INTRODUCTIONBroad research topic:Can the food we eat affect our energy levels?Research question:Does the consumption of specific foods have an effect on our bodies and in turn an effect on our energy levels?Aim:To investigate whether consuming different sources of food will have an impact on our bodies as well as the effects which may occur from this; such as a rise or fall in energy levels.

This will be achieved by the use of two categories of foods fatty foods (e.g. Chips) and healthy foods (e.

g. fruits).Hypothesis:The food we eat has a major role in how our body’s function and, therefore, will influence our organs which in turn has an effect on our energy levels.Motivation for selection of topic:Humans understanding of energy has remained in the shadows, as stated by numerous nutritionists worldwide, however recently a high amount of research has been placed of energy efficiency and its link to food consumption, and this is due to the high increase of athletes and the high levels of competition that comes with it. The aim of athletes, of today, is to become as strong, fast and responsive with only the consumption of legal products. Thus, a high amount of focus has been put of the most abundant legal resource we have, food. The research in this field is now copious.

The aim of this research is to centralize all of the high majority of research and only display the basics of this complex topic, allowing for an easier understanding.?Ideas/Research undertaken so far:• Query people online (blog sites) who have the same feelings about eating healthy.• Perhaps it would be possible to visit a dietician and ask them.• Dietician pamphlets and books about their own findings.• Online/internet research.Difficulties which may arise:• Finding accurate information that can prove that this research has relevance.• Finding information from both sides (it is possible that many people will have opposite feelings on the situation) and then determining which is more accurate.• Possible limitations in result findings.

LITERATURE REVIEWSource A:Title: How Our Bodies Turn Food Into EnergyDate: 03/01/2014Author: David McCullochSource Type: JournalSummaryEvery organ, body part or even skin cells require energy to function. This energy is found in a variety of foods from fatty foods to healthy foods and even junk food. When food is digested in the human body, the stomach is the paramount organ which is required to break down the food we eat so that the broken down minerals and sugars may be used elsewhere. Once the food is broken down glucose is produced, the glucose enters the blood stream and is either used by the body straight away or it is stored, with the help of insulin, around the body for later use. Glucose is a sugar broken down from different minerals in foods. Glucose is the sugar that our body’s organs absorb to allow them to function.ValidityThis medical journal was written by a well-qualified doctors who has studied this field.

The facts have been proven to date, as well as being acknowledged by many others who have read the passage. ReliabilityKaiser Permanente is a non-profit organization that was started up in the aim of increasing people’s health with the use of healthier dietary plans. Kaiser Permanente acquires all of its information form trained professionals (dieticians and doctors) as well as being more than 50 years old and having more than 11 million members. Therefore this is a very reliable source.

2014 – is still recent. Relevance to topicThe source is simply informing the reader on how humans receive energy to the body and its organs as well as where this energy is coming from. This source also informs the reader on what energy is. LimitationsThe article has very limited research therefore there may be factors of glucose and other energy substances that were not mentioned at all. The article may hide other facts about energy as it is intended to inform diabetic people as to what glucose and insulin are used forSource B:Title: Three Ways The Body Uses EnergyDate: 07/02/2018Author: Claire GillespieSource Type: Web article SummaryThe process of digestion, eating and the breaking down of food all require energy to be able to achieve their functions. Up to 10% of the body’s energy is used for these three processes. Physical activity is the second way in which our bodies utilize energy, on average a person will use about 20% of their stored energy on physical activity, this energy is used to burn Kilojoules which allows the muscles to contract and therefor function. A lastly the most amount of energy burned by the body a day is in fact during rest.

50% – 80% of our energy resource is used to circulate blood, breath and allow other organs to complete their functions.ValidityIn this article the Author is known for her pieces on health and pregnancy advice, her articles are read by thousands with lots of positive feedback. Her inclusion of statistics could refer to lot of research and study is done before writing. This article is very recent which would suggest that the information is of the time.

ReliabilityBias may be shown as the writer is looking for views and will write about interesting, eye catching topics which may have twisted information. The research has not been approved by any specialists making the source less reliable.Relevance to topicIt is important to know where the energy that we are consuming is going to, without this information we could not justify that the required amount of energy per person is different for everybody. With this source we are reassured that the energy required for a person to function at full potential is still very high as most of the energy consumed by our bodies goes into the basic needs of the body, such as blood circulation.

