ASSIGNMENT 1: FACT SHEET
Requirements:
Your task, using a maximum of 1 x A4 page (front and back) and no more than 1000 words is to prepare a fact sheet which reviews the evidence linking obesity with chronic low-grade inflammation and the potential benefits of dietary management of inflammation with the Mediterranean diet.
Your fact sheet is aimed at a busy healthcare professional and so it needs to be both factual and succinct. Picture a GP sitting down at their desk to eat a 15 min lunch between patients – and they pick up your fact sheet.
The fact sheet can be divided into two parts:
Part 1: Review and describe the link between obesity and inflammation.
The basis of this link is discussed within the first lecture and associated resources. Within part 1 you are asked to briefly review the underlying pathogenesis linking obesity with chronic low-grade inflammation and metabolic dysfunction. In your brief review, you should highlight 4-5 important biomarkers that may be modulated in obesity-induced inflammation, such as specific cytokines or adipokines, C-reactive protein, macrophages, and reactive oxygen species. Hint: Consider which biomarkers might be modulated by a Mediterranean Diet (Part 2).
Part 2: Provide evidence on the effectiveness of managing obesity-related inflammation with a Mediterranean diet
Within part 2 you are asked to provide evidence as to whether adopting a Mediterranean diet by an obese person can beneficially modulate inflammation-related biomarkers, particularly those described in part 1. Evidence from studies in individuals with obesity is preferable. Regardless of the strength of evidence available in obese humans, you are also asked to provide 4 – 5 evidence-based nutrition-related recommendations for how an obese person may improve markers of inflammation. Make your recommendations realistic and safe for the individual. Remember, the
aim is to help the health professional help their patients, and therefore the recommendations need to be practical.
Learning outcomes of this assignment:
The Unit Learning Outcomes associated with this assignment are:
- ULO1: Explain the aetiology and pathophysiology of common nutrition-related diseases
- ULO3: Search, interpret and critically evaluate scientific publications on the relationship between diets and nutrition-related diseases
- ULO4: Synthesize current scientific knowledge on the prevention of nutrition-related diseases and produce reports for a professional and lay audience
Steps for approaching this assignment
Step 1.
Participate in the seminars, which discuss the features of good/fair fact sheets using sample fact sheets. Please note that these examples are not the topic of your assignment so please do not copy from these examples. They should therefore not be used as a template for your own assignment. The seminars will also provide information on how the assessment rubric will be used to assess your fact sheet.
Step 2.
Prepare your own fact sheet targeted towards a health care practitioner (i.e. nurse, medical practitioner, health promotion officer or dietitian).
- Please note – the maximum page limit must also include all references.
- Any pages in excess of the stated requirement will not be marked and you will also be penalized for not following the formatting instructions.
- No coversheet is required
Because your audience has a working knowledge of key concepts and terminology, you will not need to define all terms (for examples “CVD”, “cancer” or “obesity”). However, people reading your fact sheet have not considered how obesity might elicit inflammatory effects that can contribute to metabolic diseases. Although the reader will have an understanding of diets for obesity managements, they will definitely benefit from reading the latest information
about the effects of the Mediterranean diet and its role in obesity management. They will also benefit from reading evidence-based recommendations that their clients may realistically adopt to help improve inflammation via dietary means.
A note on referencing: Because space and words are limited full referencing is not required. Rather, enough information that anyone reading the fact sheet can find the article itself is required. Typically, this means you need only include the first author, journal name (you can use the abbreviated journal name), publication date and first page. Providing only a DOI is not enough as these can often be incorrect, which then leaves the reader without enough information to search for the article.
Guide to assessment weighting
Markers will be using the rubric to assess your work. The following information is presented as a guide to the importance placed on each component of the fact sheet.
- Overview, aims, and background (25%).
This judges the effectiveness and clarity with which the writer states the health conditions and highlights the importance of the problem to the readers. - Evidence and gaps (25%).
The writer is required to perform a review of the most current literature to identify what we know and perhaps what we don’t know. Identifying any “gaps in our knowledge” is extremely important particularly within health research as diseases are rarely simple. It is important to demonstrate the writer’s understanding of various
experimental designs and their strengths and limitations when analysing scientific evidence. There are a range of variables including the environment, genetics and epigenetics that affect a person’s susceptibility to disease and their response to any given treatment. You may need to address some or all of these gaps within your fact sheet. - Recommendations (25%).
The purpose of this fact sheet is to inform a health professional about a current, technical issue and provide 4 – 5 suggestions that they can use to help their clients reduce disease risk. In previous years this has been treated by students as an afterthought tacked onto the end of an assignment who subsequently haven’t gotten the most out of this assignment. Put yourself in the place of a health professional who is extremely busy and wants effective suggestions to help them help their clients. When considering the suggestions, you need to also think about issues of effective dose, compliance, potential cost, and ease of implementation:• Suggesting that a person reduce their disease risk by eating less and exercising more (although correct) is not particularly helpful as we have seen many interventions based on this concept that did not work due to a lack of
compliance.
• Suggesting interventions that cost money may also prevent people from lower SES categories (those typically most at risk of disease) from adopting the recommendations.
• If the intervention requires complex measurements of food intake this may also present a barrier. You are welcome to use suggestions from professional bodies such as the Heart Foundation. However, you will also need to research the literature to ensure that these suggestions are likely to be effective. Just because a health organisation says “Swap a French-fry for a carrot” does not actually mean that a particular campaign will work. - References (10%).
The writer is assessed based on whether key references have been identified and included in this fact sheet, and whether the type of evidence is appropriate for the fact sheet. Sufficient and effective use of references is required throughout the fact sheet, particularly when providing the overview of the fact sheet and presenting information on evidence and gaps and in support of any recommendations. Reference styles should be consistent throughout the fact sheet and have sufficient information to be substantiated. References should be sought from credible sources. - Presentation (15%).
The fact sheet should be organised in a logical manner, and the language used should be appropriate. The layout should be easy to read and visually appealing. Appropriate use of figures and tables are encouraged to effectively present information to the readers.
