HW320 Unit 3 Dietary Intake Record Example

Course	HW320 Contemporary Diet and Nutrition
Unit	Unit 3
Paper type	Dietary intake record
Length	About 860 words, 6 pages double-spaced
Format	APA 7 student paper
School	Purdue University Global
Program	BS in Health and Wellness
Updated	October 2026

Free sample paper for HW320 Unit 3

Logged Now or Remembered Later: A Unit 3 Dietary Intake Record With Capture and Source Columns

[Student Name]

Purdue University Global

HW320: Contemporary Diet and Nutrition

Unit 3 Dietary Intake Record

[Instructor Name]

[Date]

The person, the meals and every value are composite; the dietary assessment review and the app accuracy study cited are real, and nutrient values are rounded estimates for illustration.

What this part is doingNaming the two added columns in the lead tells the grader exactly what this record does that an ordinary log does not.

Purpose and Method

This record covers two days, a Wednesday and a Saturday, kept by a composite 27-year-old warehouse scheduler using a free nutrition app. Two days, one weekday and one weekend day, were chosen because weekend eating often differs and a single day can mislead. Food records kept at the time of eating are generally more accurate than recall, but they can change what people eat, since recording a meal makes it visible (Shim et al., 2014).

Each entry records time, occasion, food as eaten with brand and preparation, portion in the measure used, estimated grams, energy and the three macronutrients. Two further columns follow.

Capture: L means logged at the time of eating; P means photographed at the time and logged later; R means pieced together from memory late in the evening.

Source: V means a verified entry in the app's database; F means values taken from USDA FoodData Central (U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, 2019); U means a user-created entry, which was checked against the package label or FoodData Central before it was accepted.

Studies comparing popular tracking apps with a research-grade nutrient database found that energy and macronutrient values were broadly similar but that several apps underestimated protein, fat or sodium, often because of user-created entries (Griffiths et al., 2018). The source column makes that risk visible.

Day 1: Wednesday

1. 6:40 a.m., breakfast. Rolled oats cooked in water, 1 cup cooked, 234 g; banana, 1 medium, 118 g; brown sugar, 1 teaspoon. Energy 280 kcal; carbohydrate 59 g; protein 7 g; fat 3 g. Capture L. Source V.

2. 9:15 a.m., snack. Coffee with 2 tablespoons half-and-half. Energy 40 kcal; carbohydrate 1 g; protein 1 g; fat 3 g. Capture L. Source V.

3. 12:10 p.m., lunch. Turkey and cheddar sandwich on whole-wheat bread from the break-room deli, 1 sandwich, about 220 g; apple, 1 medium. Energy 560 kcal; carbohydrate 62 g; protein 30 g; fat 20 g. Capture P. Source U, checked against the deli's posted nutrition sheet.

4. 3:30 p.m., snack. Vending machine pretzels, 1 bag, 46 g. Energy 180 kcal; carbohydrate 38 g; protein 4 g; fat 1 g. Capture L. Source V.

5. 7:00 p.m., dinner. Delivered chicken pad thai, about two thirds of the container, estimated 400 g. Energy 750 kcal; carbohydrate 85 g; protein 30 g; fat 30 g. Capture R. Source U, flagged: the restaurant posts no nutrition information, and the app entry chosen was one of eleven user entries ranging from 480 to 1,100 calories per container.

6. 9:30 p.m., snack. Dark chocolate, 2 squares, 20 g. Energy 110 kcal; carbohydrate 9 g; protein 1 g; fat 8 g. Capture R. Source F.

Day 1 totals: energy about 1,920 kcal; carbohydrate 254 g; protein 73 g; fat 65 g.

Day 2: Saturday

1. 9:30 a.m., brunch. Two eggs scrambled in 1 teaspoon butter; two slices sourdough toast; orange juice, 8 fluid ounces. Energy 520 kcal; carbohydrate 58 g; protein 18 g; fat 22 g. Capture P. Source V.

2. 1:00 p.m., snack. Tortilla chips with salsa, about 1.5 ounces of chips. Energy 230 kcal; carbohydrate 28 g; protein 3 g; fat 11 g. Capture R. Source V.

3. 4:00 p.m., snack. Iced latte with whole milk, 16 fluid ounces. Energy 190 kcal; carbohydrate 15 g; protein 10 g; fat 10 g. Capture L. Source V.

4. 7:30 p.m., dinner at a friend's house. Homemade beef chili, about 1.5 cups; cornbread, 1 square; green salad with ranch dressing. Energy 820 kcal; carbohydrate 72 g; protein 38 g; fat 42 g. Capture R. Source U, built from a typical chili recipe in FoodData Central, since the host's recipe was not available.

5. 10:00 p.m., drinks. Two 12-ounce beers. Energy 300 kcal; carbohydrate 26 g; protein 3 g; fat 0 g. Capture R. Source F.

Day 2 totals: energy about 2,060 kcal; carbohydrate 199 g; protein 72 g; fat 85 g.

Reliability Summary

Of eleven entries, five were reconstructed from memory and four relied on user-created or recipe-built values, and those entries, mostly dinners and evening items, carry most of the uncertainty in both daily totals.

What this part is doingThe highlighted sentence locates the record's weakest points, which is the judgment the capture and source columns exist to support.

