Unit 6-Nutrition Applied

Justine Wilson
Nutrition Applied assignments are assessments of
your understanding of the material, ability to apply the
information and critical thinking skills. These are high
stakes (high % of grade) assignments that typically
take several hours to complete.

In this homework assignment, you will:

1. research food and nutrition issues of concern in a

speci c period of the life cycle.
2. gather food and activity information from a subject
in that period of the life cycle.
3. utilize NCP to generate nutrient intake data for the
subject.
4. use data produced to complete a nutritional
assessment of the subject.

Homework must be word-processed using 12-point font

directly onto this assignment. Submit this document along
with the NutritionCalc Plus (NCP) reports through the
“Assignments” section of Canvas. Since this assignment is
processed through Turnitin, you should submit it in
Microsoft Word or PDF format. Be sure to use your own
words.
fi
Points are deducted for inaccuracies (an incorrect
answer or false statement), omissions (failure to
report required and relevant information), and lack of
details (neglecting to use data from NCP reports and
not applying information to a realistic plan) when
answering questions.

1. Which life span period will you be examining? (Please

underline or highlight the life cycle period chosen)
Pregnancy
Lactation
Child: 1-3 years old (do not choose a child who is
breastfeeding)
Child: 4-8 years old
Adolescent: 9-13 years old
Adolescence: 14-18 years old
Older adult: over 70 years old

Please Note: You may not choose a non-elderly adult

for this assignment unless that individual is
pregnant or breastfeeding. If you are interviewing a
child, you must obtain consent from the parent. For
all individuals, privacy will be protected by use of
initials, not names, throughout this assignment.
 2. Beforeinterviewing your subject, research the nutritional
issues which occur in the life span period you are
investigating. Use your textbook to closely examine the life
span period. Summarize what you have learnedabout the
speci c nutritional needs, challenges, and issues of the
chosen life span period in the space below.

Older adults 70+ face a myriad of changes to their bodies

and lifestyles. Typically, this age group is retired and may
see a general slowing down of social life, and exercise
without working. This group is more likely to have
diagnosed diseases/disorders than the younger adult
groups and more likely to be prescribed several
medications. Over 90% of this population take at least one
medication a day. They may face new challenges, and
their nutrition requirements changed. This group requires
higher nutrition due to the lower rates of absorption of
vitamins and minerals and dif culties eating. They may
also experience life changes, like moving in with children
or moving to assisted living facilities or nursing homes,
depending on changes in their care needs.

For this group, an active lifestyle with muscle

strengthening, balance activity and exibility is
fi
fi
fl
recommend to slow down the effects of aging. They are
also recommended to maintain a healthy weight by
decreasing fat and increasing ber in the diet to offset to
changes in their endocrine system, that results in lower
insulin sensitivity. Due to changes in the digestive system,
namely lower production of stomach acid and intrinsic
factor, older adults should pay close attention to their
protein, iron, B vitamin and zinc consumption, which may
be lacking. The BMR of older adults decrease with age as
well, with older adults requiring less overall calories due to
this.
fi
 3. Aftergaining consent and completing your background
research, set up a time to meet with your subject. At the
interview, you will need to gather the following information
rst:

Initials J.W.

Sex Male or Female (underline or highlight)

Date of Birth (month/day/year) December 20, 1943 (80

years old!)

Age years

Height feet 5 inches 2

Current Weight 130 pounds

If pregnant, what was pre-pregnancy weight?

Pounds

If pregnant, what is gestational age (weeks of

pregnancy)?

If pregnant, how much weight gained during pregnancy

to this point?

If breastfeeding, how old is the child?

fi
 Use a BMI Calculator at https://www.cdc.gov/
healthyweight/assessing/bmi/index.html to calculate
BMI. (Do not calculate the BMI for a child under the age
of 2.) Be sure to use the correct age-speci c calculator.

BMI 23.8 (if pregnant, calculate pre-pregnancy BMI)

Classi cation of BMI result (underweight/healthy or

normal weight/overweight/obese) normal weight

The BMI numbers of children and teens are evaluated

based on percentiles. You cannot use the BMI
standards that we used in class for evaluating
children and teens. Use the assessment provided by
the BMI Calculator above to determine if the child is
overweight or obese.

Dietary supplements taken: Fish oil, baby aspirin,

daily multivitamin woman’s

List any dietary restrictions below:

fi
fi
None

Activity Level Sedentary, Low Activity, Active or Very

Active (underline)

Describe daily physical activity below:

House cleaning, walking in house, walk around the block,
shopping, cooking and laundry. ( not very active)

4. Youwill be conducting a 24-hour (one day) dietary recall.

Ask the person what they consumed for 24 hours the day
before your interview. Be sure to have the person include
snacks and beverages. Have them describe the food in as
much detail as possible such as how the food was
prepared, where it was consumed, etc. Be sure to obtain
amounts of each food in as speci c quantities as possible.
Use the chart below next page to record the subject’s
intake.

