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Nutrition & Health: Fetus, Infant, Child and Teen

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1. Identify at least 2 influences that are affecting the health and weight of children and teens.

2. What are 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of breast feeding and formula feeding? (You will have a total of 8 answers.)

3. Describe the "Division of Responsibility Theory" and relate how the concepts may help in handling picky eaters.

4. Describe the nutrient requirements for the following life stage groups: (Note which nutrients have higher or lower recommendations.)

Pregnancy
Infants
Toddlers
Adolescent boys
Adolescent girls

5.

a. Premature infants have different nutrient needs from term infants.
True or False, Why?

b. A newborn has the highest energy and protein needs (per unit of body weight) than any other life cycle. True or False, Why?

c. Adding cereal to a 2 month old infant's bottle is recommended, and will help him sleep better at night. True or False, Why?

d. Putting a baby to bed with a bottle is a good way to make sure they will not be hungry during the night. True or False, Why?

e. Overweight women who get pregnant should not gain any additional weight. True or False, Why?

f. Pregnant teens have higher nutrient needs than pregnant adults. True or False, Why?

g. Breastmilk is better than infant formula. True or False, Why?

h. Women need nutritional supplements to meet their needs during pregnancy. True or False, Why?

I. Consuming alcohol after the third month of pregnancy has no ill effects on the fetus. True or False, Why?

j. Breastfed babies should be given bottles for the first few days of life because the mother's first milk is thin and watery and low in nutrients. True or False, Why?

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Solution Summary

This solution responds the questions comprehensively on various topics related to nutrition and health during pregnancy, breastfeeding, infancy, childhood, and adolescents. Supplemented with an article on nutrition during childhood and the teen years.

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RESPONSE:

1. Identify at least 2 influences that are affecting the health and weight of children and teens.

(1) Eating the wrong kinds of food (e.g. high sugar and fat content, etc.) and more calories than are needed to maintain normal weight.

Being overweight is actually a medical concern because it can seriously affect a person's health. The health problems that stem from being overweight go way beyond the ones we usually hear about, like diabetes and heart disease. Being overweight can also affect a person's joints, breathing, sleep, mood, and energy levels. So being overweight can impact a person's entire quality of life. Although inadequate intake of certain micronutrients is a concern, far greater problems come from the dietary excesses of energy, saturated fat, cholesterol, and refined carbohydrate, which are fueling the current epidemics of obesity in both children and teens (http://www.nutritionmd.org/health_care_providers/general_nutrition/lifetime_conclusion.html).

(2) Lack of activity plays an important role in the development, progression and perpetuation of obesity in children and teens.

They spend more time than ever before in history in front of the television and especially computers and laptops. Obesity is on the rise and there is a clear link between the lack of physical activity and exercise and the rise in obesity in children, couples with unhealthy food choices as suggested in the first point (http://www.eufic.org/article/en/page/BARCHIVE/expid/basics-child-adolescent-nutrition/?lowres=1).

2. What are 2 advantages and 2 disadvantages of breast feeding and formula feeding? (You will have a total of 8 answers.)

The debate between breast milk and formula is a longstanding debate. There is actually no right or wrong choice when it comes to the decision between breastfeeding and bottle-feeding. Though most believe that breastfeeding is by far the best nutrition for babies, bottle-feeding can also be beneficial and nutritious (http://www.womens-health.co.uk/bottle.html).

A. Breast Feeding:

Advantages of breastfeeding for the baby:

· Breast milk is the only food specifically designed, by nature, to meet your baby's individual needs. Aside from the nutritional and digestive superiority of breastmilk over infant formulas, it also contains immune substances, growth factors, hormones and enzymes. Cellular components of breastmilk appear to enhance baby's vision, digestion, and brain development. Several nutrients, including zinc and iron, are more easily absorbed from mother's milk than formulas.

· It contains the right balance of nutrients in a very easily digestible form.

· Antibodies are passed on through breast milk to protect your baby from all kinds of infection. The longer you can feed your baby the better but if you breastfeed for the first three or four months this protection can last for up to a year. Breast-fed infants are less likely to develop infections, such as colds, ear infections and diarrhea, while they are young, and less likely to be admitted to the hospital.

· Intimate contact during breastfeeding fosters maternal-infant bonding, especially right after the baby is born. Emotional benefits of bonding early in life last a lifetime. Mother's that breastfeed their babies may also gain health benefits. Breastfeeding helps a woman's uterus shrink back to pre-pregnancy size and helps mobilize fat that has been stored during pregnancy (http://www.storknet.com/ip/reproductive_years/delivery/breastfeeding.html).

· Breastfeeding reduced the incidence of allergies such as eczema and asthma.

· Breast milk contains growth factors and hormones to help your baby's development. These cannot be reproduced in formula milk. Children who have breast fed for eight months or more have been shown to achieve more at school than those who have been bottle fed (http://www.askbaby.com/breastfeeding-advantages-disadvantages.htm).

Advantages of breastfeeding for the mother:

· Breastfeeding helps your body to return to normal after the birth and burns up to 500 calories a day.
· Breast milk is always ready and it costs nothing
· Women who breastfeed often feel a special bond with their baby and may be less likely to develop postnatal depression.
· Breastfeeding may offer you some protection against developing ovarian cancer, breast cancer and hip fractures.

Disadvantages of breastfeeding for the mother:

· Blood borne viruses such as hepatitis B or HIV and some medication can be passed on to your baby in breast milk.
· Some women find breastfeeding painful, stressful and tiring
· You are unable to measure the amount of milk your baby has consumed, this can be a disadvantage if your baby is having problems putting on weight.
· It can be difficult for a breastfeeding mother to leave her baby for more than a couple of hours as no one else can feed baby unless she leaves expressed milk (http://www.askbaby.com/breastfeeding-advantages-disadvantages.htm).

B. Formula Feeding

Advantages of Formula Feeding for the mother:

· Bottle-fed babies need to be fed less frequently since it is more difficult to digest.
· If you are bottle-feeding your baby, you know exactly how much milk your baby has had.
· You do not need to be present each time the baby has to be fed; some other family member or friend can also feed the baby.
· Your social life does not need to be curtailed. You can resume your normal life.

Disadvantages of Formula Feeding for baby and mother:

· Breast milk contains antibodies, which protect the baby from viral and bacterial infections such as ear infections, respiratory problems and meningitis. Antibodies are not found in formula making the baby more susceptible to illness.
· Babies taking formula have more problems with gas and constipation and have firmer bowel movements.
· The formula available in the market needs to be mixed with the proper quantity of water each time and bottles and nipples need to be sterilized. There are ready-to-feed formulas available, but they tend to be expensive.
· If the bottles or nipples are not properly cleaned there is a risk of transmitting bacterial infections. Formula left in the bottle for more than one hour must be thrown out.
· Formula is a constant expense while mother's milk is free.
· Breast milk changes its properties with the baby's needs. During the first few days the milk is thicker and yellowish and contains compounds that are essential for the health of the baby. Formula cannot match the complex nature of breast milk, though it has all the required nutrients (http://www.womens-health.co.uk/bottle.html).

3. Describe the "Division of Responsibility Theory" and relate how the concepts may help in handling picky eaters.

Rawls introduces the idea of what he calls "the division of responsibility" between society and the individual. Society as a whole has a responsibly-that is, an obligation-to see to it that citizens have adequate shares of primary ...

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