<p>My dad teaches thermodynamics at a university and one of his projects requires students to track their caloric intake and weight over a month and report any correlations. Is this an inappropriate assignment? What if students were allowed to “opt-out” and choose a different project?</p>
<p>I don’t think it’s inappropriate, but that’s coming from a kinesiology major perspective. I’m taking a class right now where we do multiple tests to measure our physical fitness and weight, etc, and then we (anonymously) share data with the class for the assignments we have to turn in. I’m decently in shape, but I’m not the most fit or the smallest person in the class - it still doesn’t really bother me to report my data. It’s not like the whole class will see your dad’s students’ data.</p>
<p>The one problem I’d have is that tracking caloric intake over a month would get to be a bit of a hassle…every time I’ve had to keep a food diary for a class, it gets a little old after a day or so. But then again, it might make one think about if he/she really wants to eat X product because he/she’ll have to record it…</p>