Basics of Nutrition Flashcards
What are the Essential Nutrients?
1) Macronutrients − Carbohydrates − Fats (lipids) − Proteins 2) Micronutrients − Vitamins − Minerals 3) Water
Describe Carbohydrates
- Energy-giving foods composed of sugars
- Common staple eaten regularly, accounting for up to 80% of the diet in developing countries
- Quickly absorbed by the body
What are Carb sources?
- Cereals (e.g., millet, sorghum, maize, rice)
- Root crops (e.g., cassava, potatoes)
- Starchy fruits (e.g., bananas)
Describe Fats and Oils (Lipids)
- Energy-giving foods
- Not produced by the body
- Absorbed more slowly than carbohydrates
- Account for small part of diet in developing countries
Sources of Lipids
- Fats (solids): Butter, ghee, lard, margarine
- Oils (liquids): Corn oil, soybean oil, peanut oil
Describe Proteins
- Body-building foods
- Form main structural components of cells
- Help produce and maintain tissues and muscles
Sources of proteins
− Plants (e.g., beans, nuts, chickpeas)
− Animals (meat, poultry, fish, dairy products, insects)
Describe Vitamins
- Organic compounds mostly from outside the body
- Do not provide energy
Fat VS water soluble vitamins
- Fat soluble: Dissolve in lipids, can be stored, not needed daily (e.g., vitamins A, D, E, K)
- Water soluble: Dissolve in water, absorbed into bloodstream immediately, needed daily
Sources of Vitamins
- Fruits
- Dark leafy vegetables
- Animal foods
Describe Minerals
- Inorganic compounds not synthesized by the body
- Needed in very small quantities but possibly essential
- Important for biochemical processes and formation of cells and tissues
Sources of minerals
- Plants
- Animal products
Describe Water
- Main component of the body (60 percent of body mass)
- Needed for digestion, absorption, and other body functions
- Regularly lost through sweating, excretion, and breathing
- Approximately 1,000 ml (4−8 cups) needed each day
Describe Energy Requirements
Amounts needed to maintain health, growth, and appropriate physical activity
- Vary according to age, gender, and activity
- Met through an age-appropriate balanced diet
Energy Requirements is Based on….
-Basal metabolism: Energy needed for basic body
functions
-Metabolic response to food: Energy needed to digest, absorb, and utilize food
-Physical activity: Work, rest, and play
-Physiology: Pregnancy, lactation, and maturation increase energy needs
Energy Requirements of Adults > 19 Years Old
- Basal metabolic rate (BMR) = Number of kilocalories (kcal) needed each day
- Energy needs = BMR x activity factor
- Additional energy needed by pregnant and lactating women
Energy Requirements 16 of Children and Adolescents < 18
- Calculated based on age, physical activity, and energy needs for growth
- Increase after age 10 to support changing body composition and growth
- Kcals required per day…
- Boys 1−18 years old: 948−3,410
- Girls 1−18 years old: 865−2,503
Energy Requirements of Infants 0−12 Months Old
- Mainly for growth
- Vary by age and gender
- All energy and nutrient needs met by breastmilk for the first 6 months of life
Protein Requirements
- Needed daily to replenish continuous depletion
- May vary by age, health status, physiological status, and occupation
- Higher for pregnant and lactating women
- Fluctuate in children based on weight, age, and gender
Define Undernutrition
- The manifestation of inadequate nutrition
- Many causes….
- Inadequate access to food/nutrients
- Improper care of mothers and children
- Limited health services
- Unhealthy environment
Conditions Associated with over/under nutrition (Vitamin, Mineral, Diet-related)
- Vitamin deficiency disorders:
1) Scurvy (deficiency of vitamin C)
2) Rickets (deficiency of vitamin D)
3) Mental, adrenal disorders (deficiency of B vitamins) - Mineral deficiency
1) Osteoporosis (deficiency of calcium) - Diet-related non-communicable diseases
1) Diabetes
2) Coronary heart disease
3) Obesity
4) High blood pressure
Nutritional Status Determined by Anthropometry
- Underweight: Low weight for age compared to reference standard, a composite measure of stunting and wasting
- Stunting: Low height for age compared to reference standard, an indicator of chronic or past growth failure
- Wasting: Low weight for height, an indicator of short-term nutritional stress
- MUAC (mid-upper arm circumference)
- BMI (body mass index): Compares height and weight
Manifestations of Protein-Energy Malnutrition (PEM)
1) Marasmus: Severe growth failure
- Weight < 60% weight for age
- Frailty, thinness, wrinkled skin, drawn-in face, possible extreme hunger
2) Kwashiorkor: Severe PEM
- Weight 60−80% weight for age
- Swelling (edema), dry flaky skin, changes in skin and hair, appetite loss, lethargy
3) Marasmic kwashiorkor: Most serious form of PEM, combining both conditions above
− Weight < 60% weight for age
Strategies to Prevent and Control Undernutrition
- Improve household food security.
- Improve diversity of diet.
- Improve maternal nutrition and health care.
- Improve child feeding practices.
- Ensure child health care (immunization, medical care, growth monitoring).
- Provide nutrition rehabilitation.