The delivered pad thai alone could shift Day 1 energy by several hundred calories in either direction, depending on which user entry is correct. The Saturday dinner was estimated from a generic recipe and remembered portions. By contrast, breakfasts and packaged snacks were logged at the time from verified entries and are likely to be close.

What this part is doingRanking entries by reliability shows the reader which totals to trust before any analysis is done.

Notes for Analysis

Any later comparison with reference intakes should treat both days as estimates, give the most weight to logged and verified entries, and repeat the record on additional days before drawing conclusions about usual intake. Two days cannot represent usual intake for nutrients that vary widely from day to day.

References

Griffiths, C., Harnack, L., & Pereira, M. A. (2018). Assessment of the accuracy of nutrient calculations of five popular nutrition tracking applications. Public Health Nutrition, 21(8), 1495-1502. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980018000393

Shim, J.-S., Oh, K., & Kim, H. C. (2014). Dietary assessment methods in epidemiologic studies. Epidemiology and Health, 36, Article e2014009. https://doi.org/10.4178/epih/e2014009

U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. (2019). FoodData Central. https://fdc.nal.usda.gov

HW320 Unit 3 instructions, in plain terms

The intake record unit asks students to record everything eaten and drunk over a set number of days in a usable format. Prompts usually specify the days, the columns and the tool, often an app or a federal analysis program. Include weekend and weekday days where allowed. Record food as eaten, with brand, preparation and the portion in the measure used. Estimate grams so values can be checked. Mark entries remembered later rather than logged at the time, and check user-created app entries against a label or USDA FoodData Central. Total each day. Add a short note on reliability, naming the entries that carry the most uncertainty. Do not change eating to make the record look better. Two to three days and a few pages is typical.

Inside the HW320 Unit 3 example

A method section explains the choice of a weekday and a Saturday, defines the capture and source codes, and cites a study of app accuracy against a research database. Day one lists six entries from oatmeal at 6:40 to dark chocolate at 9:30, with the delivered dinner flagged for its range of 480 to 1,100 calories across user entries. Day two lists five entries, with a friend's chili built from a typical recipe. Each day ends with totals. The highlighted sentence counts the reconstructed and user-sourced entries and locates them in dinners and evenings. A reliability summary ranks entries by trust, and closing notes advise weighting logged and verified entries and recording more days before judging usual intake.

Reading the HW320 Unit 3 grading rubric

HW320 intake record rubrics typically score completeness and accuracy first: every item recorded with portion, preparation and nutrient values. Format and organization are a second criterion, since the record must be usable for the analysis units that follow. Points also go to honest disclosure of estimates, memory gaps and uncertain database entries. A brief reliability note or reflection is often required and scored separately. Correct use of the specified tool or database earns points for method. Clear presentation and APA citations for any sources close the rubric. Records that leave out drinks, condiments or snacks, or that present remembered meals as precise, usually lose points on accuracy.

HW320 Unit 3 help from the desk

Intake records lose points most often for missing items: coffee creamer, cooking oil, sauces and drinks are easy to forget. Another weakness is accepting the first app entry that appears without checking it, which can shift a day's total by hundreds of calories. Students sometimes record ideal days instead of typical ones. Portions are frequently given as servings without grams, which makes later checking impossible. Reliability is rarely discussed. If your app record has entries you are unsure about, especially restaurant or homemade meals, our writers can lay out the export with capture and source columns once you share it.

Get an HW320 Unit 3 example written to your instructions

Your own entries stay yours, so this sample supplies the frame: name the tool your section uses, whether an app, ASA24 or a paper log, plus the instructions and rubric set for Unit 3. A layout with composite bracketed rows plus capture and source columns comes back in 24-48h, and there is no charge for a first one. The paper above is an original model document written by our desk, not a submitted student paper and not an official Purdue University Global document.

More HW320 papers and BS in Health and Wellness samples

HW320 Unit 3 questions, answered

Is an app record acceptable, or does it have to be handwritten?

Most sections accept app records, and some require a specific tool such as the National Cancer Institute's ASA24 or the analysis program bundled with the textbook. Check the prompt for a named tool first. Whatever you use, export or screenshot the entries with their sources visible, since graders often ask where a number came from and an app summary alone cannot answer that.

What should I do about meals I forgot to log?

Reconstruct them as carefully as you can and mark them as reconstructed. A disclosed estimate is part of an honest record; a gap nobody mentions makes the day's totals look precise when they are not. If a whole day is mostly reconstructed, say so in the methods paragraph and check whether your prompt allows a replacement day to be recorded instead.

Why does my app show different values for the same food?

Because many entries are uploaded by users, and one product may appear a dozen times with different serving sizes or missing nutrients. Choose an entry marked as verified, or match the food in USDA FoodData Central, and use that version consistently across every recorded day. Note in your methods which source you relied on, so anyone checking can reproduce the totals.

Where can I find a free HW320 Unit 3 sample paper?

This page holds a complete Unit 3 dietary intake record of two days with capture and source columns, daily totals, a reliability summary and APA references.

Why mark how each entry was captured?

Entries logged at the time are usually more accurate than meals remembered at the end of the day. Marking capture lets a reader see which totals rest on memory and treat them with more caution.