Nutrition In Children

4385 Words18 Pages
Nutrition | Children need food of appropriate quantity and quality for optimal growth and development. If their nutritional intake is inadequate they will fail to gain weight or lose it and will subsequently fail to grow in height. Prolonged or severe nutritional deficiency will result in malnutrition. | The nutritional vulnerability of infants and children | | Infants and children are more vulnerable to poor nutrition than are adults. There are a number of reasons for this. Low nutritional stores | | Newborn infants, particularly those born before term, have poor stores of fat and protein (Fig. 12.1). The smaller the child, the less the calorie reserve and the shorter the period the child will be able to withstand starvation (Fig. 12.2). | | Body composition of preterm and term infants, children and adults. Newborn infants, particularly the preterm, have poor stores of fat and protein. Reduced ability of children to withstand starvation from lack of food but not fluid compared to adults. (After Heird et al, Journal of Pediatrics, 1972; 80: 351-372.) High nutritional demands for growth | | The nourishment children require, per unit body size, is greatest in infancy (Table 12.1), because of their rapid growth during this period. At 4 months of age, 30% of an infant's energy intake is used for growth, but by 1 year of age this falls to 5%, and by 3 years to 2%. The risk of growth failure from restricted energy intake is therefore greater in the first 6 months of life than in later childhood. Even small but recurrent deficits in early childhood will lead to a cumulative deficit in weight and height. Table 12-1. Reference values for energy and protein requirements | Body_ID: None | Age | Energy (kcal/kg per 24 h) | Protein (g/kg per 24 h) | Body_ID | | | 0-6 months | 115 | 2.2 | Body_ID | | | 6-12 months |
Open Document