LimitationsThe article is not written by a doctor and therefore we could confirm that the research was limited only to the resources that the writer had. The writer’s research may have been outdated or even false.Source C:Title: Food ChoicesDate: 2009Author: -Source Type: StudySummaryResearch has shown that on average the most consumed substance from grocery shops is in fact Beverages such as milk and juice, which was bought by 90% of the people who walked in.

Sweets and desserts are not far behind in third place with 79%. The issue is that most of these substances contain high amount of processed sugar and fat. Our bodies do require sugar and fat to function but processed sugars and fats, in junk foods, do not provide the same importance that natural sugars and fats produce.

These natural sugars can be found in fruits, fruits however were at the bottom of the list with only 54% of the customers buying any fruits. ValidityThis medical journal was published by Nova Publishers which is renowned for its quality chapters and books about science and medical quires. All of their content is written by well-qualified doctors and occasionally medical students who have or are studying in this field. ReliabilityNova Publishers is read by thousands of people as well as doctors. The information have been used by other doctors for their own research or advice referring to it being a reliable relatively sourceRelevance to topicInformation on what people are buying can give a clear indication of the types of people who would be expected to have high amounts of energy and the others who would lack energy.LimitationsThe research is limited to only a couple of shopping centers in a specific location, the data would most probably come out different if the research was to be done in a different country, as all cultures have different food preferences.Source D:Title: Energy FoodDate: 2003Author: Anne Raben, Lisa Agerholm-Larsen, Anne Flint, Jens J Holst, and Arne AstrupSource Type: Medical JournalSummaryAll four macronutrients; protein, carbohydrates, fats and alcohol all contain energy which may be utilized by the body.

However each macronutrient comes with an extra, such as fatty meals or desserts come with excess amount of fat which may be stored in the body as fat, instead of being processed and used. A carbohydrate meal will require a lot more sustenance (quantity of carbohydrates) to achieve the same amount of Energy of 4.8KJ/g as the other macronutrients.

The results suggest that a Protein filled meal is the most balanced meal, which splits the carbohydrates, fats, and proteins relatively equally.ValidityThis medical journal was written by well-qualified doctors who have studied the field of medical nutrition. The facts were proven by their research, as well as being acknowledged by many others who have read the passage.

ReliabilityThis article was written by numerous doctors, and was published by the American Society for Clinical Nutrition. Therefore the research would have been thoroughly gathered from numerous amounts of other sources and mostly from their own gathered information. This makes this source reliable.Relevance to topicThe article proves that the four macronutrients are the most important aspect related to the day to day diet of a human. With this information we can conclude that without the presence of these macronutrients hardly any energy could be found with in a source of food.

LimitationsAs the research was completed many years ago, the method of storing and making foods has changed which may affect the results. The doctors in charge may have been proven wrong to date.Source E:Title: Snacks as an element of energy intake and food consumptionDate: 28 January 2005Author: Ovaskainen H, Reinivuo H, Tapanainen, T Korhonen, H PakkalaSource Type: Medical JournalSummaryThe recordings from this source prove that energy intake from snacky foods had nearly no effect on the body within the first few hours of consumption, however a couple of hours after consumption the sugar in the snacky foods would kick in causing a spike in energy intake. This energy cannot be stored and to use all of the energy the body compensates by increasing heart rate and burning the sugar. With a balanced meal of carbs, proteins and fats the energy that is created by the glucose can be stored by the body for prolonged use. Meals were also recorded to have accessible energy faster than with junk foods.ValidityThis medical journal was written by well-qualified doctors who have studied the field of medical nutrition, Finland is a well know country for its high quality of education and doctors.

ReliabilityPublished by the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition we can conclude that this is a reliable source as it has been used by doctors and medical students for many years.Relevance to topicKnowing how the body uses the different sources of energy is an important piece of information. Telling us what can be stored and what has to be used up straight away will help in the understanding of energy consumption.LimitationsAs the research was completed many years ago, more recent research or information may be available today. Some of the older information may have been proven incorrect or with faults.METHODOLOGY (GATHERING OF DATA)What type of research has been done?• PrimaryResearch Question:• Does the consumption of specific foods have an effect on our bodies and in turn an effect on our energy levels?Variables:Independent Variable(s): The source of food that will be consumed will vary between a packet of Doritos chips and a Fruit (apple).

