GIS 1012 Lifecycle Nutrition

Nutrition Throughout The

Life Cycle: The essentials
 It is important to establish and maintain a state of
nutritional health each stage of the life cycle.
• Each stage has special nutritional requirements.
For example:
-Pregnancy: folic acid during the preconception period
lowers the risk of neural tube defects
-Infancy: Breastfeeding is linked to the prevention of
obesity, types 1 and 2 diabetes, inflammatory bowel
disease, childhood cancer, and asthma
-Children: need adequate nutrients such as calcium and
iron to promote growth and development.
- adult years. Maintaining an appropriate weight and
consuming a nutritionally adequate diet are essential
throughout the
-senior years :need fewer calories, but exactly how much
we should eat still depends on how active we are.
 Human Lifecycle
A. Preconception and Gestation
B. Infancy through Childhood (0-12 years)
C. Adolescence (13-17 years)
D. Early Adulthood (18-35 Years)
E. Middle Adulthood (36-64 years)
F. Late Adulthood (65 years and over)
 A. Preconception and Gestation
Preconception is the period before conception occurs.
Gestation is the period after conception when the fetus
is developing.
Good nutrition is essential
- to prepare the woman's body to withstand the rigors
of pregnancy and helps assure that the mother will
continue to be healthy after delivery.
- to help assure that the father is in the best possible
health at the time conception occurs.
Healthy eating behaviors before conception and during
pregnancy contribute to appropriate fetal
development at each stage of gestation, resulting in
a healthy baby.
Key concerns during pregnancy
• Folic acid
• Blood Ferum
• Blood glucose
• Hypertension
 Glucose monitoring
• Fasting: less than 95 mg/dL
• 1 hour post-prandial: 140 mg/dL
• 2 hour post-prandial: 120 mg/dL
• If patients with GDM on dietary therapy do not
meet above goals, institute insulin therapy
– Approximately 40% of pts with GDM will require
insulin therapy
• Measure blood glucose fasting (AM) and 2 hours
after every meal
– Post-prandial values most predictive of macrosomia
Diabetes Care 1998;21(Suppl 2):B161-7.
Diabetes 1991;40(suppl 2):196
 Profile of blood
glucose over 24 hrs in
the 2nd and 3rd
trimesters

Postpartum observations were

the control.
Error bars = standard error.
Fig49-3. Maternal-Fetal Medicine Principles and Practice 5th ed, p1027
 Dietary therapy
• Cornerstone of therapy; difficult to achieve
• Recommended caloric intake based on BMI
– Underweight (BMI < 19.8): 35 Kcal/kg/day
– Normal weight (BMI 19.8-29.9): 30 Kcal/kg/day
– Overweight (BMI >30): 25 Kcal/kg/day
• Insulin resistance highest in AM, shift
carbohydrate intake to lunch/dinner
• 3 snacks, especially prior to bedtime
 Exercise therapy
• “A regular exercise program has clear benefits for
all women and may offer additional advantages for
women with Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (GDM).
Women with GDM who lead an active lifestyle
should be encouraged to continue a program of
exercise approved for pregnancy”

• Will improve insulin sensitivity and glucose uptake

by skeletal muscle
ACOG Practice Bulletin Sept 2001
 What are the consequences of poor nutrition?
- Crash dieting and eating disorders can interfere with the
menstrual cycle and reduce fertility.
- Inadequate intake of folic acid before conception is linked to the
development of birth defects such as spina bifida and other
neural tube defects.
- Inadequate intake of calcium by the mother results in calcium
being taken from the mother's bones to supply the baby,
increasing the risk of osteoporosis in the mother.
-Poor dietary habits during gestation compromise the health of the
mother and the infant.
-Poor nutrition during pregnancy increases the risk of a low
birthweight baby.
-Inadequate iron consumption by a pregnant woman increases
the risk of anemia for both the mother and the infant. Anemia
and low birthweight are risk factors for infant mortality. In
addition, anemia has been linked to maternal mortality.
 B. Infancy through Childhood (0-12 years)
nutrition plays a critical role in promoting
-optimal growth and development,
-strengthening the immune system, and
-enhancing social and cognitive ability.

During the first year of life (infancy) the infant's weight

should triple, and length should increase by 50
percent.
By 5 years old, the brain will have reached 90 percent of
its adult weight.
Lifelong food preferences and eating habits are shaped
during Infancy and Childhood.
 What are the consequences of poor nutrition?

- Failure to meet calcium requirements in childhood

- prevent maximal skeletal growth and bone mineralization,
- increasing the risk of osteoporosis later in life.

- Poor nutrition can delay cognitive and motor development, and

increases the risk of infections, allergies and anemia.

- Inappropriate nutrition and inadequate physical activity increase

the risk of overweight in childhood, adult obesity, heart disease
and other chronic conditions.

