ACBN Technology & Digital Applications 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A client uses a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and shares 14-day trend data with you. What is the PRIMARY nutritional insight CGMs provide beyond fasting glucose?
- Postprandial glycemic response to specific foods (Correct answer)
- Total daily caloric intake
- Protein absorption efficiency
- Gut microbiome composition
Correct answer: Postprandial glycemic response to specific foods
CGMs capture real-time interstitial glucose fluctuations, revealing how individual foods affect postprandial glucose in a way fasting labs cannot.
Question 2: Which HIPAA provision most directly governs a nutritionist's use of a cloud-based EHR platform to store client dietary records?
- Privacy Rule
- Security Rule (Correct answer)
- Breach Notification Rule
- Enforcement Rule
Correct answer: Security Rule
The Security Rule specifically requires administrative, physical, and technical safeguards for electronic protected health information (ePHI) stored or transmitted digitally.
Question 3: A client's wearable reports a resting metabolic rate (RMR) using heart-rate variability algorithms. Compared to indirect calorimetry, wearable-estimated RMR is generally:
- Equally accurate across all body compositions
- Prone to overestimation in obese populations (Correct answer)
- Most accurate during sleep
- Validated to within 5% for all users
Correct answer: Prone to overestimation in obese populations
Wearable algorithms are often calibrated on lean populations and tend to overestimate RMR in individuals with higher adiposity due to model assumptions.
Question 4: When evaluating a nutrition app for client recommendation, which feature BEST supports evidence-based dietary counseling?
- Gamification badges for streak maintenance
- Food database sourced from USDA FoodData Central (Correct answer)
- Social sharing of meal photos
- AI-generated meal plans without dietitian oversight
Correct answer: Food database sourced from USDA FoodData Central
A food database linked to USDA FoodData Central ensures nutrient values are standardized, peer-reviewed, and regularly updated for clinical accuracy.
Question 5: A telehealth nutritionist conducts video sessions across state lines. Which regulatory requirement is MOST critical to verify before initiating care?
- Client's internet connection speed
- State licensure reciprocity or interstate compact membership (Correct answer)
- Video platform encryption level
- Client's insurance provider network
Correct answer: State licensure reciprocity or interstate compact membership
Nutrition practice is state-regulated, so the practitioner must hold licensure or qualify under an interstate compact in the client's physical state.
Question 6: Which data point from a client's fitness tracker is MOST useful for adjusting total daily energy expenditure (TDEE) estimates?
- Sleep latency duration
- Active minutes and step count (Correct answer)
- Heart rate zone during sleep
- VO2 max estimate
Correct answer: Active minutes and step count
Active minutes and step count directly reflect non-exercise activity thermogenesis (NEAT) and exercise activity thermogenesis (EAT), the primary variable components of TDEE.
Question 7: A client shares a screenshot of their micronutrient report from a direct-to-consumer (DTC) blood panel service. Which is the MOST appropriate clinical response?
- Accept results as equivalent to physician-ordered labs
- Use results as a screening prompt and recommend physician confirmation (Correct answer)
- Disregard results as unreliable without exception
- Immediately adjust supplement protocol based on reported deficiencies
Correct answer: Use results as a screening prompt and recommend physician confirmation
DTC panels can serve as useful conversation starters but lack clinical oversight and confirmatory testing, so physician follow-up is warranted before protocol changes.
ACBN Technology & Digital Applications 2
A client uses a continuous glucose monitor (CGM) and shares 14-day trend data with you.
What is the PRIMARY nutritional insight CGMs provide beyond fasting glucose?