Principle of Human Nutrition - Case Study Example

Swarna1 Word count: 1284 P.Swrnalatha D # 5448 Order # 197458 d 13th December 2007 Principle of Human Nutrition Introduction Human nutrition is defined as the metabolic process of taking food inside for the purpose of meeting physiological needs and energy needs (Eastwood, 1997). Hence it includes ingestion, digestion, absorption, assimilation and egestion. Ingestion is the process of intake of the food, and digestion is the process of breaking down of complex food material in to simple food materials. For example, carbohydrates will be broken down to glucose with the help of enzymes like amylase, similarly proteins will be broken down to amino acids and fats will be broken down to fatty acids during digestion. Absorption is a process in which the simple products will be absorbed in to the blood and will be carried to the body cells. Assimilation is the process in which these carried end products would be utilized for the body building or tissue making process. However, the unutilized or waste material will be excreted out in the form of egestion. Hence it is now clear that the human nutrition involves physiological and bio-chemical processes. The main objective of nutrition is provision or supply of energy to the human body depending on its requirement. Depending upon the body weight, age, physical activity and other functional factors, the energy requirement of the human beings vary. If more energy is consumed than actual requirement, it will lead to obesity and other health complications like diabetes, heart stroke etc. Similarly, if a person consumes lesser amount than actual requirement, he will be subjected to under nutrition and related disorders or diseases. For example, children suffer from kwashiarker amd marasmus due to protein deficiency. Lack of sufficient iron leads to anemia. Inadequate supply of calcium and phosphorus would result in bone malformation. In addition, the disease resistance ability gets negatively affected due to inadequate food intake. Hence estimation of ideal requirement of diet is crucial in ensuring optimum nutrition. In this context, the relevance of Dietary Reference Values (DRVs) is very much felt. DRV is nothing but combining a series of estimates of the quantity of energy and nutrients required by different groups of healthy people (British Nutrition Foundation, 2004). It mainly stresses on Reference Nutrient Intakes (RNIs) designing optimum diet for different age groups of the people. The RNI is nothing but the quantity of a nutrient that is sufficient to ensure that the needs of nearly all the group (97.5%) are being met. It may be used for protein, vitamins and minerals. It is not only the quantity but also the balanced composition of diet that is essential for human health as different substances provide valuable nutrients and vitamins. Hence the necessity of different dietary plans for ensuring the ideal diet and energy requirement is very much opined for ensuring balanced diet. Keeping these points in consideration, the present study has been carried out with the following objective / aim: To assess the nutrient value of the diet relative to Reference Nutrient Intake Results The BMI of 25.7 indicates the subject (Brar Jasmin) is slightly over weight which has to be reduced gradually. One should not reduce the diet suddenly to avoid health complications. The percentage of energy derived from each principal constituents of the food like carbohydrates, proteins and fats also has to be maintained in optimum range according to the dietary reference values (DRVs) recommended by Department of Health (1991). The results revealed that the energy derived proteins and fats is higher than that of DRV value where as the percentage from carbohydrates has declined slightly relative to the DRV value. Hence there is not much significant variation in terms of percentage contribution from principal constituents of the food. However, the total quantity of food is in complete variation with the recommended RNI value. The analysis of diet intake by the subject (817 Kcal)reveals that the total energy requirement based on the body weight of the subject is not met. Hence it comes under mal nutrition. It is lower than the RNI value (1940 kcal). Hence the diet quantity and composition should be modified to meet the ideal requirement. Most important component is that the fibre requirement is very high (>18g/day) according to the RNI where as the subject’s diet has shown poor fibre consumption (7.2g) which may lead to severe health problems in general and intestinal problems in particular. The analysis of macro and micro nutrients revealed that the requirement of calcium (700 mg/d) is poorly met by the subject (91 mg/d) which is severely dangerous as it leads to bone deformation and osteoporosis. Similarly, another nutrient mainly crucial for bone development i.e. phosphorus is also under supplied (145 mg/d as compared to RNI value of 550mg/d). Magnesium was also supplied in poor quantity (45 mg/d) as compared to the ideal requirement (270 mg/d). The similar situation is apparent in all other nutrients like iron, copper, zinc and manganese. The intake of some vitamins was also found to be poor. For example, the thiamin was consumed in lower quantity (0.55 mg/d) as compared to its RNI value (0.8 mg/d). Similar status was found in case of other vitamins like niacin and Vitamin B6. Discussion Even though the subject is over weight according to its BMI value, its diet requirement should not be reduced drastically as it poses severe threat to disease resistance ability and bone health. The present diet schedule of the subject (Jasmine) can be considered as imbalanced one. It is mainly because of poor quantity of energy supplied per day compared to the actual energy demand of the body (RNI). It may result in susceptibility of the subject to various diseases or disorders from time to time. Especially, the calcium and phosphorus requirement is badly affected in the present diet schedule which may result in the bone malformation and it may also cause osteoporosis in later stage. The deficiency of zinc, manganese and iodine also result in other important disorders. The vitamins like thiamin, niacin, and B6 will lead to disorders like Beriberi. Moreover, the subject is also subjected to poor intake of fibre, which may prove to be dangerous for intestinal health. The composition of fruits and vegetables has to be increased in the new diet plan. Overall, as the nutrient value of the present diet is lower than RNI, its new diet schedule has to be changed with following recommendations. The fibre component has to be added by incorporating more fruits and vegetables. They also supply good quantity of vitamins, minerals and polysaccharides. Replace chicken items with more fruits and raw vegetables as they provide more antioxidants. The total energy supply should be increased from present level (817 kcal) to 1650 kcals (slightly lower than recommended RNI for the subject) so that the weight reduction will be taken care gradually and adequate supply of minerals and vitamins will be ensured. Conclusion The present diet intake of the subject is imbalanced one and has to be replaced with a balanced diet schedule. The energy requirement of the subject would be met gradually ensuring the adequate supply of macro and micro nutrients, vitamins and anti oxidants. However the new diet schedule should also consider the weight management of the subject gradually as it supplies slightly lesser quantity of energy than the required level with out affecting the balanced nutrition. References British Nutrition Foundation. (2004). Nutrient requirements and recommendations. http://www.nutrition.org.uk/home.asp?siteId=43§ionId=414&parentSection=320&which=1 Department of Health. (1991). Dietary Reference Values for food energy and nutrients in the United Kingdom. HMSO, London. Eastwood, M. (1997) Principles of Human Nutrition, London: Blackwell Science Ltd publication. P:680. ISBN-10: 0632058110. Jim Mann and Stewart Truswell. (2002). Essentials of Human Nutrition. Oxford University Press. P:688. ISBN-10: 0198508611. Read More