Kansas State University Human Nutrition Flexbook

Reviewed by Lisa Salinas, Clinical Assistant Professor, University of Texas Rio Grande Valley on 12/14/22

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

This book is comprehensive in its coverage of topics related mainly to macro- and micro-nutrients. The table of contents is appropriately detailed. Though it provided interesting information, I found Chapter 5: Common Digestive Problems, to be randomly included in this text. This entered a space of medical nutrition therapy which I did not think belonged in this book given that the main focus was the biochemistry of nutrients and not the study of nutrition-related disease. An additional issue I had was the use of Wikipedia as main references in the text.

Content Accuracy rating: 4

The content in this book, for the most part, appears to be accurate, error-free and unbiased. That being said, rather than using references from Wikipedia, I do wish the author had used the original citations listed within the Wikipedia entries.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 4

The content is in PDF form so is only as up-to-date as the publication date (2018) and the revision date (January 2020). I would hope that the author might migrate the text to an online format so that updates can be made more readily.

Clarity rating: 4

This textbook was written relatively clearly for a college-aged audience with a basic science background. One issue I had was with the levels of organization in the book. There were the chapter numbers (for example 12). Then, there were subsections (for example 12.1 – 12.9). However, then there were subsections of subsections (for example, within 12.1, there was 12.11 – 12.16). I think it could be less confusing if you used something like: 12.1a – 12.1f.

Consistency rating: 4

The book was very consistent in terms of formatting. Each unit started with indicating the general topic and then specified individual sections/topics that would be covered.

Modularity rating: 5

There are 13 units, which easily could be arranged as 1 unit per week of class in a semester.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The topics in this textbook are presented in a way that makes sense as you move through important basic topics of nutritional science. It flowed from Macronutrients to Micronutrients.

Interface rating: 4

Navigation was relatively smooth. I do believe it would be easier if it was a true online resource as opposed to a PDF.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

I did not come across any grammatical errors.

Cultural Relevance rating: 4

The text does not seem to have any culturally insensitive or offensive material. That being said, nothing stood out in terms of the promotion of cultural sensitivity.

Comments

This textbook contained a lot of really great information, links and fun graphics. My main complaints are the author's numbering system and the use of Wikipedia links as main references.

Reviewed by Theresa Grana, Associate Professor, University of Mary Washington on 7/9/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This text is comprehensive for its intended audience. I did not see an index or glossary, but word searches are so easy with an online text!

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The content is accurate. One table seemed to have alignment errors. The information is not biased and is based in science.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

The content is up-to-date, but links could be updated. As written, the text could be easily updated and amended.

Clarity rating: 4

Students and I found the text to be clear and direct with great context for concepts, and even how the use of some terms differs between nutrition other fields.

Consistency rating: 4

Students found the text to be consistent in terminology and framework, but thought the level of detail in some chapters was uneven.

Modularity rating: 5

This text is very nicely modular and is only self-referential where necessary.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

The text is nicely organized and structured. It begins, very appropriately, with an overview of the different types of nutritional research and the kind of information that can be learned from each type of research. The rest of the organization is logical and easy to follow.

Interface rating: 4

The interface was generally perfect. The navigation issues were some YouTube links did not work. One chart seemed to be misaligned and so was confusing.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

There were a few typos, but certainly not more than in a text for purchase.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

Nothing insensitive or offensive was included. Examples were generally inclusive though more effort could be made to take this further.

Comments

This text was used in an upper-level course for biology or biochemistry majors. The text begins with an introduction to nutritional research which is a great foundation for understanding where later content comes from and for engaging with nutrition in the news. We covered the entire text for the first nine weeks of a fifteen-week semester and used the remaining weeks to investigate more specialized topics that were suitable for our upper-level course. In a survey of students in the course, the vast majority reported that the textbook was useful, direct, easy to follow, and had clear, effective illustrations. .

One criticism from a few students was that the book was a bit uneven in list vs. paragraph presentation of information. Another criticism was that some of the linked content needed updating. However, these criticisms are minor in comparison to my classes' overall experience of the text. In addition, we may have been using an older version of the text, accessing it through Oregon State vs. Kansas State. The textbook's author is easy to reach for questions or support.

Reviewed by Laura Bollinger, Program Director/Assistant Professor, Manchester University on 4/20/21

Comprehensiveness rating: 4 see less

Provides a nice overview of each topic, enough to give students a basic understanding and want to know more. Several links are provided for students to learn more.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

Information is accurate with few spelling/grammar errors.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Information is up-to-date with current consensus on nutrition topics.

Clarity rating: 4

Students should have a good science background.

Consistency rating: 5

Very consistent tone and imagery.

Modularity rating: 5

Most sections are very short paragraphs.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

Follows similar organization to other nutrition texts.

Interface rating: 5

Easy to navigate on a laptop or tablet.

Grammatical Errors rating: 4

Very few errors

Cultural Relevance rating: 3

It could be more culturally diverse.

Comments

The beginning is a very basic introduction to human nutrition with links to outside videos and cartoons likely engaging for introductory students. It becomes progressively more detailed providing a good overview of macro and micronutrients, digestion, absorption, transport, uptake, & metabolism.

