Nutrition in adolescence and ageing Flashcards
What is the importance of adequate nutrition intake during adolescence?
Period of rapid growth with high demands for nutrients
• Growth spurt around 10-11 girls, 12-13 for boys.
• Girls grow about 15cms and gain 16kgs, boys grow about 20cms and gain 20kgs
• Absolute energy and nutrient needs greater than any other time in life (except pregnancy and lactation)
• Important for adolescents to select foods carefully to ensure nutrient and energy needs are met
• Adolescents in Australia make many more choices for themselves than they did as children
• Their interest in nutrition (both valid and misinformation) derives from personal and immediate experiences
• Fad diets
• Avoiding acne
• Athletic performance
What changes in behavioural and physiological changes happen in adolescence that can affect the health of an adolescent
- Eating patterns represent independence and control
- Eating disorders (high rates, higher in females)
- Influence by peers, media and body image
- Critical time in terms of brain development and maturation and often a time when mental health issues emerge
- Iron deficiency in girls
- Developing peak bone mass
- Obesity rates high
- Fad diets/ vegan diets
What percentage of adolescents in Australia (14-18 years olds) met recommended serves of vegetables? (Based of 2011-2012 Australian survey results)
Only 6% of 14-18 year olds met recommended serves of vegetables this was similar for 19-30 years olds and 31-50 years olds although there was generally a lesser proportion of males meeting requirements.
What percentage of adolescents in Australia (14-18 years olds) met recommended serves of fruits? (Based of 2011-2012 Australian survey results)
Around half of 14-18 year olds met recommended serves of fruit. This was similar for 19-30 year olds and 31-50 year olds.
How many adolescents are eating outside the home and how does this affect their nutritional intake?(based on 2011-2012 Australian survey)
- 90% of teenagers eat junk food on a daily basis (1 in 4 adolescent boys eat take-away daily)
- 40% energy intake from discretionary foods
Dieting is particularly evident in adolescent females. What are some physiological and health effects of this.
Dieting is the attempt to lose weight and/or prevent gaining weight. It can cause aversion to food group/s
- Can impact on growth and development as well as long-term effects
- Can result in eating disorders(strong risk factor)
Why is there are increase in calcium nutritional needs during adolescence?
- Required for normal development and maintance of of the skeleton
- large increase in the rate of skeletal accretion from 12-18 years
- Osteoporosis- major cause of morbidity in older Australians
- Calcium intake throughout life is a major factor
Why is there an increase in iron nutritional needs during adolescence?
- Expansion of blood volume
- Increase in lean body mass
- Onset of menstruation
How can iron deficiency in adolescents be prevented?
- Encourage lean red meat 3 times per week
- Include Vitamin C with plant sources of iron
- Limit tea and coffee with high iron foods (prevents absorption)
- Avoid high phytate foods with high iron foods
SUMMARY OF NUTRITION IN ADOLESCENCE:
- independence and control influence food choices and patterns
- Peer and media influence high (many meals outside home)
- High proportion of energy intake as discretionary foods
- Emergence of eating disorders
- High iron needs
- High calcium needs
What are the components of successful ageing?
- Increased life expectancy
- Compression of morbidity
- Quality of life
Normal ageing decreases the body’s ability to withstand stress and challenges. Nutrition important in ageing as it impacts upon:
- Health
- Self-sufficiency
- Quality of life
- Cognition and mental health
- Fractures
- Recovery from illness and wound healing
The rate at which any individual age is affected by:
- environment
- genetics
- toxins
- disease
- accidents
- susceptibility to environmental stress
- ability to repair cellular damage
- stress
- exercise
- nutrition
- lifestyle
The major risk factors for poor nutritional status in older adults can be divided into two categories. What are they?
- Physical/medical
- social/psychological/emotional factors
Give examples of physiological changes that come with ageing and the effects of these on nutrition.
Change:
-Effect Sensory Impairment
• Decreased sense of taste:Reduced appetite
• Decreased sense of smell: Reduced appetite
• Loss of vision and hearing:Decreased ability to purchase and prepare food
• Oral health / dental problems: Difficulty chewing, inflammation. poor quality diet
- Altered energy need: Diet lacking in essential nutrients
- Decreased physical activity: Progressive depletion of LBM and loss of appetite
- Muscle loss (sarcopenia): Decreased functional ability, assistance needed with ADLs
- Psychosocial (isolation): Decreased appetite
- Environmental (financial): Limited access to food; poor quality diet
Cumulative Effect — Leads to Progressive undernutrition
The ratio of muscle to body fat declines with a—
age
What are some of the factors in nutritional frailty in old age?
- Unintentional loss of body weight and sarcopenia= decline in muscle mass, strength and function
- Anorexia of ageing- physiological decrease in appetite and food intake
- Numerous socioeconomic and physiological causes of malnutrition
- Causes should always be rectified where possible.
Malnutrition can result in a cycle of degeneration. Explain how this can happen.
- Decreased nutrient intake and increased nutrient needs can lead to decreased immune function, increased illness, increased use of medication, decreased accessibility of food and decreased muscle mass which can lead to decreased nutrient intake and lead to a negative cycle
