SCOFF questionnaire
Basic yet reliable set of five questions that help assess whether an eating disorder exists.
Do you make yourself Sick because you ... [Show More] feel uncomfortably full?
Do you worry that you have lost Control over how much you eat?
Have you recently lost more than One stone (14 lbs) in a 3-month period?
Do you believe yourself to be Fat when others say you are too thin?
Would you say that Food dominates your life?
Scientific Method
The process of formulating explanations about the natural world and testing those explanations with experiments and data.
1. Identify a Problem
2. Formulate a hypothesis
3. Design a study to test the hypothesis
4. Collect data
5. Discard or change the hypothesis OR continue testing
Evidence-Based Practice
A three-pronged approach to working with clients, which consists of making decisions based on the weight of the scientific evidence, field observations, and individual client needs and preferences.
Prediction
An expected outcome generated from a hypothesis
Theory
A hypothesis or set of hypotheses for which a large body of high-quality evidence has been accumulated.
Hierarchy of Evidence
1. Systematic Reviews
2. Randomized Controlled Trials
3. Observational Research
4. Peer Reviews
5. Non-Peer-Reviewed Media, including anecdotes
Anecdote
an account of a person's experience or event
Uncontrolled Variable
A variable in an experiment that a scientist makes no effort to manipulate or account for.
Primary Research
Original research where scientists perform experiments and collect data - this is in contrast to secondary research where scientists analyze data that has already been collected or published elsewhere.
Observational Research
Research in which a researcher observes ongoing behaviors to determine correlation.
Correlation
A relationship between two or more variables.
Randomized Control Trial (RCT)
A type of scientific study/trial where participants are randomly assigned into different groups - one or more will be the intervention to be tested and one will be the control group. Groups are randomized and a control is used in an attempt to reduce potential bias in the trial.
Independent Variable
The variable scientists manipulate in an experiment.
External Validity
The ability to generalize the results of a study.
Systematic Review
A review where scientists systematically gather all research on a topic and evaluate it based on predefined criteria and rules.
Meta-Analysis
A statistical analysis of a group of studies to assess the overall weight of the evidence.
Empirical
Based on observation or experience.
Test-Retest Reliability
The ability to get similar results when something is measured under the same conditions.
Reliability
The consistency of a measure.
Validity
The assessment of whether a tool is measuring what it is supposed to measure.
Selection Bias
A sample of people under study is not representative of the larger population that scientists are looking to make inferences about.
Retrospective
Describes a study that looks backward in time.
Recall Bias
The inability to accurately remember past behaviors.
Health
A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Homeostasis
The tendency toward a relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements, especially as maintained by physiological processes.
Disease
A disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces specific signs or symptoms, affects a specific location, and is not simply a direct result of physical injury.
Noncommunicable Disease
A noncommunicable disease (NCD) is a medical condition or disease that is not caused by infectious agents; it can refer to chronic diseases which last for long periods of time and progress slowly.
Communicable Disease
Infectious diseases caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi that can be spread (directly or indirectly) from one person to another.
Wellness
The fluid process of improving the emotional, occupational, physical, social, intellectual, and spiritual components of life, dynamically leading to a better state of health and well-being.
Obese
A high degree of excess body fat - a BMI greater than 30.
Biometrics
The technical term for measurements and calculations related to human physical characteristics.
Satiety
A feeling of fullness and satisfaction.
Palatability
The degree of pleasure or taste provided by a food - a highly palatable food is one that is tasty and pleasant to consume.
Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)
The energy currency of life.
chemical compound that provides energy to drive muscle contraction, transmission of nerve impulses, and the vast majority of chemical reactions that facilitate human life.
Metabolism
Chemical processes occurring within the body to convert food to energy.
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)
represents the increase in energy expenditure after consuming a meal.
Thermic Effect of Activity (TEA)
accounts for the most variability of daily energy expenditure.
Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)
energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or exercising.
Lipogenesis
The biological process of combining free fatty acids with glycerol to form triglycerides.
Lipolysis
The biological process of breaking stored triglycerides into free fatty acids and glycerol.
Glycogenolysis
The process of breaking down the glycogen molecule into its individual glucose units for entry into the energy pathways.
Gluconeogenesis
A metabolic pathway that results in the generation of glucose from non-carbohydrate carbon substrates such as lactate, glycerol and glucogenic amino acids.
Leptin
A hormone produced by adipose (fat) cells that acts as a satiety factor in regulating appetite.
Ghrelin
A hunger-arousing hormone secreted by an empty stomach.
CCK (cholecystokinin)
hormone released in the gastrointestinal system and is responsible for stimulating the digestion of fat and protein.
NPY (neuropeptide Y)
neurotransmitter found in several brain areas, most notably the hypothalamus, that stimulates eating behavior and reduces metabolism, promoting positive energy balance and weight gain.
Insulin
hormone produced by the pancreas that is released when blood glucose levels are high, promoting the uptake of glucose for fuel or storage as glycogen. Insulin helps keeps blood-sugar levels from getting too high, also referred to as hyperglycemia.
Glucagon
hormone that is released when blood sugars decrease below a certain threshold. It stimulates the breakdown of stored glucose (glycogen) in the liver, releasing additional glucose into the bloodstream for fuel.
ATP-PC system
energy system producing ATP during high intensity, short duration exercise. Phosphocreatine decomposes and releases large amount of energy used to construct ATP. provides energy for muscle contraction for up to 10 seconds.
Anaerobic Glycolytic System
Glucose is used for fuel and is either blood glucose or muscle glycogen, broken down in to pyruvic acid, when there is insufficient oxygen it then is transformed into lactic acid. Energy up to 2 minutes.
Aerobic Energy System
virtually unlimited capacity for making ATP, uses carbs, fat, protein for fuel. Slow to produce ATP. Lasts anywhere from 2 minutes to a few hours.
Acid-Base Balance
The process of achieving, or the state of, equilibrium between acidic and alkaline molecules.
Cell Signaling
Process of communication between cells by biological messengers to govern cellular function.
Organic Molecules
Chemical structures containing only carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and/or nitrogen.
Amino Acids
The organic building blocks of proteins containing both a carboxyl and an amino group.
Essential Amino Acids (EAA)
Amino acids that are necessary for bodily functions but cannot be synthesized by the body and, therefore, must be obtained in the diet.
Phenylalanine
Valine
Threonine
Tryptophan
Isoleucine
Methionine
Histidine
Arginine*
Lysine
Leucine
Branched Chain Amino Acid
The three essential amino acids (leucine, isoleucine, and valine) which are abundant in skeletal muscle tissue and named for their branch-like structure.
conditionally essential amino acids
amino acids that are normally considered nonessential but become essential under certain circumstances when the body's need for them exceeds the ability to produce them. [Show Less]
