Service Learning Project Reflection Paper

This paper reports a Service Learning Project that was completed in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Lifecycle Nutrition Course. First the author will give brief information about their victim. Next the author will explain the results of the victim’s three-day meal assessment. Finally, the author closes with a brief summary and synthesis.”
3. Body Paragraph 1 – What, when, where. My service-learning project was constructed around a 27-year-old male. In the initial consultation he claimed to be in good health with occasional nose bleeds. I also explained to him that this was only a project and if he needs further assistance to seek a professional. He was happy to participate and looking forward to learning from this project. The
project went very well. Even though my victim was out of the country for work he collaborated the best he could with me. Being over seas he has limited availability as well as variety in his meals. If his job requires longer hours he can miss the chow hall times resulting in any snacks he can find. He ensured me that for the project this was his best effort at eating correctly. On the nutrient report my victim satisfied almost all of the requirements.
His calories and macronutrients were good however his micronutrients were his trouble spots. This led me to look at the food group report and that is where I found issues. The only area on that report that was classified as “OK” was his calories. His main vegetable source came from starchy or “other” vegetables and he consumed no green vegetables. My recommendation was he needed to make sure he consumed the 2 1/2 cups recommended for him. My reasoning was they are extremely high in all vitamins including vitamin K (Russell, 2015). On his nutrient report this was the vitamin he was really under on. When I did my research on nosebleeds I found one reason could be from a vitamin K deficiency (Johnson, 2014). My victim claimed he does not like them so it is difficult to include in his food selection. I looked into different ways he could add them into his diet and he agreed to try juicing. Overall he is a healthy young man who exercises daily. The tips he received from this report will benefit him if he utilizes them. I also recommended a multivitamin to make sure he takes in the USDA’s recommendations. I was informed he went to his flight doctor and obtained a chewy Flintstone multivitamin. I was also told the flight doctor applauded my
advice. I learned a person’s lifestyle could influence their nutrition. If a professional needs to counsel someone in nutrition, it would be beneficial to understand how he or she lives daily. I learned how to take three days worth of meals and break them down to find any problems. This led me to see how vitamin deficiencies could impact a person's health. I also learned that becoming a professional in the field of nutrition requires a strong understanding basic nutrition. Having a career in nutrition will also require a lifetime of learning. This reflects UIW’s mission because by completing this degree I will have obtained the skills I need to continue learning. This paper reported a three-day analysis over my victim’s nutrition. All in all it went great. I learned how vitamin deficiencies can affect someone even if they taken proper calories. This project was extremely enjoyable and I will not be changing my major!