| Course | NS325 Nutrition Through the Life Cycle |
|---|---|
| Unit | Unit 7 |
| Paper type | Adolescent nutrition brief |
| Length | About 800 words, 5 pages double-spaced |
| Format | APA 7 student paper |
| School | Purdue University Global |
| Program | BS in Nutrition Science |
| Updated | October 2026 |
Free sample paper for NS325 Unit 7
Lunch at 10:48 and a Store Across the Street: A Unit 7 Adolescent Nutrition Brief for a High School Wellness Committee
[Student Name]
Purdue University Global
NS325: Nutrition Through the Life Cycle
Unit 7 Adolescent Nutrition Brief
[Instructor Name]
[Date]
The high school, its committee, schedule and surroundings are composite; the dietary reference intake reports, lunch time study, energy drink report and federal school food rule cited are real.
Summary
Three recommendations, each within the school's control:
1. Give every student at least 25 minutes seated with food, and add a grab-and-go second breakfast for students whose lunch begins before 11:00.
2. Apply the federal Smart Snacks standards to every food and drink the school sells during the school day, including fundraisers, and end the sale of energy drinks at school-sponsored events.
3. Set a team travel food plan with coaches so that away-game meals are planned rather than left to the nearest drive-through.
Background: What Growth Asks
Adolescence is the second fastest period of growth after infancy. Girls usually reach their peak growth in height about two years earlier than boys, and energy needs vary widely with the timing of growth and with sport. Two nutrients stand out. Calcium needs are 1,300 mg a day from ages 9 to 18, because a large share of adult bone is laid down in these years (Institute of Medicine, 2011). Iron needs rise to 15 mg a day for girls aged 14 to 18, against 11 mg for boys, largely because of menstrual losses (Institute of Medicine, 2001).
Teenagers need more of some nutrients than at almost any other time of life, yet the school day as now organized gives many of them a lunch too early to hold them and too short to finish.
Evidence: Where These Students Eat
The committee's own survey found that about a third of students in first lunch skip it or eat only part of it, and that many buy snacks at the convenience store after school. In a study of students in grades 3 through 8, those with less than 20 minutes to eat consumed 13 percent less of their entrée, 10 percent less of their milk and 12 percent less of their vegetables than students with at least 25 minutes (Cohen et al., 2016). The students were younger than ours, and high school students may eat faster, but the committee's own observation of first lunch suggests the same problem: trays returned with the vegetable and the milk untouched. A lunch at 10:48, with a long line, leaves some students with less than 15 minutes to eat and a seven-hour stretch until dinner.
Energy drinks are sold at the concession stand during home games. The American Academy of Pediatrics concluded that energy drinks, which contain stimulants such as caffeine, have no place in the diets of children and adolescents (Schneider et al., 2011).
Options and What the School Controls
The schedule. The school controls lunch periods and can ensure every student has at least 25 minutes seated, which usually means shortening the line by adding a second serving station rather than lengthening the period. If first lunch cannot move later, a second breakfast offered between second and third periods gives early-lunch students food when they need it.
Foods sold at school. Federal rules set nutrition standards for all foods sold to students on campus during the school day, including vending machines, school stores and fundraisers (81 Fed. Reg. 50132, 2016). The school already meets them in the cafeteria but not at the student store or in fundraisers. Bringing those into line is within the committee's authority. Concessions at evening games fall outside the school-day rule, but the school can choose not to sell energy drinks there.
Team travel. Coaches decide where team buses stop. A plan that orders sandwiches, fruit and milk for the return trip, or chooses restaurants in advance, is within the athletic department's reach.
The convenience store. The school does not control it. A closed campus at lunch limits access during the day, and the committee may wish to consider it, but the brief does not recommend measures aimed at a private business.
Costs and Concerns
A second breakfast needs staff time and space; the cafeteria manager estimates one extra worker for 30 minutes. Fundraiser changes may reduce revenue for clubs that sell candy, and the committee should plan approved alternatives. Coaches may resist travel plans on cost grounds; sandwiches and fruit bought in bulk usually cost less than fast food.
Next Steps
The committee can adopt the first two recommendations at its next meeting and refer the third to the athletic director. A follow-up survey at the end of the semester would show whether students in first lunch are eating more of it.
References
Cohen, J. F. W., Jahn, J. L., Richardson, S., Cluggish, S. A., Parker, E., & Rimm, E. B. (2016). Amount of time to eat lunch is associated with children's selection and consumption of school meal entrée, fruits, vegetables, and milk. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 116(1), 123-128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2015.07.019
81 Fed. Reg. 50132 (2016). National School Lunch Program and School Breakfast Program: Nutrition standards for all foods sold in school as required by the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2010 (final rule).
