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Technology in Nutrition Services
There are hundreds of diet and nutrition calculators available on the internet.
- Some are free, and some are ridiculously expensive.
- Some are basic, and some give a highly detailed analysis of your nutrient intake and make good, sound recommendations to meet your needs and help you maximize your health.
You have used one already! The Choose MyPlate is just one example of nutrition analysis software.
You can look over the ones available to you but, for the purposes of this course, we will look at software programs that aid the professional dietitian.
In the 'olden days,' a dietitian would have to manually record a client's food intake over several days, and calculate the nutrition intake using reference books and calculators. This was time consuming and left a lot of room for errors in either reporting, calculating, or analyzing.
With advances in technology, nutrient analysis software has opened access to nutrient recording and nutrition information to make the task easier, quicker, and more reliable – plus it saves both time and effort. Often, clients can receive immediate feedback and advice on their nutrition habits and needs.
These programs allow dietitians to analyze the macro- and micro-nutrient make-up of recipes and meals, even before they are cooked. This allows for more accurate planning of menus to meet the nutrition needs of the clients or patients.
The best nutrition software draws on the USDA database for the most accurate and up-to-date information. Some key factors to look for in a nutrition software product are:
- Easy to use
- Complete and comprehensive database
- Customizable
- Calculates correct portion sizes for client
- Accurate estimates of energy used (calories burned)
- Reasonably priced for the service provided
So, how does a dietitian decide which nutrition software to use? That may depend on where they work. A large hospital or clinic may have already made that choice but those in private practice need to research, compare, and ask for recommendations from others to determine which program suits their needs and what they can afford. The Nutrition Analysis Software comparison article connects you to a wide variety of software programs and directs you to each website for more information.
Watch the video below to see how real-life nutrition professionals utilize technology in their jobs.
Components of a Good Slide Show Presentation
Have you ever sat through someone's slide show presentation where they read exactly what was on the slides? Boring!
Have you ever been forced to look at PowerPoint presentations that had so many words on the screen you couldn't read any of it? Losing interest fast!
What about presentation slides with cutesy curlicue letters, swirling animations and transitions, and so many colors it makes your head spin? #headachecoming
There are rules that help you make a good, easy to follow Power Point presentation that people do not hate! Keep these in mind when making any presentation:
- Do not use every trick available. Keep sound effects, transitions, and animations to a minimum.
- Have a title on each slide.
- Do not write paragraphs on a slide. Use bullet points and short phrases.
- You fill in all the information with your voice, and everything cannot go on the slide.
- Keep it to 3-5 bullet points per slide.
- Make sure all bullet points are left-aligned so that they line up evenly.
- Ensure the font is readable, especially at a distance, and appropriate.
- Remember people are normally looking at presentation slides from at least 10 feet away.
- Having a clear, legible font in a size large enough to be seen from a distance is very important!
- Do not use cursive or highly decorative fonts. They are harder to read, distract from the message content, and aren't as professional.
- Aim for consistency, especially in short presentations.
- Use the same background template and colors.
- You can get more creative in presentations of 15 or more slides, especially to maintain interest.
- For consistency's sake, if the title is in the middle in the beginning, keep it there through the slide show.
- Make sure there's a good margin of space between graphics and text. Placing pictures away from text makes things more readable.
- Every spot does not have to be filled on every slide! Leaving some empty space can be visually appealing.
- All sources must be listed on the last slide, in alphabetical order. Title this slide References or Works Cited.
The purpose of slides in a presentation is to give your audience an outline to follow while you share the information that fills in what the bullet points leave out. You can always make them a handout with all the information to take with them for later reference.