CMST &230 Small Group Communication, Green River College
Group: Quality Control
Group Members: Joshua Cherry, Adeline Clarissa, Ariana Herion, Jamie Nguyen, Nuwadi Parker, Trevor Yarnell
Since COVID-19 began over a year ago, people’s lives have been altered as well as their diets. Some people chose a healthier diet, but many others chose a less healthy diet. For some people, poor nutrition and the lack of access to gyms has caused an increase in weight which can cause obesity. The ease of access to fast food is a problem that contributes to poor nutrition. Can eating and exercising according to the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) MyPlate maintain weight or result in weight loss, which decreases obesity? Poor nutrition and lack of exercise are two of the leading causes of preventable chronic diseases.
Obesity can lead to heart disease, some cancers, and type 2 diabetes. Poor nutrition and lack of physical activity not only cause obesity, but they are two of the leading factors for preventable chronic diseases (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021a). Recently, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, chronic diseases have been more dangerous than ever. Poor nutrition also depresses the immune system’s response to viruses such as COVID-19. Most American diets are high in saturated fats, sugar, and sodium. Nine out of ten Americans have high sodium levels which increases the risk of a stroke or heart disease (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021b). The traditional American diet is extremely fatty, lacking in important vitamins and minerals, which can cause someone to experience possibly life ending or debilitating health diseases (Griffin, 2009). All of these factors place people’s health at a higher risk than it needs to be. Many diseases like COVID-19 have long-lasting effects or are fatal due to the impaired body functions resulting from obesity.
The solution criteria for the Small Wins group project is that it must be the achievement of a goal or task consistent with the definition of a group from our text. That is, the project includes three or more persons interacting who both influence and are influenced by one another. (Rothwell, 2019, p. 24). The Small Wins project must include a community service component, with our group determining what is both our “community” and who is being “served.” However, the project must have an actionable activity that is conducted by all the members. Further, the project must be accomplished within the provided timeline of four weeks, along with required documentation and support as described in the assignment.
Lastly, the project needs to be consistent with Green River College’s guidelines for the safety and security of students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
We decided to eat healthy for a week because it is beneficial for our bodies and gives healthy energy sources. Also, eating home-cooked meals saves us a lot of money and makes us healthier because we know exactly what goes into our food. Many of us used to dine out frequently before we started this project, but this project encouraged us to eat more home-cooked meals and avoid fast food. Getting our bodies moving was also a large part of this project, some of us choose to continue previously created routines while others started just doing little things such as going for walks.
Our project was conducted from Monday May 24th through Thursday June 3rd. For this week and a half, our group decided to eat healthier and limit eating out as much as possible. The majority of our meals were to be homemade and nutritious. All members kept a food journal to track what foods they ate and to hold themselves accountable. Pictures of our meals were also taken for future use in the multimedia presentation. We were also to do exercises if possible to keep healthy throughout the week and a half.
Overall, the group did a wonderful job at committing to our plan and eating healthier. Some members attempted to cook more home-cooked meals, like Josh who took this assignment as an opportunity to start teaching his children about cooking. Others like Trevor and Ariana used this group project as an opportunity to start to clean up their diet. Trevor often went out for fast food and take-out after work and for lunch. However, for this project, he strived towards eating and preparing food at home. Ariana ate more vegetables and generally tries to have a healthier diet than she had before. Nuwadi loves cooking. She took the time to make gourmet meals that were healthy and nutritious. Some of us either continued workout routines that we already had before this project while others found new and creative ways to get their bodies moving. Adeline worked out and went on walks more than she usually does and Jamie went on recreational sports such as kayaking and hiking. This, of course, is only a small overview of the success that our group had during this project to help clean up our eating to hopefully lead to better health outcomes for ourselves and encourage those around us to eat better.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, January 11). Poor Nutrition. Centers for Disease Controls Prevention. Retrieved May 22, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/chronicdisease/resources/publications/factsheets/nutrition.htmLinks to an external site.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2021, February 11). Adult Obesity Facts. Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Retrieved May 22, 2021, from https://www.cdc.gov/obesity/data/adult.htmlLinks to an external site.
Griffin, R. M. (2007) Missing Nutrients in Your Food. NOURISH by WebMD. Retrieved June 8, 2021, from https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/missing-nutrients-in-your-food#1
Smith, A. F. (2012). Health Concerns. In Fast Food and Junk Food: An Encyclopedia of What We Love to Eat (Vol. 1, pp. 335-336). Greenwood. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX3302400267/GVRL?u=aubu98092&sid=GVRL&xid=c15ae936Links to an external site.
Tilove, D. B. (2011). Standard American Diet and Changing American Diet. In B. W. Lerner & K. L. Lerner (Eds.), In Context Series. Food: In Context (Vol. 2, pp. 727-732). Gale. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/CX1918600220/GVRL?u=aubu98092&sid=GVRL&xid=82e5c7daLinks to an external site.