Understanding Nutrition and Depression: Research Critique

Understanding Nutrition and Depression: Research Critique

Introduction

The research introduction has been written well in that it begins with shedding light on the misconception that depression is only emotionally rooted and has no connection whatsoever with nutrition and diet. The research suggests that this cannot be farther from truth in that bad eating habits cannot only cause depression but they can also exacerbate the problem. Some of the most common poor eating habits include skipping meals, having too much sweet food and general decline in appetite. This type of an introduction is needed to intrigue the interest of the reader into reading further.

Most countries have shown a high prevalence of mental illnesses as well as a poor diet pattern. There are various reasons for these. Certain nations are poor and cannot afford to maintain quality diet while others are lack awareness on the importance of taking a balances diet and the consequences of poor nutrition. This is a good introduction as it explains in good details why was this research needed. It tries to establish the base of connection between depression and nutrition and elaborates the same through research findings in later sections of the report.

Problem Statement

A problem statement is something that describes the context in which the research is being conducted and gives an unbiased view on the topic. It is basically the exact issue at hand that he researcher would like to address within the study. The problem statement for this study is there are very few people who know the correlation of nutrition to depression (Rao & Asha, 2008). A good problem statement has three key elements. These include a description of the current state of the problem. This problem is then expanded by the writer by asking himself several questions such as who the problem relates to, what is the extent of the problem, where does the problem exist and why is it essential to study and address it. The researcher has done that well.

By expressing the problem in detail, he is expressed to see the desired connection between the two variables. These are then combined into the problem statement for the research given in Paragraph 1 Sentence 1-3. The problems statement does not challenge the strongly held belief that depression is related to emotions and biochemical structures of a person. However, it develops on it and states that nutrition too can be a possible reason.

Hypothesis

The importance of research hypothesis must be understood from the fact that the research uses it to investigate on the research questions. A hypothesis in simple terms is a prediction. It tries to establish a relationship between research inquiry and theory.

In order to reduce the symptoms of depression, nutrition plays a vital role. Since patients of depression tend to make poor food choices, adding supplements containing folate, vitamin B, minerals, carbohydrates, omega-3 fatty acids, and amino acids could benefit them through alleviating some of the symptoms of depression (Rao & Asha, ...