Dependent Variable(s): Energy level.Fixed Variable(s): The type of exercise that will be endured, the difficulty of the exercise and the people that will be tested for 6 days.Sampling:• Research and materials: A packet of Dorito chips will be used as an example of how junk food feeds your body energy and will give an idea on how junk food differs from a fruit in terms of long term sustainable energy.• Participants: A variety of six different people will be used in this experiment, ranging from someone who does no exercise all the way to someone who exercises every day.• Step-by-step procedure: 1. Find six people, all of different fitness levels, who would be willing to participate.

2. Buy 18 packets of Doritos and 18 apples.3. Before consumption of the substance each participant will rate their energy levels on a scale of 1-10. (Before-workout)4. On the first, third and fifth day each participant will consume a packet of chips around 5 O’clock in the afternoon, the same goes for the apple which will be consumed on day two, four and six.5. The participants will now run around a 400m field 3 times.

6. Once the workout is complete the level that they feel their energy is on will be recorded once again, on the scale of 1-10. (After-workout)7.

The after-work out recording will be subtracted from the Before-workout recording. 8. Lastly the subtracted value will then be compared to the junk food day and the fruit day to determine which substance the participants felt gave them less energy.Research Ethics and Validity of Data:• Research question- The group of people that consume the substance, which has been classified as negative in this research (Unhealthy foods), may be negative towards the research question and the results found as it suggests that their way of life is not sustainable. People may require to change their diets as it may be proven that it will increase your day to day performance.

• Research Purpose- Each participant was on track by understanding the importance of knowing how our bodies acquire energy and how it is consumed, and then used. Each participant was asked if they believe this research is valuable, five out of this six participants had said that this research is important for their day to day functioning and some even mentioned that having a rejuvenation of energy allowed them to have a happier day.• Data Collection- Each participant will be over the age of 16. A disclaimer will be signed by each participant before taking part in the experiment.

This disclaimer will be written proof that each participant had entered to do the experiment on their own conscious.• Writing up of research- Each set of results has been taken from a form, which the participants completed at the end of each day of experimenting, the results have been copied straight from those forms with no alterations. Bias does not seem to be evident within the text, this is proven with some of the results tending in the opposite direction of the desired hypothesis.?PRESENTATION OF FINDINGS/DISCUSSIONExperiment ResultsName: Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day4 Day 5 Day 6Murry White Before: 8After: 5 Before: 9After: 7 Before: 10After: 7 Before: 8 After: 4 Before: 7After: 4 Before: 9After: 3Dylan Smart Before: 9After: 5 Before: 9After: 6 Before: 7After: 5 Before: 7After: 3 Before: 7After: 4 Before: 8After: 3MarkStarker Before:7After: 6 Before: 8After: 6 Before: 8After: 6 Before: 6After: 3 Before: 8After: 2 Before: 7After: 3ValterLuis Before: 8After: 5 Before: 7After: 5 Before: 7After: 6 Before: 5After: 4 Before: 9After: 3 Before: 8After: 4JamieFerreira Before: 8After: 4 Before: 7After: 4 Before: 7After: 6 Before: 8After: 5 Before: 6After: 2 Before: 9After: 5HershelleShongwe Before: 9After: 5 Before: 6After: 3 Before: 9After: 7 Before: 7After: 5 Before: 10After: 5 Before: 9After: 4This table displays all of the recorded data that was received from each person who participated in the experiment, the inputted number indicates the energy level that the subject felt he/she was feeling. “Before:” Is how the subject felt before the physical exercise and “After:” refers to how the subject felt after the exercise. The first three days (Red numbers) is the data collected after the consumption of the apple prior the exercise. Day 4, 5 and 6 (Green numbers) were all the consumption of Doritos. Each investigation took place on a day that the subject was not doing any other physical activity or was done before their afternoon sport, this is so that the results would not be affected by their fatigue from their daily sporting activity.

Graphs of dataThe purpose of this graph is to display the difference between the average results of the 3 days of each different substance. This graph proves that people generally felt more tired after exercise if they had eaten Doritos. It also suggests that on average people felt at 80% energy capacity at the time of the experiment each day.

