Students will examine a short vignette, reflect on provided questions, and then follow writing instructions to write their health case study papers.
Vignette
After graduation you take a job at Noom, a company based on evidence based interventions to help people loose weight. Your boss asks you to develop a program that that will people understand that the latest fad diet (e.g., Keto, South Beach, paleo) isn’t based on health behavior change theories. To do this you are tasked with charting the process of weight loss on a health behavior change theory, as we did with the prior Health Case Study paper and several times in class. Your boss asks for additional evidence to build your case and finally to write a catchy paragraph for users of Noom that explains why fad diets aren’t effective weight loss strategies.
Questions
What health behavior change theory would you use? For this paper you can choose between Transtheoretical Model or Theory of Planned Behavior.
Why is this the most appropriate health behavior change theory?
How do the constructs provide insight into where someone might be stuck in unhealthy dieting?
Does this tell you about how you might talk to someone you know about body image, weight loss, or dieting?
Be sure to address these questions:
How would your conclusions change if you were focusing on:
An openly gay Latino man with a BMI above 30
A low-income Black trans woman who just started Estrogen
A white sorority woman with bulimia
Instructions for Writing and Submitting the Assignment
You will need to go beyond simple descriiption of a health behavior change theory. I am specifically looking for application of the health behavior change theory to this vignette.
Organize your paper for clarity and cohesion:
Reformat your sections to follow order of paper below:
Introduction
Health Behavior Change Theory
Chart highlighting your behavior change theory with the vignette
Conclusions
References
The total word count for this assignment is:
900 words
Grading criteria will consider the following:
Relevance – content must be relevant to both vignette and health behavior change theory
Thought-provoking – content must require high-level thought and reflection including a discussion of how behavior change theories can influence or change health behavior
Proper formatting and length as outlined above
