ASSESSMENTS DETAILS
The course will be assessed by:
100% Practical Report (3000 words)
Summative Assessment
Practical report – 3000 words (100%)
The write-up needs to be submitted electronically through Turnitin before the deadlines. All work submitted outside of this time will be considered to be late and a penalty may occur.
The Body Composition Practical Report and hypotheses to be tested
Research Aim and hypothesis
This cross-sectional study aims to provide an update on the associations between body mass index, energy intake, sedentary behaviour (measured as TV hours) and physical activity in a sample of UK University students population.
In addition, as the most accurate body composition assessment techniques (e.g dual energy X-ray absorptiometry, magnetic resonance imaging, computed tomography) unfeasible or difficult to implement during the study, alternative techniques (Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis versus skinfolds) will be compared to highlight possible differences between methodologies.
Finally, we will investigate the influence of gender on body fatness based on the previously conducted studies in this field that have shown that females have a higher percentage of body fat compared with males.
Subjects:
50 participants (25 males and 25 females). Study subjects were recruited via posters and leaflets placed on the University’ campus as well as social media.
Inclusion criteria: aged 18-60 years
Exclusion criteria: Subjects with medical conditions that might potentially interfere with body composition measurements will be excluded.
Ethical approval
The study will be performed according to the guidelines outlined by the World Medical Association in the Declaration of Helsinki and all procedures involving human participants were approved by the University of Roehampton Ethics Committee (Ref. LSC 20/321).
Description of measurements to be made
Anthropometrics
Height will be measured using a portable Holtain stadiometer (Holtain Ltd, Pembs, UK) to the nearest 0.1 cm.
Body weight will be measured in the morning at fasted state using a SECA electronic scale (SECA, Hamburg, Germany) to the nearest 0.1 kg with participants wearing only underwear. BMI will be calculated as body weight (kg) divided by the square of height (m).
Waist and hip circumferences will be measured in triplicate while the subject was standing and relaxed using the SECA measuring tape. Based on those measurements, waist to hip ratio will be calculated.
Bioelectrical impedance analysis will be performed using TANITA BC-418 MA body composition analyser (Tanita Corp., Tokyo, Japan).
BODY CARE callipers will be used to measure skinfold thickness and expressed as a sum of 4 different sites (in mm, biceps, triceps, suprailiac and subscapular). Please see the guidelines as follow. The percentage of body fat will be calculated according to the published guidelines by Donoghue (1989).
Energy intake assessment
The total energy intake of participants will be estimated using a 24-hour dietary recall questionnaire. This will provide you with information to enable you to estimate the participants energy intake. You can use an online app as reported by
Béjar L, Reyes Ó, García-Perea M
Electronic 12-Hour Dietary Recall (e-12HR): Comparison of a Mobile Phone App for Dietary Intake Assessment With a Food Frequency Questionnaire and Four Dietary Records
JMIR Mhealth Uhealth 2018;6(6):e10409
URL: https://mhealth.jmir.org/2018/6/e10409
Questionnaire to determine physical activity:
Physical activity level of participants will be assessed using the validated General Practice Physical Activity Questionnaire (GPPAQ), a simple, four-level physical activity index (PAI) reflecting an individual’s current physical activity as supported by National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE, Physical activity: brief advice for adults in primary care. London: Nice public health guidance 2013, 44. Available at https://www.nice.org.uk/guidance/ph44).
Patients can be classified into four categories based on the original EPIC index
Computer software requirements:
Microsoft Excel
An excel spreadsheet template is on Moodle, where you will select all your data (50 subjects; 25 males and 25 females).
Statistical analysis package: SPSS
SPSS is required to determine whether there are statistical differences or relationships in the collated data.
Recommended reading:
A basic statistics books; there are many available so choose one that suits your way of thinking.
Publishing link https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26054023
An SPSS ‘survival manual’ is also very useful to guide you through the processes required to conduct the statistical analysis and interpret the output.
http://www.academia.dk/BiologiskAntropologi/Epidemiologi/PDF/SPSS_Statistical_Analyses_using_SPSS.pdf
Writing your report
The assessment for this module is an individual practical report of 3,000 words excluding abstract, tables, figures, reference list and appendices.
You will need to submit an electronic version via Turnitin on moodle module page.
Guidelines for your Body Composition Report
3,000 words (+/- 10%) excluding the abstract, tables, figures, reference list and appendices.
Your report needs to be organised with the following structure:
The title of your assessment is: “Sex differences in higher body fat and associations with energy intake and sedentary behaviour: A cross sectional study in UK University Students Population”.
Abstract (250-300 words max)
The abstract must include the following separate sections:
• Background: the context and purpose of the study
• Methods: how the study was performed and statistical tests used
• Results: the main findings
• Conclusions: brief summary and potential implications
•
Keywords
Three to ten keywords representing the main content of the article.
Introduction/ Background (750 words)
This section should explain the background to the study, its aims, a summary of the existing literature and why this study was necessary or its contribution to the field.
Methods (450 words)
The methods section should include:
• the aim, design and setting of the study
• the characteristics of participants or description of materials
• a clear description of all processes, interventions and comparisons. Generic drug names should generally be used. When proprietary brands are used in research, include the brand names in parentheses
• the type of statistical analysis used, including a power calculation if appropriate.
Results (500 words)
This should include the findings of the study including, if appropriate, results of statistical analysis which must be included either in the text or as tables and figures.
Discussion (1100 words)
This section should discuss the implications of the findings in context of existing research and highlight limitations of the study.
Conclusions (200 words)
This should state clearly the main conclusions and provide an explanation of the importance and relevance of the study reported.
List of abbreviations
If abbreviations are used in the text they should be defined in the text at first use, and a list of abbreviations should be provided.
References
Appendices
APPENDIX 1 Excel file used to analyse the data
APPENDIX 2 Make sure you include: Data Analysis SPSS output (You can just upload a screen shot of your SPSS analysis!)
You need to follow author’s guidelines as reported on the moodle site
(https://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/submission-guidelines/preparing-your-manuscript/research-article)