It is apparent that the apple had given the subjects more energy/ longer lasting energy. The Doritos seem to had have not much affect. When the subjects were not getting any substance at all the subjects seem to be the most tired but only by a small marginEach Subject was asked if they felt as if the apple was effect and did actually give them more energy, compared to the Doritos. 5 out of the 6 people had said that the apple did in fact give them more energy to perform the task at hand. The 1 person who had said no was the unfittest of the lot and had taken the most time to complete his two laps of the field.

There for it could be ruled out as unfitness and not the effectiveness of the experiment. On top of these results, random people were asked if they believe that this research question had any sense to it and interestingly enough 70% of the 20 people had said yes.Verbal questionnaireOver the period of the last year a structured questionnaire has been undertaken, multiple conversations, with 10 people in total. These are the words of the participants themselves.These responses were the most detailed and each had a different input towards the experiment.Name Do you believe the food you consume has an effect on your energy levels during the day? Would you start eating healthy if you knew of the positive effects it may have on you? AgeGareth Parker “No I have never paid attention to what I am eating and I don’t believe it would change anything” “NO.

I am doing just fine the way I eat at the moment” 54Cameron Monroe “Yes, I run a lot and believe I believe I run faster and better after a healthy meal” “I do already and plan to stick to eating healthy” 31Matthew Soloman “I am a very active person I don’t however control what I eat and don’t feel any negative effects” “I would actually as I have trouble sleeping and maybe its related to the way I eat” 19MichaelMagkarapa “I eat well and do a lot of sports and I do in fact believe that the way I eat is helping me sports wise” “I will continue eating as I do” 18MusondaMusonda “I am not active nor do I eat well. I like sweets very much and don’t know if I could do without, I do however feel tired a lot and maybe its because of how I eat.” “I will give it a try and see if the results are affective” 19Table 1: resultsThis is the basic table that was used to capture the results the minuit that the experiment had been completed each day of testing. The results were hand written and converted into the table seen above later. Source A- Source A is a basic explanation of where the energy, which our body uses in every day activity, is acquired from.

Source A doesn’t however have a direct link towards the results as it explains that energy can be acquired from all foods but it doesn’t specify how much and at what cost this energy is acquired with (In terms of extra fats and excess sugars). Therefore the results in the graph do not have a direct link to the sourceSource B- In this source it is evident that the food that we eat stores different amounts of energy, storing it in different ways around the body, it is then used in precise actions which is in fact related to the food that we ate to acquire the energy, the source suggests that most of our energy is used for basic organ functioning. This source relates to the findings in the sense that the excess energy that is used for activity is dependent on the type of food we ate to acquire.

Source C- This source is a direct link to the table of results as it suggests that the specific foods we eat do have a link to the energy levels associated with our bodies. This is evident within the table as the results gathered have a clear variation in healthy food (fruit) vs. junk food (chips).Source D- Again this suggest how much energy is produced to the body in the different foods we eat. Making a link toward the table.Source E- This source refers directly towards the chips as the sugar content causes the strike in energy levels, this however cannot be sustained for long periods of time and will therefore cause exhaustion as soon as the sugar high runs out, which is evident within the results.Hypothesis- The table alone with all of the data will prove nothing to somebody reading the ORT, however the hypothesis is in fact already proven. If analyzed properly it is clear that the table containing the days of fruit consumption vs.

chips is drastically different, in the sense that the fruit gave the participants longer lasting energy and therefore proves the hypothesis that “The food we eat has a major role in how our body’s function and therefore will have an effect on our organs, which in turn has an effect on our energy levels.”Graph 1: averagesThis graph digs deeper into the findings in the basic table of results, looked at previously. The bar graph is simply showing the difference in energy levels before and after exercise for each different condition. This graph is now putting all the knowledge of the sources together and making it easier to read and determine that the hypothesis is in fact correct.Source A- The place of our bodies’ energy’s origin is important to understand.

Understanding exactly where the energy we use every day comes form is highly important to help better the understanding of the concept that the type of food we eat does affect our energy levels.Source B- This experimenting method used physical activity to test the efficiency of food producing energy towards our bodies. It is important to note that a high majority of the energy we consume isn’t actually used on physical movement of our limbs but rather our organs.

