Nutrition assessment Flashcards
What is nutritional status?
Basically a measure of whether you are getting enough of the right nutrients. (a balance between nutrient intake and expenditure)
What does the ABCDE of nutritional assessment stand for?
A = Anthropometry B = Biochemical C = Clinical D = Dietary evaluation E = economical/social standing
Define the ‘A’ domain and LIST the various tests of it?
Antrhopometry refers to the study of measurements and proportions of the human body.
Common measurements of body weight/composition BMI Percentage age weight loss Lean body mass Waist circumference
How do you calculate BMI and what is the healthy range for adults in NZ?
Weight in kg/height in m squared.
Healthy range in NZ is between 19 - 25
When/who should BMI not be used for?
Shouldnt be used for athletes/some sports people eg rugby players who have a very large lean body mass.
It is also adjusted slightly for ethnicities eg pacific have larger values due to genetic body composition/bone structure whereas indian/asian have slightly smaller values
How do you calculate change in body weight? (% weight loss)
Usual weight - current weight x 100 /
usual weight
(in other words “what youve lost/what you are normally times 100”)
What is your body weight composed of and what are the ideal percentages for men and women (adults)?
Body weight = body fat + lean tissue mass (including water)
Men - body fat should be between 12-20%
Women - body fat should be between 20-30%
What is a good way to measure body fat distribution? (in a general clinic)
Waist circumference (between bottom rib and top of hip bone) or more effectively the waist:hip ratio
what are the normal values for waist circumference and waist:hip measurements in adults?
Men = around 90cm and ratio around 1:1 Women = around 80cm and ratio 0.8:1
What are some examples of biochemical nutritional tests?
Blood test to measure serum albumin level - determines protein status as this is the main protein in the blood
Blood test to determine serum transferrin level - determines whether iron levels are high or low as it measures the iron carrying protein in the blood
What does the “C” domain refer to/ what kinds of tests does it involve?
The clinical domain refers to the subjective tests a doctor performs and not the concrete set objective tests that just give a measurement like the BMI does for example.
Examples of clinical assessment include:
Detect signs and symptoms of malnutrition just through basic question eg how is you appetite? have you lost any weight? tired/lots of energy?
Measuring cognitive ability/physiologic performance
Oral/dental health
Use of drugs/drug-nutrient interactions
grip test - test of lean body mass
patient history
GI symptoms - any abdo pain? nausea? vomitting? bowell movements?
What is involved in the “D” domain?
Analysis of food intake/consumption patterns most frequently through 24 hour recall.
Analysis of food security - do they have enough money to afford good nutrition?
Usage of supplements?
