In sycamore- Instructional- Dropbox- upload your learnings for the week to the “REFLECTIVE JOURNAL WEEK 4” folder
Please follow APA formatting and it should have not less than 300 words. Please take note of the due date. Failure to submit on the said due date will get a deduction of 10% and if it reaches seven days late you will get a 0 %. Thank you
Reflective Journal Week 4
The study material of this week mainly focuses on the nutritional requirements of children between the age group of 6 to 12 years and adolescents. This is the time frame when the children usually go to school and the nutritional needs of this period change a lot in comparison to the previous phase. In this phase, the growth rate slows down and rapid changes in the body happen. This is the time when they spend an ample amount of time in school with their peers and are introduced to a new environment. Therefore the selection of the meal should be done very carefully. During this period they become very restless and do not want to spend much time at the table eating the meal, they also tend to get bored very easily. Hence, a small, frequent meal is recommended at this time. They should be given the same food as the elderly but in an attractive manner and with slight changes in taste and texture. They usually prefer frequent snaking, it has to make sure, that the snaking options should come from the healthy choice to avoid the most commonly prevalent diseases like dental caries, being underweight, constipation, obesity, and many more (Karak, Maiti & Karmakar, 2018, p.339). Packed lunch during this period should also be encouraged.
Adolescence is the transitional period that indicates the end of childhood and the beginning of adulthood and happens between the age group of 13-19 years. It can be divided into three phases early, mid, and late adolescence and it can be stated that the need keeps on changing in every stage. The predominant characteristic of this period is the onset of puberty, the occurrence of menarche, and the visibility of the primary and secondary sex characteristics with a huge change in the body composition. Boys also undergo huge physical, and mental changes during this period. Changes in the voice, muscle tone, the occurrence of the mustache, beard, hormones, and development of the sex characteristics are very common in this period. Several eating-related disorders like anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, binge eating disorders, and obesity are quite common during this period. Therefore careful menu planning should be done for them, to avoid malnutrition and meet their nutritional need and the growth spurt.
In the last part of the slides, the emphasis was given to the nutrition of the adult and the older adults. An adult should make sure to consume a balanced diet with a selection of food from the five food groups. Careful monitoring should be always recommended to avoid cases of undernutrition or overnutrition. A healthy diet habit, exercise, and stress management should always be encouraged during this period. In the case of deficiency, supplementation can also be introduced under expert supervision.
In old age, the nutritional requirement usually begins to decline. Due to muscle loss, low immunity, and less activity body is more susceptible to various diseases in old age. A careful observation regarding menu planning is, therefore, crucial to prevent the development of various diseases like osteoporosis, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Diseases, arthritis, cardiovascular disease, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and many more. Supplementation can be given to resist the process of cell catabolism to some extent. Although it has to be remembered that, due to dental decay, and lower gastrointestinal activity, foods should be given in the soft or easily digested form. Several psychological diseases can be seen during this period like dementia, Alzheimer’s disease, loneliness, and low self-esteem, hence, utmost care is also needed to make them happy in the end period of the life span (Engelheart, & Brummer, 2018, p.62). This slide is really a very informative and enriching one.
References:
Engelheart, S., & Brummer, R. (2018). Assessment of nutritional status in the elderly: a proposed function-driven model. Food & nutrition research, 62.
Karak, P., Maiti, R., Das, P., & Karmakar, A. (2018). Assessment of nutritional status of school children in rural and urban areas of Bankura, West Bengal. Int J Pharm Sci Res, 9(1), 338-45.