This graph proves that the type of food we consume pre-workout does in fact deteriorate slower or faster depending on the quality and the characteristics of the food.Source C- This source suggested that we should be sticking towards healthier option when it comes to eating as the positive effects are so great. This graph proves that we should result towards eating healthier foods to sustain our energy for a prolonged amount of time.Source D- This source suggested that healthier food would in fact prolong the effects of energy within the body. This graph and its results directly prove that the statements are in fact correct with source D and they both link to each other.Source E- The graph provides direct evidence that “snacky” foods (in this case Doritos) aren’t as affective in inducing energy as healthier options are.

The graph clearly indicates that the apple induced longer lasting energy than the Doritos and this was the case for each participant.Hypothesis- This graph is the same set of results as in the table above. This graph does however make the consent more clear and proves the hypothesis once again. “The food we eat has a major role in how our body’s function and therefore will have an effect on our organs, which in turn has an effect on our energy levels.”Graph 2: feelsThe objective of this graph is to display how people feel about eating healthy. The results speak for themselves as more than ¾ of the 26 people asked had confirmed that they do believe that food affects their energy levels.

It must be noted that all the responses to this question are opinion based. The people who got asked these basic questions were spread equally between sex and a large variety of ages were present. The older people who were asked added that they would eat healthy only to try and prevent illness or ageing.Source A- This graph does not relate directly to the source it does however explain to the people who were asked the basic concept of where and how our bodies acquire energy.Source B- The question did not specify what each person does daily and how they would use up all of their energy. This source does however prove that you would feel better if you ate foods that managed to give you more energy as most of this is used to power your organs and if your organs are happy the rest of your body and your mind would be happy too. “Healthy body, Healthy mind”.Source C- This source would give the participants a better understanding of why they might feel better after eating certain foods, due to the energy levels which are produced and stored due to these foods.

The participants who have tried eating healthy may have felt the effects for themselves and the others who haven’t tried for themselves may have heard that it does in fact affect your energy levels and therefore said yes.Source D- This source is more specific towards the types of foods that will gain your body the most energy. The participants have most likely tried such foods and could therefore comment honestly on the affects that they felt.Source E- Everyone talks about snacks being a bad source of nutrients and energy to the body. Many people have only heard about this and don’t choose to do anything about the fact that it doesn’t actually give you much nutritional value. This source links to the graph and the negative stance that most people have towards snacky foods.Hypothesis- Once again the results shift towards to the hypothesis being true, in this case I believe it may have being due to the negative stance people have grown towards snacky foods in the past 50 years.Table 2: questionnaireThese results were recorded via microphone and later written out on this table.

All of the participants were men which could have a slight alteration within the response that is expected form women. The results are all opinionated and none of the participants are trained professionals. There were more questions asked in the original voice note, however their relevance towards the topic were minor. The inclusion of age is to get a better sense of how different age groups react differently towards healthy eating, however that cannot be quantified as everyone is different no matter what age.The responses were relatively similar, most of the participants not knowing about the positives that come with healthy eating, most of them were inspired to go and try out the theory for themselves.Other than the one person, the others were not too negative towards the idea of dropping snacky foods from their diets and attempting to eat healthy (even just for a couple of days) this proves that people of this age are conscious of how they eat.The people that were questioned are relatively active people therefore the results would most probably be different if a wider range of people were questioned.

It is evident however that the people do in fact agree with the hypothesis, out of the 10 people nobody fought or argued the idea.CONCLUSIONThe aim of this research was to prove if the consumption of specific foods had an effect on our bodies and in turn an effect on our energy levels, by the end of this research and experiment the hypothesis was met that “The food we eat has a major role in how our body’s function and therefore will have an effect on our organs, which in turn has an effect on our energy levels”. This can be justified with the results gathered from the experiment and the responses that were acquired from the questionnaires. The results of the experiment co-link with the hypothesis and the research found was also promoting towards hypothesis.

It can now be stated that the feed we eat does in fact have an effect on our energy levels.Limitations to research:• The research may have been slightly bias as the information was all directed towards making the research question plausible. • My time management skills clearly needs improvement.

• The data collected was limited in the sense that is was difficult to think of possible areas to extend on.• The experiment had a small range of results and aspects to extend on• The number of people tested was very low, larger numbers lead to more accurate results.Recommendations:I could have done a more diverse practical experiment which would’ve allowed for more results.

The method of testing was based on the subject’s personal feeling which is not very scientific and can contain human error or inaccurate results. Next time it is recommended to get on top of the work as soon as I possibly can to stay away from last minuet entries.