Final Exam Flashcards
What is the definition of a vitamin?
Essential organic compounds that cannot be synthesized by the body. They promote growth and health.
Why are micronutrients important to consider in habitual dietary choices?
vital to healthy development, disease prevention, and wellbeing
How are water vs. fat-soluble vitamins absorbed?
Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E, and K) are absorbed by fat, while water-soluble vitamins (everything other than these four) are dissolved in water
What is a mineral? (how are these different from vitamins?)
Minerals are inorganic elements that come from soil and water, and are absorbed by plants or eaten by animals. Your body needs larger amounts of some minerals, such as calcium, to grow and stay healthy.
What physiological processes/tissues are supported by minerals?
building materials for our bones, influencing muscle and nerve function, and regulating the body’s water balance
What changes occur in MSK tissues with aging? How can diet affect this?
Loss of bone, degraded articular cartilage, and degenerate, narrowed intervertebral discs
How is calcium regulated in the body?
Calcium homeostasis is maintained by actions of hormones that regulate calcium transport in the gut, kidneys, and bone. The 3 primary hormones are parathyroid hormone (PTH) 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D-3 (Vitamin D3), and calcitonin.
Age-related changes in nutrient needs?
Older adults are prone to insufficient energy, macronutrient (namely protein), and micronutrient intakes, more significantly after the age of 65 years, often leading to nutrient deficiencies. The most common ones are deficiencies in vitamin B12, Iron, vitamin D and Calcium (14)
How loss of muscle mass and bone mass are associated with adiposity
Sarcopenia is defined as age-related low muscle mass and function, and can also describe the loss of muscle mass in certain medical conditions, such as sarcopenic obesity. Sarcopenic obesity describes loss of muscle and function in obese individuals; however, as sarcopenia is an age-related condition and obesity can occur in any age group, a more accurate term is obesity with low lean muscle mass
What is energy homeostasis? How is it regulated? (In/Out)
The traditional view of neural regulation of body energy homeostasis focuses on internal feedback signals integrated in the hypothalamus and brainstem and in turn leading to balanced activation of behavioral, autonomic, and endocrine effector pathways leading to changes in food intake and energy expenditure.
What is leptin? What happens if its action is disrupted? (i.e., ‘resistance’)
Leptin is a hormone your body fat releases that helps you maintain your normal weight on a long-term basis. If you have leptin resistance, your brain doesn’t respond as it normally would to leptin. Since it’s constantly stimulated by leptin, you don’t get the sensation of feeling full or satiated. This causes you to eat more even though your body has enough fat stores.
- How is body composition measured, quantified, interpreted? (i.e., risk?)
BMI (but has cons, does not take into account fat free mass).
– Skinfold thickness
– Bioelectric impedance analysis (BIA)
– BodyMetrix (BMX)
– Plethysmography (Underwater weighing and BodPod) – Radiologic methods (DXA, CT, MRI)
How is obesity related to metabolic regulation? Energy homeostasis?
In obesity there is a decrease in the Adipo R expression levels, thereby reducing adiponectin sensitivity and enhancing insulin resistance.
Maintenance of energy homeostasis and body weight requires a balance between energy intake, loss, and expenditure. An imbalance in this energy homeostasis leads to obesity.
What is insulin resistance and what are the consequences?
With insulin resistance, the cells don’t react, and don’t open up, resulting in excessive sugar in the blood. Over time, the pancreas keeps trying to regulate the blood sugar, producing more and more insulin until it wears out and can’t produce large amounts of insulin anymore.
Set point theory and responses to weight loss (long term efficacy?)
Obesity set-point theory explains the concept of homeostatic forces defending a set body weight. The theory describes the compensatory mechanisms that pose challenges to weight loss treatments and the recidivism noted after successful weight loss.
Fad diets and weight loss approaches (effectiveness, predictors of success?)
A healthy diet…..variety of foods, reasonable weight loss, promotes exercise
A fad diet…..restricts certain foods, intense weight loss, says you can do it without exercise
What is the nutrient-based recommendation system by which Health Canada informs the public about ‘what and how much’ to eat each day?
The new food guide is based on Health Canada’s review of evidence, scientific reports and studies from world-leading organizations and data gathered through public consultation.
As a food-based approach, how does Canada’s healthy eating strategy support individual decision-making around meals, eating patterns, and food choices?
improving healthy eating information
improving nutrition quality of foods
protecting vulnerable populations
In what ways can a pathology or dysfunction in the digestive process influence the body’s normal physiological function?
The health of your gut influences the health of pretty much every other part of your body. Your skin, brain, sleep cycle, immune system, heart, and more are all affected by the status of your digestive tract and the bacteria throughout it.
What is the glycemic index of a food OR meal, and why would this be an important consideration for someone who has insulin resistance?
The glycemic index is a value assigned to foods based on how quickly and how high those foods cause increases in blood glucose levels.
Highly processed, high-carbohydrate and high-fat foods require more insulin. In general, eating foods that have a low to medium glycemic index and limiting foods that have a high glycemic index can help you reverse and/or manage insulin resistance.
Why is high dietary fat intake (i.e., 40%+ of total calories) a concern for an individual with family history of type II diabetes and cardiovascular disease?
Diets containing a lot of saturated fat are associated with a higher risk of heart disease and stroke, which are common comorbidities for diabetes.
How is the nutritional intake of an individual during late adulthood (i.e., aging) related to their functional capacity and/or determining when they reach the disability threshold?
Energy needs decline with age
– BMR declines (LBM ↓), hunger and food intake decline
* Macronutrients
– no change in recommended % of E (relative macro ratio) – Protein intake above RDA?
* Micronutrients
– More B vitamins (co-enzyme in metabolism, oxygen transport by Hb) – More calcium and vitamin D
– Vitamins as antioxidants (i.e., C, A, E)
* Support immune function, connective tissues
– Low iron may influence energy, vitality, work capacity
* Note: RDA for iron decreases in women in adulthood
- How can protein intake and exercise be used to optimize our body composition over the lifespan?
Research shows muscle protein turnover is the greatest after working out. Additionally, it has been shown that muscle mass increases over time when resistance exercise (i.e. weight lifting, body weight exercises, etc) is combined with nutrient intake. However, as we age, we need to increase our protein intake.
Why is weight loss through dietary changes difficult to achieve and maintain, especially for sedentary individuals?
Reducing caloric intake results in acute compensatory changes, including increases and decreases in hormones that affect appetite, reductions in energy expenditure, and increases in appetite, all of which promote weight regain. Energy in versus energy out, if you’re not moving - it will be more difficult to lose weight.
