Title: The Genetics/Nutrition Connection
Course: DES 2710 General and Oral Nutrition > Section: Module Ten

The purpose of the Assignments is to allow students to conduct quick research, make decisions, and think critically. Students are required to provide concise and complete answers. Students will type their responses in a document (.txt file if you are not using word). Post by the due date listed in the Course Calendar. This assignment is worth 20 points.

Consider the following:

- Of the ten leading causes of death in the US, four causes are directly related to nutrition. These four conditions account for about two-thirds of the nation's two million deaths each year.
- Two out of every three adults in the US are overweight or obese, which is emerging as the most important contributor to ill health.

Investigate the following questions for your assignment. After completing assignment post your reflections of what you discovered in your discussion post:

1. List the following information about your parents and grandparents
  1. Diseases they have or had
  2. Age they died if applicable
  3. Cause of death
  4. Were they obese or overweight?
2. Compute your personal BMI and interpret what the means to you
  1. normal weight
  2. underweight
  3. overweight
  4. obese
3. Do you at this time have any chronic disease?
4. Evaluate each of your familial diseases and determine of there is a nutrition link to each disease.
5. Consider lifestyle changes that you need to make to reduce your personal risk of suffering from your familial diseases.