- Baby bottle tooth decay (common for children under age 3), can
occur when a child's teeth are exposed to sugary liquids, such
as formula, fruit juices, and other sweetened liquids for a
continuous, extended period of time.
 C. Adolescence (13-17 years)
Adolescence is a period of intense physical,
psychosocial, and cognitive development.

Puberty - about age 10 to 12 for girls and 12 to 14 for

boys - is an intense growth period that brings dramatic
changes in height and weight.
Because body mass almost doubles, adolescents are
particularly vulnerable to even modest levels of energy
restriction.
*At puberty, the skeleton is only one-half its final adult
mass. Despite the seeming permanence of bone, it is
constantly being formed and reabsorbed.
Thus: irregular eating habits can easily cause
malformation of bone development.
 What are the consequences of poor nutrition?
• - Inadequate intake of essential vitamins and
nutrients during this stage can result in stunted
growth, delayed menarche or amenorrhea, iron
deficiency and other anemias, overweight, and
osteoporosis during the adult years.
• - Adolescent and teen-age girls are at particularly
high risk of developing eating disorders, such as
anorexia and bulimia (the binge and purge
disorder), but these conditions are now seen more
and more often in boys as well.
• - Drinking, smoking, and drug abuse exacerbate
the nutritional status of adolescents and further
contribute to poor nutritional intake.
 D. Early Adulthood (18-35 Years)
Basic nutritional needs of young adults are constant,
but certain factors need to be considered to
achieve and maintain optimal nutritional status.
e.g. activity level, pregnancy and parenthood,
psychology, and environment.

Important reproductive phase of human kind:

~ 84.3% percent of all children are born to adults at
this stage of life.

Thus, important for young adults to require a

knowledge base that enables them to make
choices about nutrition and physical activity that are
appropriate for their gender and circumstances.
 What are the consequences of poor nutrition?
• - The risk of obesity and chronic diseases is
increased by unhealthy eating and sedentary
lifestyles.

• - Reduced productivity and lowered

resistance to acute infections can be a result
of poor nutrition.

• -Alcohol increases the risk of an inadequate

diet, dehydration, low blood sugar and
infertility.
 E. Middle Adulthood (36-64 years)
Important to maintain optimal nutrition during this
period of life.

The starting point for many chronic disease.

-chronic dietary deficiencies, nutritional excesses and
imbalances, and other risk factors experienced
during earlier stages

Essential for the adaptation of nutritional health

behaviors targeted towards prevention.
These should be reinforced by nutritional education.
 Process Healing
Using the Subconscious to Heal

• The resiliency of the body creates

opportunities to prevent and, in some
cases, reverse some risk factors. Quality
of life and length of life are greatly
influenced during this stage.

• http://www.process-healing.com/theory.htm
 What are the consequences of poor nutrition?
• - The risk of obesity and chronic diseases is
increased by unhealthy eating and sedentary
lifestyles.

• - Women are at an increased risk for osteoporosis

during the peri-menopausal period and thereafter.

• - Men and women are at increased risk of heart

disease, diabetes, cancer and stroke.

• -Reduced productivity and lowered resistance to

acute infections can be due to poor nutrition.

• -Alcohol increases the risk of an inadequate diet,

dehydration, low-blood sugar and infertility.
• After mid-30’s, you begin
to slowly lose bone mass.
• Women lose bone mass
faster after menopause.
• Men lose bone mass too.

Source: The 2004 Surgeon General’s Report on Bone Health and Osteoporosis:
What It Means to You at http://www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/bonehealth
 F. Late Adulthood (65 years and over)
• Aging is a dynamic and complex process that results
from cellular, physiological and psychological
changes.

• "successful" aging vs "usual" aging,

– reflect pathology more often associated with a
lifetime of poor health habits, including poor dietary
patterns, smoking, drinking, limited exercise and
other stress-related factors rather than aging alone.
"successful" aging vs "usual" aging: WHY?
Many of the diseases suffered by the elderly are the result of
dietary factors operating since infancy. These factors are
then compounded by changes that occur naturally with the
aging process.

An individual in this phase of life needs fewer calories, but

exactly how much that individual needs to eat still depends
on how active the person is. Because less food is consumed
to maintain a healthy weight, more care must be taken to
choose low-fat and nutrient-rich foods.
As the years pass by, lean body mass (muscle) is lost,
metabolic rate slows and calories are burnt more slowly. As
people age, their bodies become less forgiving and more
effort must be made to eat well and stay healthy.
 What are the consequences of poor nutrition?
-The elderly population is at increased risk for
degenerative diseases such as
cerebrovascular disease, diabetes,
osteoporosis, and cancer.

• -Women are at a greater risk for osteoporosis

because their bone loss accelerates after
menopause.

• -Decreased immune function in late adulthood

increases the risk of opportunistic infections
that can foreshorten life.