Food or Beverage (be detailed in description) Amount Consumed

Instant Coffee with creamer and sugar, decaf 12 oz.
2 eggs cooked with Pam 2 eggs
One berry yoplait yogurt 6 oz.
Fresh cherries 1/2 cup
Bacon 3 pieces
Water 12 oz.
Ham sandwich with mayo, lettuce, tomato and 1 typical sandwich size
mustard on wonderbread
Sam’s club potato salad 1/2 cup
Diet ginger ale, Publix 10 oz.
Meat lasagna, stoffers brand 2 cups
Crumb cake, entemen’s brand 1 serving
Instant decaf coffee with creamer 12 oz.
Cesar salad with ranch dressing 1 cup
Water 24 oz.
fi
 5. Now it is time to analyze the data. Enter NCP. On the
Pro les screen, use the Choose Pro le dropdown menu to
choose New Pro le. Remember to use only the initials of
your subject to protect privacy. Enter your subject’s pro le
information. If they are pregnant or nursing, be sure to
choose that under gender.

Next, enter the subject’s one-day food intake on the

Intakes screen. Be sure the subject is selected for
Choose Pro le. Do not include multivitamins and
other supplements with food entries.

Finally, you need to review All Daily Reports to make your

assessment.

6. Use the information generated with NCP as well as other

information gathered during the interview to assess the
subject’s nutritional and activity patterns. Note any
concerns that you have about the subject’s food and
activity patterns as well as recommendations that you
would make to that subject to improve their nutritional
health. Be detailed, thorough, and accurate in this
fi
fi
fi
fi
fi
assessment. Use all information available on the NCP
reports, including Bar Graph, Macronutrient Distribution,
Spreadsheet, and My Plate reports to assess the
adequacy of individual nutrients. Your assessment should
be very thorough!

For the older adult I chose, she lives a not very active
lifestyle, not including exercise in her routine unless it’s
part of chores or a walk. She does not lift weights or
partake in sports or do any dynamic stretching on a
regular basis, due to osteoporosis and general joint
pain. I would recommend to her to increase her activity
gradually to be less sedentary, even moderately. Even
starting small like parking further in the parking lot, or
holding 1 lb. Weights while walking can help increase
activity and strengthen bones. Even as little as 10
minutes a day of intentional exercise can help her
overall health from age-related decline and maintaining
independence and ability to do activities of daily living.

For macros, this older adult had an intake of 155% of the

myPlate goal for protein, and a 106% of the grain goal
was met. The older adult should lower their protein
intake as a high protein intake may cause kidney issues
such as kidney stones, as processing protein can take a
toll on the kidneys. For the fats, most of the fats
consumed were saturated fats. This older adult should
consider their fat sources and aim for more unsaturated
 fats than saturated fats. A good way to do this would be
to switch from animal based fat sources to plant food
based fat sources. For overall calories, this older adult
went above the DRI goal slightly, and went above the
DRI goal for fat. Unsurprisingly, the person’s cholesterol
was 129% of the DRI goal. By switching to plant based
oils, the amount of bad cholesterol consumed may
decrease as well.

In micronutrients, this older adult was under the DRI goal

for all vitamins and minerals, other than sodium. Sodium
was 169% of the DRI goal. This older adult should cut
back on premade meals and look for low sodium options
to keep sodium lower in general. Replacing salt with
spices is a great alternative to add avor to any dish.
The older adult almost met the goals for calcium,
phosphorus, and iron. To meet these goals, the older
adult should look to swap the high calorie and less
nutrient dense foods for lower calorie and more nutrient
dense foods. Overall, this older adult needs to add more
fruits and vegetables to their diet to meet any of the
micronutrient goals. This older adult has a good grasp
on what amount of calories and portions are right for
them, but they lack nutrients overall in their diet, which
could increase likelihood of injury and illness by I’ll
supporting the immune system and body. This older
adult also ends to swap out some of their white bread or
bleached grains for more whole grains to meet the
recommended 50% of whole grains that is
fl
 recommended in overall consumption. By changing the
white grains to whole grains, this person may also cut
their added sugars, which exceeded the DRI coming in
at 106% of the DRI.

Additionally, this older adult could consume more water.

Her water intake is under the daily recommendation.
Being dehydrated as an older adult can lead to
confusion, low blood pressure, and increase risks of
falls and injuries due to those things. Dehydration can
also cause electrolytes balances and may result in an
arrhythmia or other heart problem.