Reviewed by Rachel Shelly, Part-time Faculty ABSE/ALS, Lane Community College on 8/15/20

Comprehensiveness rating: 2 see less

This text does not provide a glossary or index. In a sense, the whole book is a glossary as it concentrates on explaining what each nutrient is. I think the text would benefit greatly by having a glossary at the beginning or end of each chapter, and also at the end of the textbook.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

To the best of my knowledge, I did not see any inaccurate information.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

Yes, this book is very relevant. It references many studies, although many of the links to the studies did not work.

Clarity rating: 3

The book is clear to understand in the beginning but becomes technical and chemistry-based after about page 50. If students understand elementary chemistry, this wouldn't be a problem, but if students do not have a chemistry background, the text will be challenging.

Consistency rating: 3

I was excited after reading the first 54 pages of this book. It had a friendly tone, was easy to read, and I found it interesting. After page 54, it seemed to change into more of a reference book by explaining what each nutrient is and its chemical makeup. The Lexile score is much higher after page 54.

Modularity rating: 5

Each section is concise and easy to find if you use the table of contents in the beginning.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

It is very clear what this text is trying to teach.

Interface rating: 2

About 1/2 of the links did not work. To return to the text after clicking a link, you have to relocate where you left off. Any time you leave the PDF, it resets to the first page.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

This text is grammatically correct and easy to read. It would benefit from having a vocabulary section at the beginning or end of each chapter.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

The text references various studies and subjects from different cultures, races, countries. and occupations. It appeared to be culturally sensitive.

Comments

I teach Adult Basic Education and GED studies. I found the beginning of this book to be a perfect mix of an easier reading level matched with a more advanced subject level. This is difficult to find sometimes. I would use pages 20-54 in my class.
I like the beginning of the text which addressed more broad concepts regarding nutrition. As the text moved along, it became too specific with the chemical makeup of different nutrients without elaborating enough on the applied use of the knowledge and why it matters. A student would need chemistry as a pre-requisite to this entire text.

Reviewed by Bruce Rengers, Professor, Metropolitan State University of Denver on 7/10/19

Comprehensiveness rating: 5 see less

This book covers all of the traditional information found in an intermediate nutrition textbook. The textbook emphasizes the biochemistry and physiology of nutrition and does well with easy to follow explanations. The book, however, is a bit short on applied or practical nutrition information though it does contain some of this information.

Content Accuracy rating: 5

The book does an outstanding job of presenting accurate nutrition information including past and current controversies. Most of the links to graphics and videos provide good information that helps explain and illustrate concepts. A few links are product oriented which could be misleading. References are provided for each section, but many are not what would be considered quality references. Heavy use of Wikipedia may have drawbacks. The author's information is accurate and well done, and references like Wikipedia are probably intended for further reading for students. Wikipedia can sometimes be a good source for easy explanations, but then it falls to the author to attest that this information is correct. Students may also be confused by this issue since they are usually taught that Wikipedia is not an authoritative source of information and yet this textbook appears to rely heavily on Wikipedia.

Relevance/Longevity rating: 5

This is an excellent text for an intermediate nutrition class that focuses on the biochemistry and physiology of nutrition. It presents information in a very logical and concise way while also providing adequately detailed descriptions when necessary. It covers all of the traditional areas of information for an intermediate nutrition class.

Clarity rating: 5

The author has done an outstanding job of making concepts clear, especially some every difficult concepts. Graphics support the text well and enhance explanations. The text is concise yet sufficient and easy to read.

Consistency rating: 5

The book follows a very logical sequence that makes concepts fit together well. The level of information is consistent throughout. Terminology is consistent and always explained.

Modularity rating: 5

The text is divided into chapters and then subsections. Each chapter and subsection could stand on its own if students had adequate background information. Each section has its own graphics, links and references. Sections are reasonably short yet provide the needed information. It would be easy to borrow only some sections or delete certain sections if a professor wanted to support what was being taught in class without using the book in its entirety.

Organization/Structure/Flow rating: 5

This textbook is organized differently than most traditional texts. It presents the background for macronutrients together rather than separately. For example, the structures of all macronutrients are presented together, then digestion of all macronutrients, then absorption, etc rather than presenting all of these with respect to carbohydrates first and then moving on to other macronutrients. This organization works very well in this text. A functional approach to micronutrients is also used in this text, presenting micronutrients with similar functions together rather than the traditional organization of fat soluble vitamins, water soluble vitamins, etc. The author pulls this off well. In some texts this approach leaves a lot out that is relevant about micronutrients, but in this text it works very well.

Interface rating: 5

This text has lots of links to graphics and videos. The vast majority of these worked and added significantly to the text.

Grammatical Errors rating: 5

VERY few were found! The text is well written.

Cultural Relevance rating: 5

This text is mostly about biochemistry and physiology so there was not much chance for cultural context. Where cultural/race/ethnicity/backgrounds were discussed with certain topics such as with lactose intolerance, what was presented was mostly factual.

Comments

This text is an amazing effort that turned out very well. I would recommend use of the text in an intermediate nutrition class.