Meaning and Importance of Nutrition

Question 1

What is Nutrition?

Answer 1

• the study of food and how the body makes use of it
• it deals with the quantity and quality of food as well as with the process of receiving and utilizing it for the growth and renewal of the body

Question 2

What is the function of Nutrition?

Answer 2

• to maintain life by allowing an individual to grow and be in a state of optimum health

Question 3

How is nutritional science applied to nursing care?

Answer 3

• recognition of the role of nutrition in preventing diseases or illness
• concern for adapting food patterns of individuals to their nutritional needs within the framework of their cultural, economic, and psychological situations
• awareness of the need in specified disease states to modify nutritional factors for therapeutic purpose

Question 4

What are nutrients?

Answer 4

• chemical substances found in food
• provide heat and energy for the body
• necessary to carry out physiological functions

Question 5

What are the four classifications of nutrients?

Answer 5

• function
• chemical properties
• essentiality
• concentration

Question 6

How are nutrients classified according to function?

Answer 6

• those that form tissues in the body are body building nutrients while those that furnish heat and energy are fats, carbohydrates, and proteins

Question 7

How are nutrients classified by chemical properties?

Answer 7

• nutrients are either organic or inorganic

Question 8

How are nutrients classified by essentiality?

Answer 8

• based on their significant contribution to the body’s physiological functioning

Question 9

How are nutrients classified by concentration?

Answer 9

• either in large amounts or little amounts

Question 10

What is Food?

Answer 10

• nourishes the body
• vital need
• supplies heat and energy, builds and repairs body tissues, and regulates body processes

Question 11

What are the three functions of food?

Answer 11

1. Energy-yielding
2. Body-building
3. Protective foodstuffs

Question 12

What is the function of food according to energy-yielding?

Answer 12

• provides energy to keep the body warm, the muscles active for work and play and the various organs alert to carry out daily activities
• a few examples are cereals, starchy vegetables, nuts, sugar, and oils

Question 13

What is the function of food according to body building?

Answer 13

• food supplies body building nutrients needed for growth
• new tissues grow throughout infancy, childhood, and adolescence
• nutrients replace the “wear and tear”
• examples include milk, meat, fish, eggs, legumes, dried beans, peas and nuts
• cereals can also contain some

Question 14

What is the function of food according to protective foodstuffs?

Answer 14

• required in minute quantities
• if lacking in one or more, leads to derangement of the body resulting in ill-health, stunted growth and imperfect development
• best examples are green vegetables, fresh fruits, milk, meat, fish, and eggs
• combination of different kinds of foodstuff is essential in a diet

Question 15

What is a balanced diet?

Answer 15

• various foodstuffs are mixed in suitable proportions to carry out the three functions adequately
• provides all nutrients in required amounts