NASM Nutrition Certification EXAM|Complete Questions with
Verified Correct Answers
SCOFF questionnaire
Basic yet reliable set of five questions that help assess whether an eating disorder exists.
Do you make yourself Sick because you feel uncomfortably full?
Do you worry that you have lost Control over how much you eat?
Have you recently lost more than One stone (14 lbs) in a 3-month period?
Do you believe yourself to be Fat when others say you are too thin?
Would you say that Food dominates your life?
Scientific Method
The process of formulating explanations about the natural world and testing those explanations with
experiments and data.
1. Identify a Problem
2. Formulate a hypothesis
3. Design a study to test the hypothesis
4. Collect data
5. Discard or change the hypothesis OR continue testing
Evidence-Based Practice
A three-pronged approach to working with clients, which consists of making decisions based on the
weight of the scientific evidence, field observations, and individual client needs and preferences.
Prediction
An expected outcome generated from a hypothesis
Theory
A hypothesis or set of hypotheses for which a large body of high-quality evidence has been
accumulated.
Hierarchy of Evidence
1. Systematic Reviews
2. Randomized Controlled Trials
3. Observational Research
4. Peer Reviews
5. Non-Peer-Reviewed Media, including anecdotes
Anecdote
an account of a person's experience or event
,Uncontrolled Variable
A variable in an experiment that a scientist makes no effort to manipulate or account for.
Primary Research
Original research where scientists perform experiments and collect data - this is in contrast to secondary
research where scientists analyze data that has already been collected or published elsewhere.
Observational Research
Research in which a researcher observes ongoing behaviors to determine correlation.
Correlation
A relationship between two or more variables.
Randomized Control Trial (RCT)
A type of scientific study/trial where participants are randomly assigned into different groups - one or
more will be the intervention to be tested and one will be the control group. Groups are randomized
and a control is used in an attempt to reduce potential bias in the trial.
Independent Variable
The variable scientists manipulate in an experiment.
External Validity
The ability to generalize the results of a study.
Systematic Review
A review where scientists systematically gather all research on a topic and evaluate it based on
predefined criteria and rules.
Meta-Analysis
A statistical analysis of a group of studies to assess the overall weight of the evidence.
Empirical
Based on observation or experience.
Test-Retest Reliability
The ability to get similar results when something is measured under the same conditions.
Reliability
The consistency of a measure.
Validity
The assessment of whether a tool is measuring what it is supposed to measure.
,Selection Bias
A sample of people under study is not representative of the larger population that scientists are looking
to make inferences about.
Retrospective
Describes a study that looks backward in time.
Recall Bias
The inability to accurately remember past behaviors.
Health
A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity.
Homeostasis
The tendency toward a relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements, especially as
maintained by physiological processes.
Disease
A disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces specific
signs or symptoms, affects a specific location, and is not simply a direct result of physical injury.
Noncommunicable Disease
A noncommunicable disease (NCD) is a medical condition or disease that is not caused by infectious
agents; it can refer to chronic diseases which last for long periods of time and progress slowly.
Communicable Disease
Infectious diseases caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi that can be
spread (directly or indirectly) from one person to another.
Wellness
The fluid process of improving the emotional, occupational, physical, social, intellectual, and spiritual
components of life, dynamically leading to a better state of health and well-being.
Obese
A high degree of excess body fat - a BMI greater than 30.
Biometrics
The technical term for measurements and calculations related to human physical characteristics.
Satiety
A feeling of fullness and satisfaction.
, Palatability
The degree of pleasure or taste provided by a food - a highly palatable food is one that is tasty and
pleasant to consume.
Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)
The energy currency of life.
chemical compound that provides energy to drive muscle contraction, transmission of nerve impulses,
and the vast majority of chemical reactions that facilitate human life.
Metabolism
Chemical processes occurring within the body to convert food to energy.
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)
represents the increase in energy expenditure after consuming a meal.
Thermic Effect of Activity (TEA)
accounts for the most variability of daily energy expenditure.
Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)
energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or exercising.
Lipogenesis
The biological process of combining free fatty acids with glycerol to form triglycerides.
Lipolysis
The biological process of breaking stored triglycerides into free fatty acids and glycerol.
Glycogenolysis
The process of breaking down the glycogen molecule into its individual glucose units for entry into the
energy pathways.
Gluconeogenesis
A metabolic pathway that results in the generation of glucose from non-carbohydrate carbon substrates
such as lactate, glycerol and glucogenic amino acids.
Leptin
A hormone produced by adipose (fat) cells that acts as a satiety factor in regulating appetite.
Ghrelin
A hunger-arousing hormone secreted by an empty stomach.
CCK (cholecystokinin)
Verified Correct Answers
SCOFF questionnaire
Basic yet reliable set of five questions that help assess whether an eating disorder exists.