Institute of Medicine. (2001). Dietary reference intakes for vitamin A, vitamin K, arsenic, boron, chromium, copper, iodine, iron, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, silicon, vanadium, and zinc. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/10026
Institute of Medicine. (2011). Dietary reference intakes for calcium and vitamin D. National Academies Press. https://doi.org/10.17226/13050
Schneider, M. B., Benjamin, H. J., Committee on Nutrition, & Council on Sports Medicine and Fitness. (2011). Sports drinks and energy drinks for children and adolescents: Are they appropriate? Pediatrics, 127(6), 1182-1189. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-0965
The Purdue Global NS325 Unit 7 instructions
The Unit 7 brief asks students to write for decision makers about nutrition for adolescents in a specific setting. Prompts usually ask for background on adolescent needs, evidence about the setting, options and recommendations. Put the recommendations first, since committees often read only the summary. Explain the physiology in plain terms. Use local details from the prompt to describe where teenagers actually eat. Judge each option by what the organization controls. Cite the rules that apply, such as federal school food standards. Name costs and concerns honestly. Avoid weight-focused language. Four pages is typical. Write every section so a member skimming it before a meeting could still act. Separate what the school controls from what it does not.
How the NS 325 Unit 7 example is put together
The brief opens with a summary of three recommendations. Background covers the timing of growth, calcium at 1,300 mg and iron at 15 mg for girls against 11 for boys. The highlighted sentence links these needs to the school's schedule. Evidence draws on the committee's survey, a lunch-time study and an energy drink report. Options are judged by control: the schedule and school-day sales are within reach, team travel belongs to coaches, and the convenience store is outside the school's authority. A section weighs costs, and next steps assign each recommendation. Each option names who in the school would carry it out. Sources are listed briefly at the end in APA style.
Reading the NS325 Unit 7 grading rubric
Adolescent briefs are usually graded on accurate physiology, use of evidence, practical recommendations and fit to the audience. Points go to placing recommendations first and keeping them within the organization's control. Explaining the growth-related rise in iron and calcium shows course knowledge. Local detail earns credit for application. Citing relevant rules, such as school food standards, is expected. Naming costs and concerns shows realism. Format and sources count toward the grade. Briefs that recommend banning foods outside the school's control usually lose practicality points. A follow-up measure is often credited. Recognizing that a study's population differs from the school's, and saying so, shows careful use of evidence. Plain, nontechnical language suited to parents and teachers on the committee is also rewarded.
NS325 Unit 7 help from the desk
Adolescent briefs often open with background and bury the recommendations. Another weakness is general advice about teen diets with no link to the setting. Some briefs ignore what the school can actually control. Energy drink claims are made without a source. Weight-focused language appears, which pediatric guidance discourages. Costs are left out, so committees cannot plan. Rules such as Smart Snacks go unmentioned. If you have the setting but are unsure which options to recommend, sort each idea by whether the organization controls it. A writer can draft the brief from that sorted list. Ending with a measurable follow-up gives the committee a reason to adopt the plan. Short sentences and clear headings make the brief easier to act on in a meeting.
Get an NS325 Unit 7 example written to your instructions
A school committee, a coach, parents or teenagers themselves: the reader named in the Unit 7 prompt changes almost every recommendation, so name that reader, describe the setting, and attach the instructions and the rubric. The finished brief addresses that audience directly, costs nothing as a first custom sample and arrives in 24-48h. 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.
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NS325 Unit 7 questions, answered
Can the brief include advice for athletes?
It can describe how training raises energy and fluid needs and cite a sports nutrition position statement, but advice for a particular athlete belongs with a sports dietitian. Framed for a committee, athlete content usually becomes a setting question, such as what the team bus stop offers or whether water is available at practice.
Why avoid talking about weight in a nutrition brief?
Because the pediatric guidance on this age group advises against it. The American Academy of Pediatrics reported in 2016 that dieting and weight talk are associated with both obesity and disordered eating in adolescents, and it recommended focusing on healthy behaviors instead. A brief that follows that guidance reads as current; one that sets weight targets reads as out of date.
How local does the evidence need to be?
As local as the prompt allows. A described school schedule, a store across the street or a count of vending machines turns national survey data into a picture of these particular teenagers. Where the prompt gives no local detail, a brief can say which facts a committee would gather first rather than inventing them.
Where can I find a free NS325 Unit 7 sample paper?
This page has a complete Unit 7 brief for a high school wellness committee, with three recommendations on lunch time, school-day food sales and team travel.
How much iron do teenage girls need?
Girls aged 14 to 18 need 15 mg of iron a day, compared with 11 mg for boys, mainly because of menstrual losses.