Nutrition

Capstone Project

NTD 630 Capstone Course

This culminating capstone course encompasses the completion of a systematic review. Each week of the course requires building a section of the review. The first step is developing and formulating a research question by identifying gaps in the research and needs in the area of nutrition. It is encouraged that students choose a topic of interest. The research question needs to be very specific and will be answered through a thorough review of peer-reviewed journal articles. In addition to creating a research question and a systematic process of finding relevant journal articles, students will complete a data extraction table where each article will be outlined. The quality of each article will also be reviewed using a quality criteria checklist. The results of the studies will be synthesized followed by a discussion and conclusion. The final paper results are presented to the course instructor and invited faculty.

Numerous students have presented their systematic review papers at the West Chester University Research Day. Some topics have included:

• The effect of vitamin D supplementation on depressive symptoms in adults: A systematic review
• The effect of calorie labeling on purchasing decisions: A systematic review
• The effect of reading food labels on food choice and diet quality: A systematic review
• Relationship between carotenoid-rich diets and age-related macular degeneration (AMD) prevention: A systematic review
• The impact of intuitive eating and weight-related behaviors and dietary habits in college students: A systematic review
• The effect of school breakfast consumption on obesity: A systematic review
• How does nutritional counseling using motivational interviewing affect weight loss among overweight and obese adults? A systematic review