Do you make yourself Sick because you feel uncomfortably full?
Do you worry that you have lost Control over how much you eat?
Have you recently lost more than One stone (14 lbs) in a 3-month period?
Do you believe yourself to be Fat when others say you are too thin?
Would you say that Food dominates your life?
Scientific Method
The process of formulating explanations about the natural world and testing those explanations with
experiments and data.
1. Identify a Problem
2. Formulate a hypothesis
3. Design a study to test the hypothesis
4. Collect data
5. Discard or change the hypothesis OR continue testing
Evidence-Based Practice
A three-pronged approach to working with clients, which consists of making decisions based on the
weight of the scientific evidence, field observations, and individual client needs and preferences.
Prediction
An expected outcome generated from a hypothesis
Theory
A hypothesis or set of hypotheses for which a large body of high-quality evidence has been
accumulated.
Hierarchy of Evidence
1. Systematic Reviews
2. Randomized Controlled Trials
3. Observational Research
4. Peer Reviews
5. Non-Peer-Reviewed Media, including anecdotes
Anecdote
an account of a person's experience or event
,Uncontrolled Variable
A variable in an experiment that a scientist makes no effort to manipulate or account for.
Primary Research
Original research where scientists perform experiments and collect data - this is in contrast to secondary
research where scientists analyze data that has already been collected or published elsewhere.
Observational Research
Research in which a researcher observes ongoing behaviors to determine correlation.
Correlation
A relationship between two or more variables.
Randomized Control Trial (RCT)
A type of scientific study/trial where participants are randomly assigned into different groups - one or
more will be the intervention to be tested and one will be the control group. Groups are randomized
and a control is used in an attempt to reduce potential bias in the trial.
Independent Variable
The variable scientists manipulate in an experiment.
External Validity
The ability to generalize the results of a study.
Systematic Review
A review where scientists systematically gather all research on a topic and evaluate it based on
predefined criteria and rules.
Meta-Analysis
A statistical analysis of a group of studies to assess the overall weight of the evidence.
Empirical
Based on observation or experience.
Test-Retest Reliability
The ability to get similar results when something is measured under the same conditions.
Reliability
The consistency of a measure.
Validity
The assessment of whether a tool is measuring what it is supposed to measure.
,Selection Bias
A sample of people under study is not representative of the larger population that scientists are looking
to make inferences about.
Retrospective
Describes a study that looks backward in time.
Recall Bias
The inability to accurately remember past behaviors.
Health
A state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or
infirmity.
Homeostasis
The tendency toward a relatively stable equilibrium between interdependent elements, especially as
maintained by physiological processes.
Disease
A disorder of structure or function in a human, animal, or plant, especially one that produces specific
signs or symptoms, affects a specific location, and is not simply a direct result of physical injury.
Noncommunicable Disease
A noncommunicable disease (NCD) is a medical condition or disease that is not caused by infectious
agents; it can refer to chronic diseases which last for long periods of time and progress slowly.
Communicable Disease
Infectious diseases caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites, and fungi that can be
spread (directly or indirectly) from one person to another.
Wellness
The fluid process of improving the emotional, occupational, physical, social, intellectual, and spiritual
components of life, dynamically leading to a better state of health and well-being.
Obese
A high degree of excess body fat - a BMI greater than 30.
Biometrics
The technical term for measurements and calculations related to human physical characteristics.
Satiety
A feeling of fullness and satisfaction.
, Palatability
The degree of pleasure or taste provided by a food - a highly palatable food is one that is tasty and
pleasant to consume.
Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP)
The energy currency of life.
chemical compound that provides energy to drive muscle contraction, transmission of nerve impulses,
and the vast majority of chemical reactions that facilitate human life.
Metabolism
Chemical processes occurring within the body to convert food to energy.
Thermic Effect of Food (TEF)
represents the increase in energy expenditure after consuming a meal.
Thermic Effect of Activity (TEA)
accounts for the most variability of daily energy expenditure.
Non-Exercise Activity Thermogenesis (NEAT)
energy expended for everything we do that is not sleeping, eating or exercising.
Lipogenesis
The biological process of combining free fatty acids with glycerol to form triglycerides.
Lipolysis
The biological process of breaking stored triglycerides into free fatty acids and glycerol.
Glycogenolysis
The process of breaking down the glycogen molecule into its individual glucose units for entry into the
energy pathways.
Gluconeogenesis
A metabolic pathway that results in the generation of glucose from non-carbohydrate carbon substrates
such as lactate, glycerol and glucogenic amino acids.
Leptin
A hormone produced by adipose (fat) cells that acts as a satiety factor in regulating appetite.
Ghrelin
A hunger-arousing hormone secreted by an empty stomach.
CCK (cholecystokinin)
