Section: Coach Food — Becoming Your Own Nutritionist
This section covers Chapter 4, Lessons 4.1 through 4.4.
Part A — Vocabulary (20 points, 2 points each)
Select the best answer for each question.
1. Diet culture is:
A) Any culture that eats food B) A system of beliefs equating thinness with health and moral virtue; demonizes certain eating patterns C) A specific medical recommendation D) Only on social media
2. Disordered eating refers to:
A) Eating different foods B) Irregular eating behaviors causing harm, with or without clinical diagnosis; exists on a spectrum C) Only clinical eating disorders D) Vegetarian eating
3. Interoception is:
A) A type of fiber B) The ability to sense internal body signals like hunger, fullness, thirst, fatigue; foundation of intuitive eating C) A method of calorie counting D) A type of exercise
4. Bioavailability is:
A) Whether food is in stores B) How efficiently your body absorbs and uses nutrients from a food C) Total calorie content D) Shelf life
5. Nutrient density refers to:
A) How heavy a food is B) The amount of essential nutrients per calorie; animal foods consistently rank highest in this measure C) Total calorie count D) Food weight per volume
6. Correlation vs. causation means:
A) The same thing B) Correlation = two things happen together; causation = one causes the other. Most nutrition research shows correlation only C) Causation is always easier to prove D) Both are equally established in observational studies
7. Cherry-picking in nutrition discourse describes:
A) Selecting the healthiest fruits B) Selecting only studies that support a predetermined conclusion while ignoring contradictory evidence C) Eating a varied diet D) Following one diet
8. Meta-analysis is:
A) A type of opinion piece B) A study combining data from multiple previous studies; the strongest form of evidence when done well C) A personal review D) An industry-funded publication
9. Industry funding bias refers to:
A) Research is always biased B) Research funded by companies is more likely to produce results favorable to the funder's product; check funding disclosures C) A type of fraud D) Government funding only
10. Food autonomy means:
A) Eating whatever junk food you want B) Making food decisions based on your own knowledge, hunger, and needs — without guilt or external pressure C) Following a specific diet plan precisely D) Ignoring all nutrition science
Part B — Concept Comprehension (20 points, 2 points each)
Select the best answer for each question.
11. Diet culture is best described as:
A) Any diet plan B) A system of beliefs equating thinness with health and moral virtue C) A specific diet recommended by doctors D) Only applies to social media
12. Research on identical twins shows that genetics account for approximately what percentage of BMI variation?
A) 5-10% B) 20-30% C) 40-70% D) 90-100%
13. Liver ranks as the most nutrient-dense food because:
A) It is low in calories B) It contains extremely high concentrations of vitamin A, B12, folate, iron, and copper per serving C) It has the most protein of any food D) It contains all three macronutrients equally
14. The primary difference between heme and non-heme iron is:
A) Heme iron contains more calories B) Heme iron (animal source) is absorbed at 15-35% vs. non-heme (plant source) at 2-20% C) Non-heme iron is always superior D) They are absorbed identically
15. Cherry-picking in nutrition discourse means:
A) Choosing the healthiest fruits B) Selecting only studies supporting a predetermined conclusion while ignoring contradictory evidence C) Eating a varied diet D) Following the most popular diet
16. In the hierarchy of evidence, which is strongest?
A) Expert opinion B) Personal anecdote C) Single randomized controlled trial D) Systematic review or meta-analysis of multiple RCTs
17. Interoception is:
A) A type of dietary fiber B) Your ability to sense internal body signals like hunger and fullness C) A method of calorie counting D) A type of exercise
18. "Eating blueberries is associated with lower cancer rates" most likely represents:
A) Proven causation B) Correlation that may have confounding factors C) A randomized controlled trial result D) An industry-funded claim
19. Anti-nutrients in plant foods:
A) Are always harmful and make plant foods dangerous B) Are compounds that reduce mineral absorption but can be significantly reduced by soaking, sprouting, fermenting, and cooking C) Only exist in processed foods D) Have no effect on nutrition
20. Food autonomy means:
A) Eating whatever junk food you want B) Following a specific diet plan precisely C) Making food decisions based on your own knowledge, hunger, and needs — without guilt D) Ignoring all nutrition science
Part C — Application (30 points, 6 points each)
Write 2-4 complete sentences for each question. Show your reasoning.
21. Explain the difference between absolute risk and relative risk. Why does this distinction matter when reading nutrition headlines?
22. A documentary claims that eating any animal products causes heart disease. Using the "five questions" framework from this chapter (primary vs. secondary source, study type, funding, cherry-picking, confounding), describe how you would evaluate this claim.
23. Describe two protective factors against eating disorders and explain why each is protective.
24. The animal-based framework emphasizes nutrient density and bioavailability. Name one genuine strength and one genuine limitation of this approach.
25. Write one principle of your own nutrition philosophy. Support it with at least one piece of evidence from this curriculum.
Continue to the next section.