Low Carb Diet News Assignment

The Low Carb Diet Craze: A Sensible Diet?
Chemistry 111 Spring 2004

One can hardly walk into a grocery store without seeing new “low carb” alternatives for all sorts of different foods. Low carb bread, tortillas, “candy” bars, cereal, pasta just begins the list. There is clearly a market for such products – the food industry wouldn’t be so prolific about providing such alternatives if there wasn’t. Americans are jumping on the low carb bandwagon in record numbers. What are the health consequences – positive or negative – of doing so?

The assignment will begin with your independent work and will continue in class on Thursday, May 13, 2004 and culminate with the position paper you turn in on Thursday, May 20, 2004 (at the final exam). As individuals and as a class, we will work together to explore the science and nutrition behind low carb diets by following these steps:

1. Read the assigned information about diet, nutrition and/or health.
Each class member will read some information about diet, nutrition and/or health. Not everyone will read the same material. The resources you are assigned should be read thoroughly before coming to class on Thursday, May 13.

Information sources:

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

2.    Identify the Scientific/Technological Issue
In an effort to help you deepen your understanding about the information you read in step 1, above, identify the issue(s) raised in the reading. To do this, answer the questions listed below and on the back of this sheet before coming to class on Thursday, May 13. Write your answers on this sheet, it will be turned in with your position paper on May 20.

3.     Formulate opinion of author; identify alternative opinions
Before coming to class on Thursday, May 13, write a single sentence that summarizes the authors’s opinions about low carb diets or the American diet. Base your sentence on the reading of the assigned information and your analysis of the issues. If you uncovered different opinions through your reading write more than one sentence.

4.     Find and summarize opinions and factors from other sources
Other students in the class read different information about diet, nutrition and/or health. Form a group composed of students who read different material, with one representative having read each of the sets of materials. Take turns conveying information gained from your readings and your summary sentences from part 3. Summarize the opinions from the various sources and articulate a single sentence (if one opinion emerged) or several sentences (if multiple opinions emerged). Each student should record the group sentence below.

5.    Write a position paper stating and supporting your position on the scientific issue or course of action
Based on your reading, discussions within the student groups in the classroom, and general class discussion, formulate your own opinion about the low carb diet. Do you think it is a sensible diet to follow? Write a one-page position paper stating and supporting your position. Staple the Part 1 and Part 2 pages to your paper (put the paper on the top). This paper is due on Thursday, May 20 (at the final exam) and will be graded according to the rubric described on the course web page.

For this paper you should consult additional sources of information. Remember to consider the credibility of the sources you use.

Group 1: Low Carb or Low Fat?

Information Sources	Questions
Is the pendulum swinging away from low fat? By Damaris Christensen	What is the basis for promoting low carb diets?
Is the Atkins Diet Dangerous? Physicians and Nutritionists Weigh In by Ayanna V. Buckner	What evidence is there in support of low carb diets?
Low-carb diets becoming international trend by Sandya Nair	What evidence is there against low carb diets?
	What is the role of carefully controlled studies in recommendations about diet?

Group 2: Research Studies Compare Low Carb and Low Fat

Information Sources	Questions
Sane Weight Loss in a Carb-Obsessed World: High Fiber and Low Fat by Jane E. Brody	Describe studies done comparing low carb and low fat diets.
Score One for Low-Carb Diet: Atkins Adherents Lose More in Brief Study by Sally Squires	What conclusions can be drawn from these studies?
No Good evidence for low carb diets by Danny Kingsley	What arguments are there in support of and against a low fat diet?
The Perfect Fit Diet by Lisa Sanders, M.D.	What arguments are there in support of and against a low carb diet?

Group 3: Sorting Through the Low Carb Diets

Information Sources	Questions
Low-Carb Diets: The Right Way to Go? By Ellen Loreck, MS, RD	How do low carb diets work?
The science behind the low-carb diets by Al Sicherman	Why do dietary recommendations keep changing?
Diet comparison by Rick Nelson	What differences are there between the different low carb diets?
Rebuilding the Food Pyramid by Walter C. Willett and Meir J. Stampfer	Which, if any, low carb diets seem to be the most sensible?

Group 4: Obesity and the US Diet

Information Sources	Questions
Rebuilding the Food Pyramid by Walter C. Willett and Meir J. Stampfer	How have the eating habits of Americans changed over the last 30 years?
Highlights from a year of obesity news by Lee Svitak Dean	What major changes in dietary recommendations have been made in the last 2 years?
Study Details 30-Year Increase in Calorie Consumption by Anahad O’Connor	What is the role of the restaurant industry (fast food and otherwise) in the dietary habits of Americans?
Hold the Fries. Hey, Not All of Them! By Marian Burros	What problems are there with the “Food Pyramid?”

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