-2996-y.
National Health and Medical Research Council 2015, About the Australian Dietary Guidelines, retrieved 2 June 2016, .
VicHealth 2016, Too little and too much: exploring the paradox of food insecurity and obesity in disadvantaged populations, VicHealth, Melbourne.

 

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