Differences in Nutritional Needs Throughout Lifecycle - Essay Example

Every individual requires appropriate nutrients at different stages of life. Nutrients like carbohydrates, basic fatty and amino acids, minerals, and a good number of vitamins are very vital in supporting ones health. These nutrients, nevertheless, differ from one stage of life to the other. As an example, the intakes of macronutrients, plus the majority of micronutrients are more recommended at infancy, intrauterine development and at childhood. They are recommended because they are highly connected to individuals body size in comparison to those recommended during adulthood. A number of nutrient requirements like vitamin D tend to increase in old individuals with reduction in the intake of iron and energy (Berdanier, Johanna and David 2013).

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Higher intakes of both energy-giving food and proteins are required at the adolescent stage for purposes of growth. The amount of micronutrients needed by the adolescent group is similar to those of adult population except for those required for the growth of bones. The requirements of micronutrients aged between 19 years up to 50 years vary to some extent depending on the gender. Therefore the males will need extra vitamins such as, B1, B2, B3, C,K, magnesium, Zinc, among others. On the other hand, females who experience menstruation need extra iron in comparison with the male population of the same age (Berdanier, Johanna and David 2013).

At infants or childhood stage, the caretakers ought to choose food nutrients that are favorable for strong weight of the body. They should also control the wish for promoting growth of the child through excess feeding. This is because excess feeding at infants of childhood stage may make children to develop habits of diets that can have consequences in long life. In this case, an attempt to increase the intake of energy that is required when the child is four months old may bring about excess weight earlier than two years of age, leading to dangers of obesity even up to adulthood. The dangers of obesity is also experienced to those at adolescent stage who are fond of taking high fat contents, sodium, sugars including saturated fat above the recommended level. At the same time these same groups of teens fail to take the required micronutrients like vitamin A, and vitamin C, thus increasing the problem further (Berdanier, Johanna and David 2013).

It is thus evident that most disease infections at various stages of life are purely connected to either deficiency of a given nutrient or the excess or a certain undesired nutrient. The adults, for instance those coming from industrialized nations, tend to take more energy giving food with the considerable portion of them taking less than half the required amount of micronutrients. The balance of energy becomes far in surplus of requirements. Others take meat, vegetable oils, dairy products plus sugar which have more energy content. The result of this is a group of people that experiences outbreak of obesity associated diseases with heart diseases, hypertension, cancer among others being among the list of disease threats (Berdanier, Johanna and David 2013).

At fertility stage, the micronutrients, alcohol and antioxidants also affect the life of an individual. But the nutritional and factors related to the style of life can directly affect fertility. They also result to a number of diseases that consequently leads to fertility impairment. The diseases comprise of endometriosis, polycystic ovarian, and others. Some of the diseases can also cause infertility in women by means of amenorrhea that brings about malabsorption of the required nutrients for the organogenesis. The consumption of alcohol is also connected with increase in infertility for both men and women population. Alcohol can cause impotence in males with reduced concentration of testosterone in the blood not forgetting the destruction of sertoli cells operation and sperm maturity (Merchant 2014).

As compared to any stage of growth, both macro and micro nutrients are needed in high amount per unit of kilogram during infancy and childhood. This is because of the high rate of cell division in infants and children that takes place as they continue to grow. The process of cell division for growth needs food rich in protein, energy together with those nutrients which are involved in the synthesis of DNA, protein metabolism, calories plus fat. An infant weighing, say, 4kg, requires more calories of energy as compared to adults. This implies that the requirement of energy in general remain high at early influential years. The requirement of energy decreases depending on the weight of the individual during the process of growth (Berdanier, Johanna and David 2013).

Breast feeding is another important thing for children as it comes with advantages to the life of the child. This type of feeding is connected to low risk of obesity, several other allergies, hypertension, and a certain type of diabetes called type 1 diabetes. It is also related to enhanced cognitive growth alongside low incidence and severity of disease. High amount of water from food and beverages are also needed in children and infants as opposed to adults. The concerned parent can underestimate the required fluid particularly when the child is faced with the problem of diarrhea, fever or contact to severe temperature. The infants and children also need high amount of basic fatty acids as compared to adults. The acids in children have bigger role within the central nervous system (Merchant 2014).

The elderly persons need less amount of energy as opposed to young persons because of reduction in metabolic rate, physical activities as well as lean mass of the body. However, DRI for vitamin D is improved with increase in age for the purpose of reducing the danger connected to loss and fracture of bones in elderly people. The status of nutrients can also be influenced by reduced production of enzymes used for digestion, interaction between the drug and nutrients and the senescent variation in the bowel surface cells. The elderly persons thus require high amount of micro nutrients for better health. The nutrients involvement ought to put much emphasis on healthy foods with some supplements which also act as players for the secondary functions. These nutrients both prevent deficiency as well as supporting immune operation related to the infection of upper respiratory organs. The intake of alcohol can also be serious issue in old individuals. The dangers of excess alcohol consist of sleep disorder, problems with medicine interactions, loss of nutrients, greater chance of dehydration especially for those taking diuretics. In addition, the use of high dose zinc can easily suppress the immune system of the elderly person (Berdanier, Johanna and David 2013).

The lactating women together with pregnant women are recommended to take increased amounts of macro and micro nutrients. Failure to do so can result to the danger of particular chronic diseases in the children after birth. This may end up showing up several years later. Protein, for instance is needed for pregnant women to help in the growth of fetus as well as in the production of milk. The protein content can safely be acquired by taking vegetables as opposed to animal protein. Certain type of fish such as shark, swordfish, tilefish among others should not be used by pregnant mothers as a way of meeting their protein demand since they contain considerable amount of methylmercury which acts as a neurotoxin in human as it crosses the placenta. They, in addition, need increased quantity of vitamins such as, C, E, A, particular vitamin B like riboflavin, choline, folate and others which they ought to take before conception. They also require increased amounts of calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, potassium, and other minerals (Merchant 2014).

In conclusion, it is apparent that the requirements of many nutrients do change throughout the individuals life cycle. There is always a concern when there is inadequate intake of particular micro nutrients. However, the excess of the diet such as energy, cholesterol refined carbohydrate and even saturated fat can result to other chronic diseases and obesity. Individuals thus need to be given clinical advice on how to select suitable food at particular stage of life with an aim of keeping the intake of energy at the acceptable limit. The intake of whole grains, vegetables, fresh fruits and legumes should be maximized.

References

Berdanier, Carolyn D., Johanna T. Dwyer, and David Heber. Handbook of nutrition and food. CRC Press, 2013.Merchant, Kathleen M. "Womens Nutrition Through the Life Cycle." Women in the Third World: An Encyclopedia of Contemporary Issues 165 (2014).