Nutrition Across the Lifespan: Impact on Health and Growth

Healthcare
nutrition across the
lifespan
Student’s Name

Nutrition across the lifespan 1
Introduction
Nutrition is the source of the supplies foods, which is vital for every cell of the body in order
to stay active. In science and anthropological medication, nourishment is the repetition of
consuming and using foods. Hence, by the consumption of the balanced and healthy diet
leads to the avoidance of many common diseases, helps in fulfilling the specific nutrients
such as vitamins and minerals of an individual’s body. Along with this, It also emphasis on
how health issues, various health situations, and diseases that can be prevented or reduced by
the adoption of a healthy diet (NIH, 2018).
The human life cycle and the nutritional diet which they intake for their future health and
growth. In terms of a newborn, minerals such as calcium and iron are needed for the strong
bones and immune system through breastfeeding. In terms of a toddler, having vegetables,
fruit in the form of baby cereals provides zinc and iron. In the teen aspect, they should focus
on a balanced diet and should focus on exercise for a lively healthy lifestyle in the future
without this, the risk of getting obese will get higher. Then, in terms of adult nutrition, both
younger and older need to focus on their diet in order to prevent healthiness issues such as
diabetes and heart disease (Parizkova, 2016). With the increase in vitamins, minerals people
have to cut down their sugar and unhealthy fats from their diet. Along with this, exercise also
plays a major role in remaining healthy. Lastly, older adult nutrition metabolism is slow as
per the age. Regular exercise and a healthy diet with cut down of sugar and unhealthy fat,
food with higher nutrients for maintaining metabolism are must for a healthy future (Johnson,
and Schoeni, 2011).
Influence of food choice at key stages of life

Nutrition across the lifespan 2
In terms of adolescence age, which comprises of girls and boys whose age is of about (11
year old) this age highlights the puberty, adolescents who need more calories to support
increased growth and the changes of the adolescents. In this age, calcium and vitamin D is the
most important nutrients for their development and growth in their height and overall having
a major impact on their long-term health. Hence, this age demand for the well-balanced diet
for encouraging them towards the long-term healthier lifestyle (Better health, 2018).
Other than this, scientific advisory committee on nutrition (SACN) states that the early life
nutrition has long-term effects over the risk of chronic diseases. Moreover, they are also
concern about the later health effects and the consequences if the dietary plans are not
appropriate or not according to the needs of the adolescences. SACN also give emphasis over
the current dietary patterns especially girls. This all can be recovered by improving the
nutritional status of adolescence and especially girls, which has the potential to improve their
future health (Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition, 2012).
Hence, from above readings it generate the clear understanding of about life course
perspective on nutritional diet of the various ages of individuals and its overall effect on the

Nutrition across the lifespan 3
future health of the persons. Secondly, what all food choice are made or selected by the
individuals at the various stages of life along with their effects and influence on health are
also the part of discussion of this essay. Other than this, effects of certain factors such as age,
size, and gender have also affects the life of the adolescence and their future health plans.
Lastly, certain environmental factors such as personal, socioeconomic and cultural factors
have also major effect over growth of the adolescence, overall development and health.
Critical evaluation
In term of size, individual requires the quantity of nourishment vitality in order to generate
constant motivation in order to uphold the body size, body alignment and the level of
essential and desired physical action, which is reliable with the long-term moral wellbeing. In
terms of BMI (Body mass index), which helps in measuring the accurate body fat of the
individuals and how much of nutrition intake should be done for being perfect in terms of
body and generates proper dietary charts for following up. Nevertheless, in the absence of the
dietary charts, individually shifts or switch over to convenient, easy for them to intake food
without any special attention to the nutrients values of the consumed food (MacDiarmid,
2013).